LOSS System: Last Store Standing

“They came to me first thing this morning and said they wanted to start laying the electrical lines today,” Elias said helplessly. “I had barely gotten out of bed. The sun wasn’t even up yet.”

Jack and Megan both laughed.

Jack noticed Reed and Vane were still carrying wooden pallets outside.

“What do they need all those pallets for?”

“They originally planned to bury the electrical lines underground,” Elias said. “But after giving it some thought, I decided against it.”

“Wouldn’t underground lines be better?” Jack asked. “They’d be safer and wouldn’t get in anyone’s way.”

“That was Warren’s original idea too,” Elias said, shaking his head. “But they hadn’t considered future maintenance. The lines won’t last forever. If one section fails and needs to be replaced, are we supposed to dig up the ground all over again?”

He gestured around the trading post.

“This place will keep expanding too. Every time we need to add another line, we’d have to dig everything up again. It makes more sense to run the lines overhead from the beginning instead of tearing up the ground every time. And as for how it looks, do we really need to worry about that right now?”

Jack considered the explanation.

“So you’re going to take the pallets apart and use the wood to build utility poles?”

“That’s right,” Elias said. “We’ll dismantle the pallets and rebuild the wood into poles about twenty centimeters thick and five meters tall. They won’t be as strong as proper utility poles, but they’ll be strong enough for what we need.”

“Wouldn’t taking them apart and rebuilding them be a lot of work?”

“Still less work than digging trenches,” Elias replied. “Vane and Reed will dismantle the pallets, while Thomas and Cass put the wood back together. Once the poles are ready, we’ll dig holes at the marked spots, set them in place, and secure them.”

The arrangement made sense to Jack.

“All right. We’ll do it your way. You can take charge of this.”

Megan had remained silent throughout the discussion, deep in thought. Elias noticed and asked, “What is it? Do you see a problem?”

“No, but I have an idea.”

“What kind of idea?”

“I only mentioned this to Jack last night,” Megan said. “Once the other work was mostly taken care of, I wanted to start setting up lighting around here. I didn’t expect Warren and the others to start laying electrical lines today.”

She looked toward the marked locations.

“Since we’re going to use utility poles anyway, could we leave mounting points and electrical connections for lights on every pole?”

Jack immediately understood.

“You want the utility poles to double as streetlights?”

“Exactly. The electronics mall has plenty of different lights, so we should be able to find something suitable for mounting on the poles.” Megan turned to Elias. “I just don’t know whether that would cause any problems.”

Instead of answering, Elias called toward the nearby open area.

“Warren, Oscar, come over for a moment.”

The two stopped their discussion and joined them.

“What is it?” Warren asked.

Elias briefly explained Megan’s idea.

“Would there be any problem with leaving connections for lights on the utility poles?”

“Not at all,” Warren replied without hesitation. “Streetlights were mounted directly on utility poles in many parts of the old world. It wouldn’t be difficult.”

Elias frowned slightly.

“Why don’t I remember seeing streetlights like that?”

“You rarely saw them in cities,” Oscar explained. “Power lines and streetlights were usually planned separately there, which kept everything looking neater. Remote areas were different. Instead of installing a separate electrical system just for streetlights, they often mounted the lights directly on existing utility poles. It cost much less.”

“That explains it,” Elias said. “I hardly ever visited places like that.”

Warren turned to Megan.

“Do you want a light on every utility pole?”

“Yes. Since we’re already adding the connections, we might as well do everything at once and save ourselves the trouble later.”

“That won’t be a problem,” Warren said. “We’ll leave a connection on every pole and include the lighting lines in the layout.”

“Can we control different areas separately?” Megan asked. “If we can’t install automatic switches yet, dividing the lights into separate sections would at least make them easier to manage at night.”

Warren discussed the idea briefly with Oscar, and the two soon worked out a general plan.

“We can do that,” Warren said. “We’ll leave a connection on every pole and divide the lighting system into separate circuits. But when you return to the electronics mall, remember to bring back some suitable switches. We didn’t take any yesterday.”

“I will.”

“Then that settles it,” Elias said.

Warren and Oscar returned to Thomas and continued working out the utility pole layout.

Megan watched them resume their work with a smile.

Jack looked over at the marked locations as well.

“Looks like we’ll have streetlights before long. We won’t have to stumble around in the dark anymore.”

That reminded him of the plans he and Megan had made the night before.

“By the way, Megan and the others are going back to the electronics mall today. This time, we’d like you to go with them.”

“Why?” Elias asked.

“There’s too much stuff in that mall, and Megan and the others don’t recognize most of it,” Jack explained. “Instead of having them bring things back at random, you can go with them and decide what might be useful.”

Elias thought it over.

“I should take a look. There may be other useful equipment there.”

“That’s what we were thinking,” Jack said. “You’ve seen most of that old-world technology before. If you find something useful, bring back one or two units first. The energy cells and lights are still the priority today. There’s no need to bring back everything else yet.”

“All right.” Elias glanced toward Warren and the others. “I’ll leave things here to you for now.”

“No problem. I’m also sending Cass and Harvey with you.”

Both Elias and Megan looked at him.

“Those two?”

“They’ve learned how to drive the CUEV, and this will give them some experience outside,” Jack explained. “Gordon and Reed already drove on their own yesterday. Megan can’t be expected to lead every trip from now on.”

Elias understood what he meant.

“That works. I’ll tell them to get ready.”

Elias left to find Cass and Harvey, while Jack and Megan returned to the convenience store to prepare the supplies needed for the trip.

