Beginning
The fascination started at his grandfather's house. When the magistrate and his wife were truly annoyed with Damon, he was forced to take a trip to his grandfather's estate on the eastern end of Tollen. He didn't always argue but there were times Damon wanted to spend time with his parents more; Grandfather just retold stories of his time in the Pendulum Wars or ignored Damon for the TV.
It was during this time that Damon had the chance to explore, unaccompanied and uninhibited by the servants. He didn't care about the grand hallways or cherry oak balustrades and colonnades or even the sprawling murals on the walls. He could see it all in his own home. What intrigued him was the old cars in the garage. They were from the Era of Silence where everything was grandiose and intricate. The first time he saw them he could only imagine the effort that went into crafting such articulate pieces.
Damon happily left the estate to cross the short distance outside-naming the bird calls and trees along the way-to see these old machines. Grandfather said they ran on steam, long before imulsion was converted for fuel. No matter how much Damon wanted to ride in one, Grandfather refused to power them up; he thought they might explode. Damon wasn't worried. In fact, now that they were effectively antiques, he knew he could do whatever he wanted with them. Grandfather was too old and crippled from the war to leave the comfort of the house. What he didn't know wouldn't hurt him.
The idea of playing with machines, of getting covered in grease and making a mess, was exhilarating. The Baird family was old money; he was trained to be quiet, always in control, and never raise his voice. Arguments were carried in quiet tones with raised eyebrows, never fully showing their anger or disappointment. He had never yelled at anyone, he had never put a toe out of line, and most of all, he had never had the chance to get dirty. Elinor Baird liked her world neat and tidy. If Damon had even a small piece of lint visible, Mother's lips became a thin line and her eyes zeroes in on the offending anomaly until Damon plucked it. Now was his chance to fight against his upbringing. His one small act of rebellion.
He grinned as he stepped up to the covered car. Grandfather kept the cars tarped because these models were manufactured without roofs. He ran his hand over the smooth material and then grabbed the edge and pulled it off with a flimsy flourish.
The wheels were large and thin. How did it even support such a large body? The windows were thick sheets of glass; add that to the weight of a full metal composition and it was a wonder the car ever moved. The hood was long and cylindrical. Grandfather opened the hood once and that was enough to make Damon salivate. He had always been interested in machinery but the obsession hadn't begun until he saw the twisting pipes so neat and compact under a thin sheet of metal. He had to know how it worked.
Damon jumped over the door and sat behind the wheel. The two rows of seats were plush benches. He could almost imagine himself driving this thing, but it was so clunky. He preferred the sleek machines of today. Not just cars but everything; as the years went on, machinery had become compact and usable for all people. Even in a recession people weren't afraid to empty their wallets for a good device, maybe even a new car.
He bent below the wheel and found a tangle of wires. He pulled the thin flashlight he'd been carrying out of his back pocket, shining it into the mess. From here the engine looked rusted. He sneered. He should have been expecting this from a car that ran on water.
Climbing out the cab, Damon walked to the front and pulled open the hood, propping it open with a wooden beam. Grandfather had organized his tools along the far wall, a relic from his days before his service. Damon wasn't sure which one would easily take apart the car-he wasn't even sure how to start-but that was the fun of discovery. He grabbed whatever looked useful and stood in front of the car. He rolled up his sleeves with a grin and prepared to dig in. Whatever happened, Grandfather wouldn't be using them anymore.