u/Paradoxbuilder

Nothing ever happens out here, and that’s the truth.

Well, not really nothing. Ms. Andrews at school is always after us to be accurate in our speech, and so I can’t say that “nothing” happens. There was the game last week, that was pretty cool. And we went on a trip to the next town, where there was a fair. That was nice.

But nothing really interesting happens. I wake up, I eat breakfast, I go to school. Rinse and repeat. There’s a new bike I’ve been fixing to buy, but besides that…boring.

I don’t want to turn out like Dad. He’s out the door at six everyone morning and doesn’t come back till about eight on some days. I know he works hard, and I’m grateful. It’s just that…I want more out of life.

Everyone tells me I’ll change my mind when I’m older, but I don’t think so.

Especially Dad. What’s that he’s always telling me? “Hard work makes the world go round, son.” He’ll say after downing a beer. “The factory’s kept this town going a long time. You should be grateful, you know. Work hard, and you’ll never want for money.”

I guess he’s right…sort of. We’re not poor, but we’re not rich either. And the factory has been good for the town. Has to be, right? I mean, everyone works there. Probably even me someday.

It’s a worthwhile trade, I guess. It just seems boring – just like almost everything else around here.

There’s got to be something fun to do once in a while. I guess I’ll go see what Jake has in mind.

Turns out Jake was visiting his uncle, so it was just me all alone. Figures.

There aren’t many teenagers my age besides Jake – at least, not that live close by, anyway. So I’m on my own a lot anyway. I should buy the bike. Would give me something to do. I’ve saved up enough, anyway.

Mom hustled me out the door because she doesn’t like me in the house when she has company over. Not that there’s that much to do at home anyway besides watch TV…and there’s nothing good on.

So I just sit on the hill and watch the clouds go by. The orbital lasers are doing their work – once in a while I’ll see one hit a target and it’ll come streaking on by. It’s quite pretty, in it’s own way. When I was a kid we used to guess which were shooting stars and which were laser targets.

But I’m not a kid anymore, and soon they’ll expect me to start working at the factory. Sigh.

“…another victory for the Mobile Defense Unit, Zeruon!”

“Dear, will you turn it down? I’m trying to listen to the radio in here?”

Remind me not to stay home when both my parents are around. Mom wants the radio on when she’s cooking – says it helps her concentrate. Dad wants the TV on when he’s resting – says it helps him relax.

Dad glowered at the kitchen but reached out with his remote. So…Mom won. She always does in the end.

“It was a tough battle for our boys today, but they beat back the invaders without a single casualty! Let’s show our appreciation for them by writing in!”

“Don’t you ever get bored of the news?” The words slipped out before I could stop them.

“What do you mean, son?” Dad looked at me strangely. “I never do. I’m proud to watch it every day, proud. It’s good to see my work making a difference.”

You just make the parts. They probably don’t know you exist. I’ve wanted to say that more than once, but I never do. There are some things you just don’t say out loud.

“I guess…” I mumble to myself. Another boring day. At least my bike’s going to arrive tomorrow.

“You know what? I think I haven’t been spending enough time with you lately. Let’s say I help you get your bike all sorted out tomorrow. Whaddya say?”

I smile a little at that. I give my Dad some grief but I know he works hard to give us all a house and home. Things have been tough ever since Grandma got sick, and…I try not to give him a hard time.

“Thanks, Dad. I think I’d like that.”

I whoop as I go down one hill and then just as quickly up another one. This is fun!

The bike turned out to be a lot easier to put together than I thought…which was just as well as Dad was called away to work again. Why am I not surprised? I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up.

Jake also came back…but he went straight to work at the factory. Turns out his dad didn’t want him “lollygagging around all day” His words, not mine.

So that just left me and my bike. Which suited me just fine. How does someone be lonely with a great piece of gear like this?

I went up another hill and down another one. And again. And again. The thrill never quite wore off, but I was getting used to the bike’s speeds.

So I got cocky. I admit it. I really shouldn’t have done what I did…but hey hindsight is 20/20 and all that, right? I tried to get fancy with the way I landed – I was fixing to do a spin like you see they do on TV.

Instead I just ended up losing control and crashing the whole damn thing into a hill. I managed to get out of the mess with just a skinned knee…but the bike wasn’t so lucky. It was banged up pretty bad.

I cursed as I pedaled the thing home. I had just bought it too. Where was I going to get the money to fix it?

“Really? Alright. I’ll tell him the good news.” Dad put the phone down with a smile on his face.

“You can start tomorrow. I’ve put in a good word with the foreman for you.”

