.•What Once Was•. (vixreader)

Don't do anything reckless.

•.Years later.•

•. ✰ .•

I sat on the well worn chair, reading away one of the books Silco had given me awhile back.
He was working on his recent project, a strange substance that he called Shimmer.
In his words, this Shimmer would act as a fuel for mechanisms that would help out the people of the Undercity. They would help us advance as a society; it would be the change we desperately needed.
He claimed it was too complex for me to help out on just yet, so I stayed on the sidelines waiting until I was able to do something productive.

After a few minutes of mindless reading, I shut the book, sighing out of boredom. I rubbed my face, blinking away the strain in my eyes after reading for too long.
My gaze traveled over to the glass pane that was a barrier between the murky waters and the base.
There, were the creatures Silco claimed to be magnificent, but to me they were a tad bit creepy.
"Gorgeous, aren't they?"

I jumped, quickly turning around defensively only to find Silco.
"Jeez, you scared the shit out of me!"
He sighed, heading on over to my direction and placing a rolled up paper on the desk.
"My apologies, care to help me out here with this design?"
I nodded, motioning for him to open up the rolled up paper plan.

There on the large sheet was displayed the basic sketch of a robotic limb, though very unfinished, and quite plain.
"This might be a bit of a jump, but if Shimmer turns out to plan, we might be able to power many more things with it. It won't be just for powering working machines, but something much more: functional limbs that could be weapons. How could that work?"
He explained, a look of intrigue written all over his features.
I digested Silco's words, scanning over the design to see what exactly I could pinpoint and modify.

Weaponry was never discussed, and I never thought it would be, but regardless I starting thinking.
"Since the Shimmer's purpose won't really change, and will act as a fuel anyways, there needs to be an even distribution of it. Here, the Shimmer is only powering the top of the limb. This would make the part stiff and not really functional in the way you would want it to be.
In order to be a functional weapon, it needs mobility."

I stated, quickly grabbing a stranded pencil and beginning to sketch. "Add a few tubes here that transport the Shimmer front and back, and you'll have enough circulation for mobility, like a real limb that has veins which provide blood support. Crannies would need to be made so that the weaponry can be hidden and not in the way of daily function; simple buttons or levers that connect to the artillery with special wiring will be able to to release the munitions when in need... and they would work perfectly fine. Reinforce the tubing along with the fragile wireworks with compact metal for protection.... and you'll have a functional limb."

Finishing the last sketches, you presented your work to Silco. "This would be the basic limb. The more advanced model would need to be connected to the owner's brain signals so that it moves like a regular body part; which can be modified later on once the Shimmer is finalized."
I tapped my pencil against the wooden desk,  my eyes skimming over my quick work.
He nodded, revising the details and acknowledging my claims.

"Excellent work Y/n. You never fail to not disappoint." He remarked, smile displayed on his face. Returning the act, I nodded in gratitude.
"I try."
I stated, standing from the chair and stretching after being in the same position for far too long.
"By the way, how is the Shimmer going along?"
I queried, eagerly looking forward to the answer.

Silco perked up at my sudden question, and answered carelessly. "It's going along very well. Singed just needs to make more modifications so that they'll fit into machinery, and soon it'll be useful in, perhaps, a couple of months. It truly will be the cure to our poverty."