Deltin Selvin

In the darkness of his workshop, found on the periphery of an upscale district of Malford, Deltin lit a pile of coal, his last pile of coal, in the firebasket of his makeshift boiler. As he did so, the room flared to life, torches long since abandoned as a luxury he could not afford, the pipework monstrosity in front of him was the only source of light and heat in the room. The flames at its heart fighting against the blizzard raging outside. He had been so close last time. If the blasted copper pipe above his head hadn't burst when he had tried diverting the steam into it, it might have worked. No matter now. It had cost him much, but there were several bands of steel reinforcing the patched thin capillary pipe he hypothesized was so important to what he was trying to accomplish. If he forced a large amount of steam through a thin space, it would have no option but to move VERY quickly, allowing it to push or drive something far heavier than he could have shifted himself. Several minutes passed uneventfully. Suddenly, the massive stone wheel beside him shifted, just an inch or so, before clicking backwards to its original position on the attached cog. Certainly no more activity than he had seen on previous, far less desperate attempts. Warming himself against his life's work, Deltin resigned himself as a failure. Destined to be forgotten. He would likely starve soon, with no food remaining, and no useful skills to make a living with. He could scrap his invention's materials for a few days, perhaps, and be left by the next moon with even less than he had now. The dull silvery metal reinforcing the pipe that just might have been his undoing would fetch a decent price, he supposed. He closed his eyes, and tried to sleep. As soon as he had done so, he heard a mighty groan. Sitting up quickly, he looked around. His piston was pumping faster than it usually did (was there perhaps a leak in it as well? No matter, it made no difference now). Not even bothering to hope, he turned around, to face the stone wheel.

Deltin grinned, his first true smile in months. He would not starve this week. In fact, he knew he would not ever go hungry again.