A Slice of Mechanis
The
soft purple glow of the engine’s crystal core filled the room with a soft,
ambient light. The engine was a prototype for a newer, slightly more efficient
model. Though there had been no great leaps in technology for centuries,
incremental new improvements were still being made by Mechanis’ engineers.
A pair of them stood, staring at the prototype, wondering what was wrong with it. One was a balding, rough-looking middle-aged man who gave the impression that he did his own heavy lifting despite the high rank indicated by his shoulder patch. The other was younger, perhaps in his late twenties, and seemed to be more of an intellectual. He wore a pair of glasses with gold rims, but his uniform was covered with stains indicating that he was not afraid to get his hands dirty, either.
“Well, I have no bloody idea why it’s unstable, although at least the ‘instability’ is stably repeating itself,” said the younger man.
“Damned if I know either,” said the older man. “I’ll call in a couple of mechanics to take a look. They’ve all got better eyes than either of us.”
“Yeah, alright. Hopefully we just cocked up the assembly,” the younger man replied.
“Henrik! Go grab a couple of the mechanics to inspect the engine and help us pull it apart!” the older man hollered.
“Yes sir!” came Henrik’s reply. He was a soldier attached to their experimental manufacturing unit, and served as their guard and (frequent) gofer.
As Henrik’s footsteps faded, the younger man spoke up. “I’ve always wondered something: why are most of the mechanics girls? Women, I mean.”
“You don’t know?”
“No, I have no idea.”
“Alright. What characteristic do most of the male mechanics share?”
The younger man paused, thinking. Engineers, like him, were about evenly split between genders, as their work was intellectual. Yet mechanics – whose job was fairly physical – were often women. And the men, they were… “Short. The men are all short.”
“Precisely. Although, rather than short, I would say small. As are, in fact, most of the women.”
“I… see. So, as women are generally smaller than men, more are mechanics. But why are mechan-“ The younger man paused, as if coming to a realisation.
“Got it now?” the older man asked, with a smirk.
“Yes. Smaller hands, which means being able to better mess around with smaller components in the machines. It’s also the reason why children used to be forced to do the job, back before that was outlawed. Blegh, I feel dumb.”
“As you have been taught exactly why smaller components are more efficient, and having made components following those teachings for years without ever realising this, you certainly should.”
A pair of them stood, staring at the prototype, wondering what was wrong with it. One was a balding, rough-looking middle-aged man who gave the impression that he did his own heavy lifting despite the high rank indicated by his shoulder patch. The other was younger, perhaps in his late twenties, and seemed to be more of an intellectual. He wore a pair of glasses with gold rims, but his uniform was covered with stains indicating that he was not afraid to get his hands dirty, either.
“Well, I have no bloody idea why it’s unstable, although at least the ‘instability’ is stably repeating itself,” said the younger man.
“Damned if I know either,” said the older man. “I’ll call in a couple of mechanics to take a look. They’ve all got better eyes than either of us.”
“Yeah, alright. Hopefully we just cocked up the assembly,” the younger man replied.
“Henrik! Go grab a couple of the mechanics to inspect the engine and help us pull it apart!” the older man hollered.
“Yes sir!” came Henrik’s reply. He was a soldier attached to their experimental manufacturing unit, and served as their guard and (frequent) gofer.
As Henrik’s footsteps faded, the younger man spoke up. “I’ve always wondered something: why are most of the mechanics girls? Women, I mean.”
“You don’t know?”
“No, I have no idea.”
“Alright. What characteristic do most of the male mechanics share?”
The younger man paused, thinking. Engineers, like him, were about evenly split between genders, as their work was intellectual. Yet mechanics – whose job was fairly physical – were often women. And the men, they were… “Short. The men are all short.”
“Precisely. Although, rather than short, I would say small. As are, in fact, most of the women.”
“I… see. So, as women are generally smaller than men, more are mechanics. But why are mechan-“ The younger man paused, as if coming to a realisation.
“Got it now?” the older man asked, with a smirk.
“Yes. Smaller hands, which means being able to better mess around with smaller components in the machines. It’s also the reason why children used to be forced to do the job, back before that was outlawed. Blegh, I feel dumb.”
“As you have been taught exactly why smaller components are more efficient, and having made components following those teachings for years without ever realising this, you certainly should.”
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