Humming to himself, Jay boarded the street trolley to Future Industries. He had woken up early that morning, giving himself ample time to wash up and get dressed. After all, first impressions are important, especially in an interview. Gone were the torn and tattered long sleeve shirt and chino pants that Jay had first arrived in, replaced with clothes that blended in. Not the expensive ones though, but still following the latest fashion trends. A simple double-breasted tangzhuang, along with knee breeches and high boots. The salesman had said it was almost the same as the Fire Ferret Brothers, whoever they were.
Sitting at a window seat inside the trolley, Jay went through his cover story again. He was from the lower ring in Ba Sing Se, had always been interested in technology, left for a better life in Republic City to escape the Earth Queen Hou-Ting. Satisfied, he started reading a book to pass the time as the trolley travelled towards Sokka Avenue, where the Future Industries headquarters were located.
Suddenly, the trolley jerked to a halt. "Ladies and gentlemen, we regret to inform you that due to road works ahead, this trolley will stop here," the driver of the trolley called out. A murmur rose from the inside the trolley, and the passengers soon began to file off the vehicle. Shaking his head, Jay got out of his seat and disembarked, while the driver was still droning on about the other trolley routes that are still operational.
"Where am I?" Jay asked aloud as he studied the map inside the trolley stop. He was not far for Sokka Avenue, about a short 10 minutes walk. Checking his watch, Jay still had an hour to the interview, giving him ample time to reach. 'And that's why you always leave the house early,' he smiled to himself, before setting off for Future Industries.
Soon, the large towering headquarters of Future Industries could be seen. It was a skyscraper, although much like the other buildings in Republic City, there was a hint of Chinese stylings. It had a broad base, although it slims in width as it gets taller, with ornate yellow tiles each time it shrinks in width. At the very top, there was a green metal spire, much like that on the Empire State Building.
"Come on! What is wrong with you!" As Jay reached a street corner, he suddenly heard someone complaining loudly. Turning the corner, Jay saw a car, or Satomobile as it was referred to in this world, parked by the side of the road. Unlike many of the other satomobiles he had seen, this was more of a sporty coupe, resembling those in the 1920 - 30s rather than a powered palanquin. However, its hood was open and a figure clad in a dark red and black jacket with high boots was hunched over the engine.
"Is something wrong? Need any help?" Jay asked as he stepped forward. The figure straightened up before lowering the hood slightly to see who was speaking, allowing Jay to get a better look as well. She was young, and beautiful with raven colored hair, bright green eyes, and her face was a fine shade of pale.
"Yea. It's the engine, something's broken. Don't worry though, I already called for someone tow it back," she replied as she lowered the hood, covering the engine.
"Oh I see. Mind if I take a look though?" Jay asked. The young woman arched her eyebrows and looked at Jay for a second or two, but in the end just shrugged and popped the hood. Inside was the heart of the car - the engine. Although primitive by modern standards, it was still an engineering marvel, filled with mechanical parts. Looking around, Jay soon found the problem.
"It appears that your cylinder valve is damaged. The camshaft should be fine, but this pushrod is definitely broken. You would have to replace it," Jay called out with his head still under the hood as he continued prodding. "This engine could have been designed better," he muttered he lowered the hood back shut.
Looking up, Jay saw the woman staring at him with her mouth slightly agape in surprise. Quickly recomposing herself, she quickly said, surprise evident in her voice, "I'm quite surprised you know so much about car engines. They are rather new technology. By the way, my name is Asami."
Jay reached out and shook her gloved hands."Nice to meet you Asami, I am Jay. And yea I'm kinda interested in technology and I read a lot… so I guess that's how I know about car engines?" Jay spoke up again. Asami seemed like a nice young woman. Apparently, she was also interested in cars, which was surprising to Jay since that is a rare trait, especially considering the time period they were in.
Suddenly, a nearby public clock caught Jay's eye. There was only 10 minutes left to the reporting time for the interview. Jay quickly reached for his coat he had placed on the roof of the car, before hurriedly saying to Asami, "Hey Asami, it was nice talking to you but I've gotta go. I'm kinda running a little late. Bye!" With that, he grabbed his coat and began brisk walking towards the tall skyscraper.
"Bye Jay!" Asami called out as Jay walked off. He seemed like a decent young man who was also interested in technology like herself. However, as she leaned on the side of her car while waiting for the Future Industries tow truck to arrive, Asami couldn't stop thinking of what Jay had said. 'This engine could have been designed better…' Jay's voice keep repeating over and over in her head. After all, she was the lead designer for this new engine. 'Looks like I need to find him to have a talk with him' she thought to herself.
Jay was almost sweating by the time he reached Future Industries headquarters. After asking the receptionist for directions, he quickly made his way into the holding room for the interviewees. Inside the room were about half a dozen young men like himself. Taking a seat amongst them, Jay waited for the interviewing process to begin.
The interview process soon began. First, they were interviewed by a panel of interviewers from Future Industries. They were asked the basic question - who they were, why they wanted this job and so on. They were then lead to another room where they had to sit for a test. The questions were pretty basic mechanical engineering and physics questions, which Jay easily breezed through. Once they were done, they were lead to yet another room. This time however, instead of a sheet of paper, each of them were provided with a large box filled with parts.
