Here they were building the world’s most intricate toy. Something with a gazillion pieces that all had to work just so. The fine work was incredibly exacting. Roger wasn’t surprised at the difficulty, but he was taken aback at how rewarding it was. When you got the things to mesh together just right, it was amazing. He’d found a word buzzing around the edges of his mind to describe it but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Oh well, it would come on it’s own.
The work was being done by fifteen staff workers. Roger wanted to call them ‘artisans’ but he felt like that was too pretentious. Each of them had a fully stocked workbench and some elbow room. They each would work on one small part of the project. When that was complete, they’d go and take another part and work on that.
Jus standing in the doorway and watching them go was exciting to him. His life was in manufacturing so he was used to work floors. What made this different was that each one could reasonably be called an expert. The sheer level of competence was stunning. It had required a pretty penny to bring them all together but it was really the only way to go.
Roger had expected that there would be some ego clashes. He’d stolen one of his best foreman, a man named Juan, from a factory spot and brought him in to oversee everything. On the first night, the foreman took the ‘artisans’ out for dinner and a talk. Roger wasn’t invited. In fact, he was told to stay away. The foreman wanted a crack at them all on his own, in his own words and without the boss looking over his shoulder.
Word had gotten back to him about that speech. Juan had waited until after they had all eaten and had some drink in them. Then he stood up and got their attention. The first thing he asked? “I’d like your professional opinion here. You can see the team around you. Is there anyone who isn’t qualified to be here?” Of course silence followed after that.
He continued and told them that he trusted them all to be professional. The overall job was more important than anyone’s hurt feelings. If they really thought that someone else just couldn’t cut it, they should come and talk to him privately. He’d figure it out.
He also told them that they should come to him with requests for any tools or materials. They all knew what they were doing better than he did, so he’d have to trust their requests. Juan was a good judge of character and he could trusted to sort out any bad requests or workers. The artisans felt like they had someone who cared about the project but was still on their side if need be. They would be working hard, but none of them minded that.
There was also a team of designers. This was much smaller and had been hired together as a unit. It was only six people, a lead named Miya and his five assistants. Roger’s son Phil was working with this team and everyone was very happy with what they were coming up with.
They’d create something and hand it over to the artisans. A few times they would ask for something difficult or impossible to make. They’d put their heads together and figure out an alternative. This had gone smoothly so far.
The other side of the project had been the more difficult one. When Alex had suggested something of a history of warfare, Roger had hoped to somehow guide it into something more positive. Maybe something showing the horrors of it.
In his mind, Roger had envisioned sets of rooms showing battles. As you walked through and watched the fighting, you’d see the progression from glory to agony. You’d see the aftermath of ruined lives and shattered country sides. Maybe the last room would show figures laying down their swords and resolving things peacefully.
This idea wasn’t going well with his son. When he first mentioned it, Alex brushed it off as too wimpy. The battles would be cool. He didn’t even mind that they’d show mangled and maimed people. He’d read enough books and seen enough ancient artwork to know that this was what happened but he had trouble with the theme. He said it would be like creating an auto museum just to show what happened with car accidents. (He allowed as how that could be pretty cool to go to, though.)
Roger didn’t want to press the issue. At least not directly. He handpicked the advisors that would help out with this part of the project. They needed people who had studied war through the ages. Roger also decided that he would try to only hire veterans. The people who had actually been to war were the ones who feared it the most. The search had led him to a university professor named Arthur.
Arthur had served in the Vietnam war. He had left a foot in the jungle there. He also sported some very visible scars across his left cheek. This was a man who knew what fighting was about.
When he returned from war he’d gone to school. His natural curiosity led him to study history and he’d gone on to teach it. He was also active in the reenactment community. Roger thought he’d be perfect for the spot. Maybe after Alex had some long hard talks with him, he’d see the dark sides to war.
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