On day 1137, after the caravan’s arrival the previous afternoon, Neri’s drawing failed because the demonstration wheel was too easy to turn.
The failure happened in front of forty people, three tables of tools, and a Marcher whose lowered head filled the space beyond the waystation wall. Iven saw it before anyone said anything: the hand wheel moved, the indicator rose, and the small gate in the demonstration channel opened exactly as the drawing promised. It did not show what would happen when grit entered the bearing or the gate took water pressure from the opposite side.
A woman from the north watercourse raised her hand.
“Can I try it with the load on?” she asked.
Neri stepped back from the table. “Please.”
The woman introduced herself as Hara. She wore a heavy apron with the marks of long use and carried a short wrench tucked into its pocket. She opened the demonstration channel’s upper valve, allowing water from a raised tank to press against the gate. Then she turned the wheel.
The gate moved halfway and stopped.
Hara tried again. The wheel slipped in her hands. “That’s the problem we have at home. The gate opens when it’s empty. We don’t need it open when it’s empty.”