The candidates were tasked to assemble various mechanical devices from their parts. As Jay did the tasks assigned, he looked around the room. It was a fairly large room, similar in size to a large conference room, yet on one side a large mirror had been installed. As Jay looked at the mirror, he realised that it was actually a two way mirror. No doubt that the company's executive would all be watching from behind it - a common practice for many companies in Jay's world. Shrugging to himself, he went back to assembling a simple internal combustion engine.
The last and final stage was a face to face interview with the CEO of Future Industries, Hiroshi Sato, one of Republic City's most successful industrialists. Born dirt poor, he managed to secure investment for his idea - the satomobile - creating the first viable personal automobile and building one of the most successful companies in Republic City. "Sorry for the long wait. Mr Sato and his daughter would see you soon," the staff said as she led Jay into a meeting room on one of the upper levels. He was the last one left in the waiting room, after all the other candidates have left.
Jay twiddled his thumbs as he waited for Hiroshi and his daughter to enter the meeting room. Before long, the door creaked open and Hiroshi stepped in. Much like Jay's previous boss Chang, Hiroshi also had a pince-nez that perched on his nose. However, unlike Chang, Hiroshi commanded an air of wealth, from his well-groomed side part to the elaborate designs on his jacket. In his hand, he held a small paper file.
"Good afternoon, Mr Sato. My name is Jay," Jay immediately stood up and extended his hand towards Hiroshi, who shook it with a firm grip as he said, "Please to meet you Jay."
"My daughter would be joining us shortly, so in the meantime tell me more about yourself," Hiroshi said as he sat down opposite Jay. Following suit, Jay sat back into his chair, before starting to talk about his cover story.
"Ahh, another one with humble beginnings," Hiroshi said as Jay finished his backstory. He then went on to tell the story that Jay was familiar with, how he went from a dirt poor shoe shiner to the leader of the industry. To Jay, it seemed that Hiroshi was extremely proud of his achievement, and to his credit, it was indeed a remarkable achievement, especially considering the inequality gap in Republic City. "...and so this is the story, of how Future Industries came about from an idea in a shoe shiner's head," Hiroshi ended his story dramatically.
A clapping sound filled the room. "Forgive my father, he always gets so dramatic and emotional when telling his success story," a female voice called out from the doorway. Somehow, this voice sounded familiar to Jay. As he was wondering where he had heard this voice, the figure stepped out from behind Hiroshi, revealing herself to be none other than Asami.
"Jay?" Asami said as she saw Jay sitting down in his chair, shock in her voice.
"Asami? I'm sorry I mean Miss Sato," Jay blurted out, unable to contain his surprise.
"You two know each other?" Hiroshi asked, arching his eyebrows as his eyes darted from his daughter to the young man, and back to his daughter again.
"Yes Dad. He's the one I told you about. The one I met when my car broke down," Asami exclaimed as she took a seat beside her father. Hiroshi nodded, before opening the file and saying, "So now Jay, let's get on with the interview."
The interview proceeded just like how any interview would. Soon, the interview came to an end. "Just one last question. What are your thoughts about me inventing the world's first engine powered vehicle?" Hiroshi asked as he closed the paper file, while Asami leaned back in her chair as she intently studied Jay. Inside Jay's mind, something seemed a little off to him.
"World's first engine powered vehicle? As in the first vehicle not engine or bending powered?" Jay asked, to which Hiroshi nodded.
"With all due respect sir, I do not think you invented it," Jay spoke, while a hint of surprise crawled onto Asami's face. "What do you mean?" Hiroshi further prompted.
"Well, you see, during the Hundred Year War, motor vehicles already existed. Those were military equipment. There were personal vehicle powered by a steam engine invented almost a century ago, although it wasn't a success, unlike the Satomobile. So in my opinion, you did not invent the world's first engine powered vehicle, but you did create the world's first viable and mass-produced personal motor vehicle which is the Satomobile," Jay elaborated. Although he was sure of the facts and that this was a trick question, Jay still couldn't help but worry what would happen in the off chance it was not.
Hiroshi smiled knowingly towards Asami, who returned the gesture. He then stood up, and Jay followed suit. Shaking Jay's hand, Hiroshi said, "I'm impressed. This not only shows you know your facts, but you are also keen enough to pick up the error. Most interviewees would go on to rattle about how they were inspired by my successes. Thank you for your time Jay. Please get ready, we will be heading off soon."
"Don't mind me asking, but where are we going?"
"Kwong's Cuisine," Hiroshi replied. Kwong's Cuisine was one of the fanciest restaurants in the entirety of Republic City. While Chang's restaurant had grown to be popular amongst the upper classes, Kwong's Cuisine was reserved for important business deals and the most upper class of Republic City.
"Kwong's Cuisine?" Jay asked, confusion all over his face.
"Yes, Kwong's Cuisine. I like to take my employees there to eat sometimes," Hiroshi said as he stepped out of his office, grabbing his coat and hat along the way.
"Wait… so you're saying…" Jay called out after Hiroshi, only to be cut off by Asami. "Yes Jay, you are hired."