?Look, Val ? ya see there, th? way th? metal?s turnin? redder? Means tha? it?s ready. Now ya pull open th? door ? make sure yer on th? backside?a it ? an? then stan? ready on th? crank of th? drawplate.? Johnny?s voice was calm as he prepared to move the block of gold from the small jewelry kiln. It had already been shaped to a slight taper at one end.
Val nodded, his red hair bristling around from the straps that held his goggles in place. Both Johnny and Val were wearing leather aprons, but where Val was also sporting smoked-glass goggles and sturdy leather mitts, Johnny had lowered the silver film over his eyes and needed no protection for his hands ? the advantages of his modifications. Johnny inhaled and then held his breath before nodding in return to the boy.
The kiln door swung open, Val standing carefully behind and away from it. The blast of heat that emerged into the room was still enough to suck breath from unprepared lungs ? the boy gasped when Johnny calmly reached into the kiln and pulled out the block of annealed gold. Val swung the kiln door shut and locked it before scurrying to the drawplate and crank.
Turning with the solid, heavy piece of shaped metal, Johnny set it into the mandrel and spun the clamp-end tight before he looked over at Val and grinned. ?Righ? ? tha? was real shiny. Ya ready ta work yer muscles now?? The silver film completely hid the bright sparkle of his green eyes. The boy had been working hard since the first day he arrived, as if he felt he constantly had to prove himself. He showed a knack for it, though ? a good instinct for the metal.
?A?course!? Among the other things Val was trying to pick up from Johnny was his accent. Sometimes it was all Johnny could do to keep a straight face, listening to the boy?s street-tones stretched out in an approximation of Outer Rims drawl. Now the red-head started turning the crank on the drawplate. It was slow work, with Johnny regulating the feed of metal via the mandrel and Val straining at the crank.
Gradually the gold pushed through the plate, fractionally narrower than when it had started, a thick cylinder rather than the blocky rectangle. ?Shake ou? yer arm now, an? then I?ll take a turn crankin? while ya push it through.? Johnny shifted the drawplate to the next smaller hole, then refastened the cylinder into the mandrel.
?Hey, Mister Johnny, why?re ya making th? wire this way? I mean, ya got yer mods and I know ya can just pull it inta shape.? Val asked while pumping his right arm up and down, back and forth, stretching out his muscles.
?Well, coupl?a reasons. Firs? is tha? it?s jus? goo? ta practice th? basics. I din? have m?mods when I was startin? ou?, I had ta learn how ta do all this th? har? way.? Johnny answered Val seriously while the boy took his turn at the mandrel, and Johnny at the crank. ?Secon? is tha? I can use m? mods ta thin th? wire, bu? doin? it this way th? metal will actually be stronger ? th? molecules compress an? bon? better. Tha?s why I usually make m?own wire this way, if I don? buy it ready. An? final reason?s tha? ya need ta learn how ta do this too.?
Val?s reply was more of a thoughtful grunt while he turned the mandrel handle evenly. Finally he asked, ?So why?d ya get th? mods if ya can do everything without them??
Johnny grinned. ?Well, jus? because I can do thin?s th? lon? way aroun? doesn? mean tha? I don? like th? shortcuts. Plus, there?s still some thin?s I can only do with th? mods ? especially th? vision stuff, an? some?a th? smalles? manipulations. Ain? thin?s ya have ta have ta make good jewelry, bu? it gives me an edge. Plus, it helps th? sculpture stuff I do fer myself.? He shrugged, but never paused in turning the crank that fed the soft gold through the drawplate.
?Ge? ready ta pull th? kiln door again ? goin? ta hav?ta pu? it back in after this time. Sometimes ya ge? three pulls through th? plate, sometimes two ? usually two in th? beginnin?, when it?s thick like this.? Johnny caught the rod of gold as the last of it fed through the drawplate. Val nodded and darted to the kiln door, this time turning his face away when he pulled it open. Johnny slid the gold into place, then took the door and shut it with a grin. ?Now ? we wai?.?
Val nodded, his red hair bristling around from the straps that held his goggles in place. Both Johnny and Val were wearing leather aprons, but where Val was also sporting smoked-glass goggles and sturdy leather mitts, Johnny had lowered the silver film over his eyes and needed no protection for his hands ? the advantages of his modifications. Johnny inhaled and then held his breath before nodding in return to the boy.
The kiln door swung open, Val standing carefully behind and away from it. The blast of heat that emerged into the room was still enough to suck breath from unprepared lungs ? the boy gasped when Johnny calmly reached into the kiln and pulled out the block of annealed gold. Val swung the kiln door shut and locked it before scurrying to the drawplate and crank.
Turning with the solid, heavy piece of shaped metal, Johnny set it into the mandrel and spun the clamp-end tight before he looked over at Val and grinned. ?Righ? ? tha? was real shiny. Ya ready ta work yer muscles now?? The silver film completely hid the bright sparkle of his green eyes. The boy had been working hard since the first day he arrived, as if he felt he constantly had to prove himself. He showed a knack for it, though ? a good instinct for the metal.
?A?course!? Among the other things Val was trying to pick up from Johnny was his accent. Sometimes it was all Johnny could do to keep a straight face, listening to the boy?s street-tones stretched out in an approximation of Outer Rims drawl. Now the red-head started turning the crank on the drawplate. It was slow work, with Johnny regulating the feed of metal via the mandrel and Val straining at the crank.
Gradually the gold pushed through the plate, fractionally narrower than when it had started, a thick cylinder rather than the blocky rectangle. ?Shake ou? yer arm now, an? then I?ll take a turn crankin? while ya push it through.? Johnny shifted the drawplate to the next smaller hole, then refastened the cylinder into the mandrel.
?Hey, Mister Johnny, why?re ya making th? wire this way? I mean, ya got yer mods and I know ya can just pull it inta shape.? Val asked while pumping his right arm up and down, back and forth, stretching out his muscles.
?Well, coupl?a reasons. Firs? is tha? it?s jus? goo? ta practice th? basics. I din? have m?mods when I was startin? ou?, I had ta learn how ta do all this th? har? way.? Johnny answered Val seriously while the boy took his turn at the mandrel, and Johnny at the crank. ?Secon? is tha? I can use m? mods ta thin th? wire, bu? doin? it this way th? metal will actually be stronger ? th? molecules compress an? bon? better. Tha?s why I usually make m?own wire this way, if I don? buy it ready. An? final reason?s tha? ya need ta learn how ta do this too.?
Val?s reply was more of a thoughtful grunt while he turned the mandrel handle evenly. Finally he asked, ?So why?d ya get th? mods if ya can do everything without them??
Johnny grinned. ?Well, jus? because I can do thin?s th? lon? way aroun? doesn? mean tha? I don? like th? shortcuts. Plus, there?s still some thin?s I can only do with th? mods ? especially th? vision stuff, an? some?a th? smalles? manipulations. Ain? thin?s ya have ta have ta make good jewelry, bu? it gives me an edge. Plus, it helps th? sculpture stuff I do fer myself.? He shrugged, but never paused in turning the crank that fed the soft gold through the drawplate.
?Ge? ready ta pull th? kiln door again ? goin? ta hav?ta pu? it back in after this time. Sometimes ya ge? three pulls through th? plate, sometimes two ? usually two in th? beginnin?, when it?s thick like this.? Johnny caught the rod of gold as the last of it fed through the drawplate. Val nodded and darted to the kiln door, this time turning his face away when he pulled it open. Johnny slid the gold into place, then took the door and shut it with a grin. ?Now ? we wai?.?