An electro technician's life - part 4

The digits changed value according to a preset pattern, they were supposed to do
that. Steadily increasing for every time unit that passed, higher and higher
values were displayed. Until another preset value was reached, then a electrical
impulse was sent from the time unit towards a connection which in turn was
connected to an audio device. The alarm clock went off and after a few signals
caught her attention.
Why did it ring ? There was no work today, still it rang. She couldn’t figure
out why it went off, she did not set it before hitting the bed last night, this
she was certain of.

Then it hit her, today was a day off indeed and she had decided that she would
try and enjoy it as much as she could. So she had set the alarm a few days ago,
thank you for the auto sync between the alarm clock and the portable device. So
she stretched out a bit in the bed, pressed a button and the curtains that
covered the glass wall gently slided aside and let the light from the far away
stars to enter the room. That sure woke her up and in the mean time stopping her
form falling asleep again. Straight from the bed to the Gas’o’cleaner and then
to find some more clothes. So once she was dressed she got herself some food and
had a short look on the blueprints and the circuit board. She was going out to
shop for things while she had the chance, today she would be there when the
shops opened. She mentally noted down some smaller parts that she needed and
then went to the door while placing her Portable device in her pocket and a
small multi-tool in the other one. You never know when you need one, and that is
often when you don’t have one. So she had a habit of always carrying some kind
of tolls with her, be it her multi-tool or her belt.

Well outside her door she checked her portable device if there were any
messages, luckily there weren’t, so while she took the elevator down to
Transport Level she did a quick sweep in the sites for the shops she was
planning in visiting today. Some of them sure did have some nifty hardware that
she would like to get her hands on, and as it seems as they have had a rather
large delivery a day or two back. This meant that the chance of getting hold of
everything was better and thus the need to pre-order was lower. Gah, she didn’t
like to wait for parts that she had ordered, if she hadn’t done it in time that
is.

The elevator stopped and she exited and headed to the platform where the trams
stopped. So then where should she start, the shops that had the longest distance
to travel, or the closest ones ? As she looked at the board of departures she
saw an familiar shape and she turned towards it.

“Tho.. Thosam ! Hey, you have a minute ?” She yelled, but she was to late as he
entered a tram and the doors closed. It started to move away from the platform
towards the rails it was set for. “.. it’s about a plant… oh well, maybe next
time then”.

So , where then, perhaps she would meet Thosam while strolling the streets. Nah
she would probably have bigger luck finding him in his lab than at the shops,
she thought to herself and smiled a bit as she entered a tram and sat down. It
was going to take a bit so she once more grabbed her Portable device and had a
look in her menu’s. As usual the one that appealed her most for now was the Game
menu and she chose to continue her previous game, it was fun after all. Strange
though, how come that a simple game like this could swallow her up like this.
But on the other hand, she was not like other girls in her age, heck even in her
profession.

“Terra form construction complete. Deploying harvesting bots.” She smiled when
she saw this. It meant that she now was able to get on with the fun part of the
game as the foundations for Terraforming now was done.

The tram gently glided along the rail as they got closer to the platform. As it
reached its docking point it slowly stopped and detached from the rail and moved
towards the platform, a small thud clarified that it had docked with the
platform and people could now exit it, or so they thought. The doors did not
open, instead an electrical sparkle met them when they tried to push the button
that opened the door. There was a small tumult, though she just stood up, saved
the game and put the Portable device back in her pocket and hailed out the
multi-tool.
It was nothing major, just a faulty cable that had been unplugged during the
docking sequence and as it was worn it had touched another connector and created
a small shortage. A few movements later she pushed the button and the doors
slided up. Some of the travelers thanked her as they exited the tram, some were
in a hurry and just rushed by. “Maintenance crew, we only exists when something
brakes.” She thought and smiled to herself widely.

So then, shopping square, or Circuit Centre, or whatever the name was of the
place. It didn’t matter as it was what it held that she was interested in. By
routine she went through her mental notes about what parts she needed and by
doing this she also knew what shops she needed to enter, and even in which order
too. She had been here quite some times, many owners in the hops knew her pretty
well as she often stayed and discussed just about anything that was about
electronic, computer’s and whatever. Of course she had helped them now and then
to mend things, as usual. Perhaps it seemed as she always was working, in a way
she was. But if you have a talent and a gift for something it would be a waste
not to use it right.

“This was going to be an interesting day.” She thought to herself as she entered
the “Robotics & Pneumatics” store.