Future's Guardian
By Paul Haedo
Chapter One — selected excerpt

Chapter One

“Ylan, what’s the problem?” asked the Line Supervisor.

One could see in the circuit board that powered the robotic arm an injury that could have only been done by a human hand. Ylan saw and immediately knew the issue and the cause, yet he decided to remain silent about it. Instead, he ripped out the circuit board in such a way that it would be too damaged to verify as sabotage, and he threw the pieces into the trash bin and replaced the circuit board with a fresh one. A few careful solders later, Ylan allowed the current to flow, bringing the robotic arm back to life.

“Faulty circuit board, the same as usual."

“Damn, I need to write a report to Corporate. Whomever is providing us with these boards needs a serious kick in the rear!” yelled the Line Supervisor, the delays adding difficulty to an otherwise uneventful job.

© Paul Haedo. All rights reserved.
Author-supplied manuscript; opening selection beginning at paragraph 1. Paragraph numbering follows non-empty body paragraphs in the supplied file. Authorized short excerpt; full manuscript is not exposed.