5/2/12020 – Science with Maeter

[START RECORDING]

[A slow, 80's beat accentuated by the staccato of funk guitar begins playing in the room just as the singer begins vocalizing for the entire measure. In place of the singer at the second measure, the saxophone comes in to emanate the same lively tone as the vocalist with the company of soft harmonies in the background]

Amber: *singing* I hate… to sleep alone… in this big brass bed…. Since you… have gone away with your new girlfriend.

Ao: Dude, turn that shit down! You know we have finals to study for soon, right!?

Amber: Relax, Adroc. Finals are like in two weeks, and I already got one of my finals in the bag. Besides, I need to catch up with some of the stuff off Gramps' playlist.

Ao: First off, don't call me Adroc. Second, who the hell in school listens to Pre-Exodus music!?

Amber: Me, obviously. Wolfgang, Mrs. Matthews-

Ao: Mrs. Matthews is our music teacher, so it's her job to know Pre-Exodus music. Plus, this song sounds like something you'd hear from Gramps' old porno collection.

Amber: How DARE you spit on Mariya Takeuchi!

[Suddenly, the door knocks before it opens]

Maeter: What the hell is going on here?

Ao: *sighs* You see-

Maeter: I don't wanna know. Look, are you guys free by any chance?

Amber: Whose pet lizard do we have to kill this time?

Maeter: First off, it was your fault for putting the lamp so close to him. Lizards can still die from extremely high temperatures, you know.

Amber: But the scales were so shiny and cool…

Maeter: SECONDLY… my lab studies don't involve any animal test subjects, but I do need some extra hands.

Amber: Where's everyone else?

Maeter: Dad's paying bills, mom's washing dishes, Gramps is asleep, Maurice is busy writing articles, and Linck is working on his ref-board.

Amber: Ask yourself this: is forcing your younger siblings to do potentially dangerous manual labor the right thing to do?

Maeter: I'd say it's the fun thing to do, but lucky for you my science experiment isn't going to kill anyone today.

Amber: Aww.

Ao: What are you working on anyways, big sis?


[FIVE MINUTES LATER]

Amber: …

Ao: A… car engine?

Maeter: Not just any car engine. I've been working on a design that uses spark-controlled compression ignition to significantly improve overall fuel emissions.

Amber: Spark-controlled what now?

Ao: How long have you been working on it?

Maeter: Whole semester. I just moved it here since the undergrads back on campus are hogging it for their senior-level projects. It's been kind of a mess since I started working on it, but at least I got this room for myself while mom, dad, and Gramps run the shop for the day.

Amber: Which poor bastard's car did you rip the engine out of?

Maeter: No one's. It was donated from our Formula Racing team.

Ao: I thought the Formula team reused their engines with new improvements.

Maeter: Nah, new regulations changed all that. Now they're opting for smaller block engines with turbochargers. *sighs* Back in the day when there was no replacement for displacement.

Ao: I mean, from what I've read, smaller block turbocharged engines make as much power as naturally aspirated engines while sipping on less fuel.

Maeter: Still, I miss the old days where you can rev your car up to like 8000 RPMs…

Amber: OKAY, so to interrupt this techno talk, what exactly do you need us for?

Maeter: I need you two to remove the engine housing and clean up the block while I finish setting up the code and the compac drive for testing.

Amber: So, pry it open and clean up the insides. Shouldn't be too bad.

[Amber's sleeves can be heard rolling up. The tools on the floor lightly jingle as she steps towards the engine. She then begins to lightly grunt as she attempts to remove the light plastic housing covering the engine]

Maeter: Ugh, no, no, no, that is NOT how you do open up the block.

Amber: Well, I'm sorry I don't perform surgery on engines for a living!

Maeter: But you will help mom and dad with the shop eventually.

Amber: …

Maeter: *sighs* Here, I'll show you.


[FIVE MINUTES LATER]

Maeter: And just one more bolt… you got it. Now… ready?