I knew I should have said something, but instead all I did was nod, while I watched the TV. It was the news again – it was always the news at this hour, for basically every set in town.

“It was a tough battle today…Zeruon lost an arm and sustained heavy damage. Another Mobile Defense Unit will be covering for it while it gets repaired. But don’t lose hope! It will take more than that to stop the Earth Defense Forces!”

Did the announcer need to sound so enthusiastic all the time? Maybe it was in his contract…

“Aren’t you going to thank your father?” Mom appeared in the doorway with her hands on her hips. “Honestly, this boy of ours…”

“Come now, Mary, it’s ok. He’s probably just overwhelmed by it all. He’s starting a little early…wasn’t planning on this till next year!” Dad beamed at me as I got up.

“Yeah well, ummm…thanks Dad.” I managed to get out. I couldn’t bear to tell him that working at the factory was the only way I could think of to get the money to repair my bike in a short period of time.

Besides…I would end up working there anyway. Everyone did. Jake, Dad…everyone.

So…it’s not really that bad here. Although it’s about as boring as I thought it would be.

I’m new, so all I get to do is work on the casings. We inspect them all as they go in. If we spot a dud, we just call out. It’s simple enough, but it takes a lot of concentration.

Jake is pretty happy that I’m here. He went around telling everyone that he was my friend (“can you believe it? Starting at his age?) until I told him to be quiet.

I’m just here until I get enough money to repair my bike. Until I’m here for good, that is.

The food at the cafeteria is surprisingly good. Not as good as Mom’s, but then nothing is. After that it’s back to work, which is boring…but not mind-numbingly so.

There was a spirited conversation going on at lunch that I didn’t quite understand, something about the union? I ask Jake about it during our free time.

“Oh, the foreman is just pushing for more rights for the workers here. We work hard, so we want more days off and better health coverage. He’s seeing what he can do.”

Hmm. Never really thought about that before. Although I do remember the one time Dad got sick and we didn’t need to pay anything at all. Funny that I didn’t remember it until now.

“So, how are you liking your first day?”

I mumble something noncommittally. I like Jake and all, but I’d really rather talk about my bike than my time here. Break time is over soon, though, and it’s back to work. For everyone.

The evening rolls around, and most of us pack and up get ready to leave, but not before everyone gathers in front of the largest screen I’ve ever seen. They’re watching the news, of course.

“Do you all do this every day?” I ask. Stupid question. Of course they did.

“Yeah, but it’s also quality control, you know? We have to make sure that what we produce is up to snuff.” Jake speaks with the air of a veteran, even though he’s only been working a little longer than I have.

“This is just the stuff that makes it on the news. After this, the supervisor will get the actual combat footage and make sure the teams get to see it. They’ll review it, then let us know if anything needs to be changed. Once every week, there’s a meeting with quality control and the union as well, just to make sure everything’s running smoothly.”

I had no idea there was so much work involved. I guess you…learn something new every day and all that.

Dad’s resting at home today for a change, while I’m going to work. He makes the expected joke about how I’m taking over way earlier than he is, and I just smile. I’m still going to stop after I fix my bike. I think I’m about halfway there.

Mom’s stew puts me in a good mood so much so that I don’t even notice the news until Dad points at it.

“…and that’s how Zeruon has managed to topple another threat to the capital! We’re now going LIVE to hear from Zeruon’s pilot himself, Keith Edwards!”

“Well, Byron, I can’t take all the credit, really I can’t. I have my backup crew to thank, and everyone who works hard behind the scenes. I mean, I don’t even maintain the robot myself! And then they’re the fine people who make the parts for Zeruon…I don’t think they get enough credit, actually.”

“Strong, noble AND humble? We don’t deserve you!”

The pilot laughs it off as Dad beams at the screen. “You see! We’re finally getting the respect we deserve. At least this pilot’s a good one…most times we don’t get any recognition at all.”

“Eat your stew before it gets cold, dear.” Mom says with an indulgent smile. She knows that if she lets him get on his soapbox, he won’t get down for a long time, and so she wisely heads him off.

I give her a grateful smile. I just want to enjoy my food in peace.

But…I’m sort of with Dad on this one. Just a little bit. Our whole town works hard, so it’s nice to get mentioned once in a while. Even without any names or anything. Just so the world knows we’re doing our bit for world peace.

So after about a month I move up one rung, onto production. We get to actually work on the parts now…whoopdy-doo.

It’s actually…more involved than it looks. There’s a lot than going into each part, and I’m just on the minor assembly crew. The joints have to be adjusted to be just right, the sockets maintained, the circuit housing…it’s a million and one fine details.

