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Paperworks
Mar. 30th, 2012 04:23 pmThere was no way around it: Moira's process for bleaching ruined prewar paper back to a usable state reeked. In a town defined by the smell of Brahmin and the bodies of dozens of people on limited water rations, the stench was still distinct and noticeable. And while it hadn't been a problem at first, it was starting to be a problem. When the wind blew right- which it did more often than not- the chemical odor oozing from the chinks in Craterside Supply's walls was enough to put even the strongest off their feed. Moira scarcely noticed, of course. She hardly ever did. But the Church of the Children of Atom did, and so did the people at Gob's. And so did the people trying to get to Gob's. And so did- well, it wasn't the kind of thing you could conceal from anybody nearby, that was the safest and most accurate way to put it.
Ellen didn't mind the smell herself, but she knew she was only one person. Sooner or later the other people in town would raise their own stink, and Sheriff Simms would be forced to step in. Considering how many books Moira was able to print on the bleached paper- books the Brotherhood could buy or trade for, instead of having to extract and produce themselves- she really didn't want to see the operation disrupted. They needed a different location, one close enough to reach safely and easily but far enough not to disturb the Megaton residents, and secure enough to be defended in the event of trouble.
Ellen was pretty sure she could think of somewhere that answered to that description.
Moira protested, of course. Moving the bleaching operation to the former Monastery of Eternal Light in Springvale would mean bringing someone else in on it. She scarcely ever left her shop, let alone the Megaton city walls. No, she didn't mind the expense of hiring other people, she just didn't like not being able to oversee all the details herself. Why, anything could happen without her around to take a hand! And she'd be just devastated if anything went wrong or anybody got hurt. Or- or if the books got lost or stolen somehow, somewhere on their journey between Springvale and Megaton. Or-
The mercenary who served as the Craterside Supply guard didn't roll his eyes, exactly. But he did mouth 'thank you' in Ellen's direction when Moira finally caved in and agreed to at least allow for a test run. Not all of the Monastery was going to be viable for the project, after all. Mother Curie had managed to badly contaminate the farthest room in the basement; it would've been more trouble to remove the radioactive material there than it was worth. They'd just have to wall that room off until there were enough resources available to clean it out, and use the other parts of the Monastery basement for paper processing. That would require work, and work, Moira said, would require people, and people would require caps. Wouldn't they?
Ellen just smiled a little, and said it was more likely to take about a week. Moira didn't entirely understand until the next morning, when the Craterside Supply terminal beeped at her and put a message from the RobCo mainframe processor widget up on the screen. Why, she'd all but forgotten about those robots she'd had Ellen reprogram all those months ago. The idea that they might actually be capable of leaving the factory grounds hadn't occurred to her at all.
Ellen didn't mind the smell herself, but she knew she was only one person. Sooner or later the other people in town would raise their own stink, and Sheriff Simms would be forced to step in. Considering how many books Moira was able to print on the bleached paper- books the Brotherhood could buy or trade for, instead of having to extract and produce themselves- she really didn't want to see the operation disrupted. They needed a different location, one close enough to reach safely and easily but far enough not to disturb the Megaton residents, and secure enough to be defended in the event of trouble.
Ellen was pretty sure she could think of somewhere that answered to that description.
Moira protested, of course. Moving the bleaching operation to the former Monastery of Eternal Light in Springvale would mean bringing someone else in on it. She scarcely ever left her shop, let alone the Megaton city walls. No, she didn't mind the expense of hiring other people, she just didn't like not being able to oversee all the details herself. Why, anything could happen without her around to take a hand! And she'd be just devastated if anything went wrong or anybody got hurt. Or- or if the books got lost or stolen somehow, somewhere on their journey between Springvale and Megaton. Or-
The mercenary who served as the Craterside Supply guard didn't roll his eyes, exactly. But he did mouth 'thank you' in Ellen's direction when Moira finally caved in and agreed to at least allow for a test run. Not all of the Monastery was going to be viable for the project, after all. Mother Curie had managed to badly contaminate the farthest room in the basement; it would've been more trouble to remove the radioactive material there than it was worth. They'd just have to wall that room off until there were enough resources available to clean it out, and use the other parts of the Monastery basement for paper processing. That would require work, and work, Moira said, would require people, and people would require caps. Wouldn't they?
Ellen just smiled a little, and said it was more likely to take about a week. Moira didn't entirely understand until the next morning, when the Craterside Supply terminal beeped at her and put a message from the RobCo mainframe processor widget up on the screen. Why, she'd all but forgotten about those robots she'd had Ellen reprogram all those months ago. The idea that they might actually be capable of leaving the factory grounds hadn't occurred to her at all.