[As one of the bolts drop onto the floor, Amber and Maeter begin to gently lift the cylinder head off the block, revealing the inner workings of the power unit]

Amber: Holy crap. It's dirtier than Linck's room.

Maeter: Or my desk. I'll get to work on the code. You guys get started on cleaning up. Just use the degreaser and the wipes off the side there.

Ao: Got it.

Amber: Hey, sis? Were you always into stuff like cars and IFOs?

Maeter: Me? Nah. Back when I was a kid, I wanted to become an artist.

Amber: Artist? Seriously?

Maeter: I used to draw a lot back then. I didn't go outside that much, and Maurice and Linck were the only people back in the Gekko I spent the most time playing. Mom was busy with Holland and the others fighting the Federation, and dad… well, sometimes he'd get the shaft when he's not with mom.

Ao: Shaft?

Maeter: *chuckles* Ah, shaft.

Amber: *snickers*

Maeter: No, but… believe it or not, dad was treated like a loser back in Gekkostate.

Amber: I seriously find that crap hard to believe.

Maeter: I'm serious. Ask him. Even Maurice, Linck, and I treated him like dirt! But everything changed when mom began to realize that dad was really the one to pilot Nirvash alongside her. Took a while for everyone else to get used to that, Maurice and Holland included… but I'm glad it happened. And now we're living just fine.

Amber: You don't miss life outside the war?

Maeter: Those times were pretty chaotic. Even mom and dad would agree. If anything, I'd rather pull all-nighters grading papers and help Sonia out with school research than fly in a war ship.

Amber: What about if you ever got roped into another adventure like that?

Maeter: Well, I'd be down if it's another trip to the beach in Nimbus but shooting my way out of dangerous situations isn't something I see myself doing anytime soon.

Amber: Aw… *mutters* you guys are the same.

Maeter: Hey, there are tons of other things to do besides flying IFOs or lifting in the hillside park. You'll find out soon enough.

Amber: *mutters* And if I don't?

Maeter: Come on, Amber. Step out of your comfort zone a little… and you too, Ao.

Ao: D-don't drag me into this!

Maeter: Dude, there's more to life than board games and that Switchbox you and everyone else plays. Go out a little, join some clubs.

Ao: Come on, you know they don't want me.

Maeter: You may not know this, but people are a lot more lenient to Coralians and hybrids than before. Besides, you never know 'till you try. You might even find a special lady by chance…

Ao: Aaaaand the engine's almost clean.

Amber: Jeez, that got awkward REAL fast.

Maeter: Good. Code's all fixed, and the new spark plugs are installed. Just need your help with putting everything back.


[FIVE MINUTES LATER]

Maeter: Whoo. Awesome! Now all we need to do is start 'er up and hopefully we'll get something.

Ao: So… how exactly does this work?

Maeter: Well, by concept this is supposed to be the world's first engine to burn fuel using diesel-style compression ignition. Regular engine use spark plugs to push the piston down when the air-fuel mixture inside gets compressed, but you get some energy loss in the process because the explosion inside is gradual. What I'm doing… well, what my team's doing, is making the ignition process quicker by moving the position of the spark plugs closer to the intake valves to make the combustion instant.

Ao: So you don't lose that much energy during the combustion process.

Maeter: Exactly. Look at you! You're a natural.

Amber: *mutters* Why can't HE work in the shop?

Maeter: Shush… also, don't forget your ear plugs.

[Maeter swiftly taps the keys from her laptop to initiate engine ignition. The engine quickly roars into life and slightly throttles up thanks to Maeter's controls]

Amber: SOUNDS PRETTY GOOD.

Maeter: THANK GOODNESS. I THOUGHT IT WAS GONNA BURST FOR A SECOND.

[Suddenly, the engine begins to knock back heavily; the cylinders inside start to burst louder than usual]

Maeter: Oh, shit.

Amber: THAT DOESN'T SOUND GOOD.

Maeter: AW, CRAP. I CAN'T TURN IT OFF.

Amber: WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T TURN IT OFF!?