I messed up a bit when I first started, but the foreman was gentle with me and get someone (not Jake) to supervise me. I don’t make quite as many mistakes now, though I have to be careful.

And I get to grouse with the rest of the crew, which seems to be a pastime of theirs. Today we’re working on legs – just like we’ve been doing for the last two days.

“Another order of legs? What did he do with the last one?”

“Lost them to the invaders, which you’d know if you ever bothered to watch the news.” Says Jake with a smile.

“Well I don’t. I have better things to do with my time.”

“Like get into crashes with your beloved dirt bike?”

I frowned at that. What a man does in his spare time in his business, and there shouldn’t be anyone poking fun at him for it. But when you live in a town as small as this one…well, let’s just say that everyone gets into everyone’s else’s affairs some of the time – well, heck, all of the time.

So I crashed my bike once – ONCE – and someone saw it. And of course he had to go tell someone, who then told – it didn’t really matter. Basically everyone knew, and they didn’t let me forget it.

But apart from some good-natured ribs, they didn’t really make too much fun of me after the first day or so. Which was good – I was afraid it was going to be like high school all over again.

I got a little prickly about it at first, which I guess is why Jake had to come over on the second day and explain it all to me.

“Dude, that’s how they welcome you here. You’re one of us now. You did something silly and we tease you about it, just like how Steve messed up his fishing trip last month, and Dave bought the wrong plugs and couldn’t return it, and…”

“…how you asked out Alice and she said no? Four times?”

Jake got a little red at that one, but to his credit he just grinned weakly and agreed. “Yeah. Just like that. It’s like the complaining we do. No one really means it. Just harmless fun and stress relief.”

“Okay…I think I get it now.” And I did. “And ummm, thanks for letting me know.”

“You’re a smart guy – way smarter than me – but it seemed like you didn’t quite understand, so I was glad I could sort you out. See you at lunch!” he said with a wave, and then he was gone, leaving me to stare at an unmarked casing.

Okay, so they had some kind of weird hazing ritual…I could live with that. And it wasn’t as bad as some of the ones I’d heard or seen. And from what I’d seen, the crew DID stick together.

A guy could get used to working here…at least until his bike was paid for, at least.

“Go see your grandma, willya? And bring some soup with you while you’re at it.”

“Do I have to?” I asked as I watched the TV. The news was almost on, and I wanted to see how Zeruon had fared recently.

“Yes you do. As long as you’re in my house, you will do as I say, young man.”

There was no arguing with Mom when she used that tone of voice. Grumbling, I got up, got my coat and bundled food into my backpack. At least it would be an excuse to ride my bike – which had finally been fixed.

Truth be told, I didn’t really mind visiting Grandma. She stayed in bed most of the time now, so all I would do is read to her, and sing some songs – I can’t sing for nuts, but she never seemed to mind. The nurses do most of the work, and there’s always an attendant around, so we don’t have to worry.

I frown as I remember how much Dad used to worry until the factory sent someone to the union to work it all out. Then I shake my head to get rid of the bad memories and I try to enjoy the wind in my face as I pedal all the way there.

It’s a pretty long way – good exercise for me. I relish the feeling of my legs pumping and the wheels of my bike turning as I make my way down the highway. I’ve forgotten how beautiful everything is this time of year.

I get to the house a bit early, and Grandma is happy to see me, as she always is. I don’t think she can understand much of what I’m saying anymore, but I try my best to speak slowly. She used to be a lot more fun, before she started getting too old. We used to have fun fishing crawdads in the river when I was a kid…when Grandma was still alive.

Then the invaders came and messed it all up.

I try not to think about that too much when I’m at the house. That’s the one part I don’t like about visiting her – all the memories. Instead I just share soup and stories and read her books until it’s time for watch the news. Everyone watches the news – even Grandma.

Zeruon’s doing pretty well out there, and I feel a little – just a little – tickle of pride as I see how the new casings are holding up. I’ll bet he couldn’t throw Megaton Punches without our crew making sure the arm conductors were working just right. No sirree.

As I pedal home after I kiss Grandma goodnight I know Zeruon does a good job of protecting us…most times.

I just wish it was every time.

“What do they want now?”

“Three arms, one leg replacement…it’s going to mean a long day for us.” Jake moans.

“What are we waiting for, then? Let’s get the show on the road!” It might be a long day, but there’s no way I’m letting Zeruon go into action without enough spare parts. At least not while I have anything to do with it – and I do.

I’m head of the assembly team now. I didn’t expect it, but I caught a malfunction one day and finished ahead of schedule the next week and before I know it…the foreman is shaking my hand and I’ve got a whole new set of overalls to wear. With a new cap.