Maeter: NO, MY COMPUTER'S FROZEN!

[The internal knocking sounds become more violent]

Ao: UH, GUYS?

Amber: MAETER, DO SOMETHING!

Maeter: I'M TRYING! GODDAMN IT, I DON'T WANT TO UPDATE MY BROWSER NOW!

Amber: COME ON, HURRY UP BEFORE THIS THING GIVES IN AND EXPLO-

[A loud explosion can be heard as the roof of the shed gets destroyed. The rapidly moving cylinders begin to slow down, with no air-fuel mixture to push down on them]

Maeter: …

Amber: …

Ao: …

Maeter: You guys okay?

Ao: Yeah. You?

Amber: … holy shit.

[Suddenly, quick footsteps can be heard approaching the back room. The door opens swiftly]

Eureka: …

Amber: …

Ao: …

Maeter: Hey, mom.

Eureka: What the hell just happened!?

[END RECORDING]


Okay. Hi.

So, uh, some stuff happened today.

Ao and I got dragged by Maeter to help her with her science experiment. That was fun. Big sis and I had some small talk about dad and Gekkostate. That was interesting.

Oh, and we blew off the roof of the back room at the garage. That was… not so great.

Apparently, I didn't tighten the cylinder manifold thingy too tightly and Maeter's computer was acting up, so it was all in all a recipe for disaster. Surprisingly, however, mom and dad DID NOT decide to ground us since it was an accident, and no one thankfully got hurt. I do remember dad saying something about using some of Maeter's scholarship money to pay off the roof though… that'd be hilarious.

You know, come to think of it, I do see Maeter doing stuff as a drawer or a painter. I mean, I remember looking over some of her class notes and her drawings always looked on point. Like, they're super detailed sketches of the real thing, which is pretty fucking cool if you ask me.

As for why she didn't go the Way of the Broke Liberal Arts Major, she told me right after dinner about the time where she started to really warm up with dad right after mom got pregnant with me. Dad started helping Gramps with working in the shop and even got around to building toys for me and everyone else during his spare time. Maeter started to like the toys dad made, and he even taught her how to make 'em themselves. Dad then started showing her some of the things he and Gramps were working on in the garage like the car or dad's old bike, which got her into those building toy sets (mom and dad still keep them in the attic… yeah, our whole family's sentimental like that). Soon, science quickly became her favorite subject and she threw herself into science fairs (where she pretty much wiped the competition all the way through high school) and the robotics club.

But yeah, basically it was dad who pretty much got her into science. Now she's working on stuff like the car engine thing for her class, and she does research and tutoring on top of that. She barely gets any free time on her own… even mom and dad worry about her pulling all-nighters for a couple of days straight just to get all of her stuff out of the way. But she tells me she doesn't mind all that because she loves doing what she does. And she wouldn't want it any other way.

I still don't really understand why she'd give up sleep on some days for her studies. I mean, yeah, it's school stuff but… do you really have to push yourself too hard for things like that? I can't blame dad for Maeter's messed up sleep schedule since she loves what she does, though. I dunno, I guess I'm just worried about her.

Makes me wonder if everyone else here loves doing the things they do. Mom, dad, and Gramps with the shop. Maurice with journalism and photography. Linck lifting and other stuff. Ao with… video games and tech stuff like Maeter.

You know… what am I good at? What do I love doing? Lifting? Well, yeah obviously. Traveling? Yeah, I can see myself doing that as well. Anything to get out of this piece of crap town.

But is it gonna be worth it? Is stuff like the PLF as bad as they say it is on the news? Are places like Meridian where people are still mad about the Coralians still worth passing by at least? What about the Secrets… I know, they're still rumors around these parts, but if they do happen to exist is it still worth the risk of going out there and seeing what the whole world has to offer?

Are people gonna be okay with meeting someone like me? I know most people in school are whatever about me, but there's people like Thom and his buddies who pick on me and Ao…

I really just don't know.

Guess I'll just have to wait and see.