I don’t know how I did it. I just work hard, that’s all. Dad kept beaming throughout the whole dinner that night, but I told Mom I didn’t want anything special. She still made me my favorite fried chicken.

I guess…it did feel good. Really good, in fact. When I woke up the next morning I looked at my badge a little before putting it on. Then I got in extra early so I could look at the schematics before my team came in. Gotta set a good example.

I’ve been doing some reading up on Zeruon in my spare time. Damn, it takes a lot to get that hunk of metal working! The science is all way beyond me, but I like reading up about the past pilots. Some of them weren’t too good (at least that’s how I see it) but before the propaganda machine really started up, they just took whoever they could get who could make the damn thing move.

A lot of them were ex-military, like Grandpa was. Some had to be conscripted, but some volunteered willingly. The aliens were everyone’s problem, after all.

The scientists come next, and then the technicians…so many people, all doing the best they can. I can’t even remember all their names, they’re just too many of them. And all those are just for Zeruon. I know there are other Mobile Defense Units…but Zeruon’s ours. And we have to make sure it works just right.

I can’t spend too much time on the books, though. We have parts to make, and a war to win. I just read the rest at home most of the time now.

We completed that order and started work on the next one. Jake complains that I work them all too hard, but I just want us to be prepared. There’s no telling what kind of invaders will come next – why, just the other day there was this lizard thing on the news. It almost got through the plate armor, but the heat shielding held, and one Megaton Punch later it was down.

I cheered, and my whole crew cheered with me. I let them order pizza while we were watching the news, as long as no one got anything dirty (they didn’t) It was the least I could do for them.

What’s that my Dad is always saying about hard work? I’m not going to let the factory lose out to everyone else, no sirree. Zeruon is a team effort. We’ll show those invaders that hard work makes a difference.

Memorial Day is coming up.

It’s as somber an occasion as they come. No one works for a few days, and everyone dresses in black – well, not everyone, but a lot of folk do. There are speeches, and a procession. All the flags fly at half-mast.

I used to hate the holiday. It was so…different than everything I’d ever experienced. Doesn’t really seem like a holiday when everyone’s so sad, right? At least that’s what I thought when I was a kid.

Now that I’m older…I kind of get it. We have to celebrate the bad times, too. The things that didn’t happen as much as the things that did. We have to make sure we don’t forget, so we can do better next time. Maybe that’s what part of growing up is like.

Some people blame the pilot for what happened that day. Some blame the military, the parts, the science behind it…and for a long time, I think I did too. I listened to all the speeches and each year, another point of view seemed to be more reasonable than the last.

But from where I’m standing now (which is near the head of the procession, since I’m the assembly line head and all) I don’t even think about blame. None of that is going to bring Grandpa back. Nor any of the other hundreds who died on that day. They all did their best – which is just what I’m going to as well.

We have a duty. A responsibility. It’s not just our town anymore…it’s the whole world. Our factory needs to produce the best parts it possibly can, so that the Mobile Defense Units have one less worry on their hands.

The procession is a short one this year, which is just as well – I have a lot of work that needs to be done. Paperwork, too – I hate that, but it comes with the job.

I keep waiting for Dad to tell me he’s proud of me, until one day I realized I don’t need to. I can see it in his eyes every time I get ready for work and go out the door.

Before I know it, it’s been a year. My bike has sat unused in the corner of the shed for a while, but my parents haven’t said a word. They’re too smart to do that.

Jake is saying I’ll make foreman one day at the rate I’m going and I know there have been some whispering in the head office to that effect. Whatever. I don’t really care.

I got to meet Keith Edwards last week. He came down to the factory, shook everyone’s hand. He seems like a real standup guy, not just what the tabloids say. I looked him right in the eye and told him that he wouldn’t have to worry about quality control for his lasers when I was in charge.

He laughed and slapped me on the back. I can still feel it.

I thought I wanted some excitement in my life, but I realized that actually I just want to do a good job and make sure everyone’s safe. To work hard, then go home, eat a nice dinner with in the company of my family and then do it all over again.

It’s not glamorous, but it’s…what do you call it, worthwhile? Meaningful? It’s what Grandpa would have wanted, I think.

But enough talking. The head unit needs replacement (always a pain, that one) the molecular converter could use an overhaul and we’ll need…let’s see here, four arms and three legs before the day is out. What do they think we are, machines?

But they’ll get them. Oh, they’ll get them. And then the invaders can kiss their sorry alien butts goodbye. Because while they may have fangs, claws, and energy coming out God knows where, no one (and I mean NO ONE) works harder than my crew.

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