Before long, everyone was ready. Cass and Harvey followed the Tesla in a single CUEV. The two vehicles left the trading post and soon disappeared into the distance.

Jack watched them leave, then looked around.

Everyone else had something to do. Somehow, he was the only one left standing around with nothing on his hands.

“Should I find something to do too?”

He gave it some serious thought but couldn’t think of anywhere that needed his help.

Then an idea came to him.

Jack grinned and hurried back to the convenience store. A moment later, he emerged carrying one of the portable air conditioners they had brought back the day before. He went inside once more and returned with a fully charged energy cell.

Jack found a shaded spot near the trading post and connected the portable air conditioner to the energy cell. With a familiar beep, cool air began flowing from the vent.

Satisfied, he brought over a camping chair and placed it directly in front of the machine. He leaned back, letting the cool breeze wash away the heat.

“You certainly know how to enjoy yourself.”

Marlin’s amused voice came from nearby.

Jack looked up and shifted into an even more comfortable position.

“Of course. If I can be comfortable, why would I choose to suffer?”

Marlin laughed. He walked over to feel the cool air for himself, then found a place nearby and sat down.

“Where’s Elias? I haven’t seen him around.”

“He went to the electronics mall.”

Jack briefly explained the arrangements.

“That makes sense,” Marlin said. “He’s the only one here who can recognize most old-world equipment.”

Jack studied him for a moment.

“Since you’ve decided to stay, have you thought about what you’ll do from now on?”

“I’m a merchant,” Marlin replied. “Other than trading, I don’t have any useful skills to speak of. I can’t contribute much to the construction work, so continuing as a traveling merchant is still the best fit for me.”

He paused before continuing.

“But like I said before, I won’t be trading for myself anymore. I’ll be representing you. You provide the supplies, and everything I bring back belongs to you.”

Marlin smiled.

“I don’t ask for much. Just keep me fed.”

Jack gave him an annoyed look.

“Do I look like the kind of heartless boss who starves his employees?”

Marlin laughed but didn’t answer.

Jack turned serious.

“If you really want to keep traveling as a merchant, I have a few conditions.”

“Go ahead.”

“First, you can’t travel alone anymore. You’ll need to take at least one other person with you. Whatever happens, two people are safer than one.”

Marlin had no problem with that.

“Second, you’ll travel by CUEV from now on. It can carry far more than your cart, and you won’t waste most of the day walking. As long as the destination isn’t too far away, you can leave in the morning and return before nightfall.”

“Of course I’d want that,” Marlin replied without hesitation. “Do you really think I enjoy pushing a cart everywhere? I only did it because I had no other choice. If there’s a vehicle available and I still insist on walking, wouldn’t that make me an idiot?”

Jack laughed.

“Then it’s settled. Think about what supplies you’ll need for future trips, make a list, and give it to me.”

“No problem.”

“But you won’t be leaving again just yet,” Jack added. “The CUEVs we have now are needed by the exploration team. Once we find more vehicles, we can set one aside for you.”

Marlin wasn’t in a hurry.

“That’s fine. I could use a break anyway.”

“And most importantly, you need to learn how to drive,” Jack reminded him. “Even if I gave you a CUEV right now, it wouldn’t do you any good if you couldn’t operate it.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll learn as soon as possible.”

Satisfied, Jack leaned back in his chair. Marlin showed no intention of leaving and remained beside him, enjoying the cool air.

The two sat comfortably in front of the portable air conditioner, watching everyone else work nearby.

Jack leaned back in his camping chair and studied the unfinished roof of the trading post for a while. Then he got to his feet.

Marlin was still enjoying the cool air beside him.

“What is it?”

Jack pointed toward the half-finished trading post.

“We’re sitting around with nothing to do anyway. We might as well try to finish it today.”

“Just the two of us?”

“Of course not. I’ll ask Nolan and the others if they have time to help.”

“Do you think they’ll agree?”

Jack shrugged.

“Only one way to find out.”

He headed toward the area where Nolan and the others were making brick blanks. After a moment’s hesitation, Marlin got up and followed him.

Nolan’s group had just finished another batch of brick blanks and were resting nearby. Nolan stood when he saw Jack and Marlin approaching.

“Do you need something?”

Jack got straight to the point.

“Are you free right now? The trading post still isn’t finished, and I want to complete the rest today. We could use a few more people.”

“Sure,” Nolan replied without hesitation. “We can go over now.”

Marlin hadn’t expected him to agree so readily.

“Don’t you need to ask the others first?”

“There’s no need. We don’t mind.”

Someone beside Nolan answered before Nolan could respond, and the others began getting to their feet.

Nolan spread his hands toward Marlin, and Jack smiled.

“Thanks. Let’s try to finish the trading post as early as possible. Once we’re done, dinner is on me.”

The promise of dinner immediately got everyone moving. They grabbed their tools and headed toward the trading post together. Jack shook his head with a smile and followed them.

Vane and Reed were taking apart wooden pallets near the convenience store when they heard the commotion. They looked up to find Nolan’s group approaching the trading post with tools in hand. Thinking something had happened, they quickly set down their work and hurried over.

Their tense expressions told Jack exactly what they were thinking.

“Relax. I only asked them to help finish the trading post.”

Vane and Reed slowed to a stop.

“Since you’re already here, you might as well help too,” Jack said. “There are some sun-dried bricks over there. Move them to the trading post first. You can get back to the wooden poles later.”

Once they realized there was no trouble, the two went to move the bricks.

With Nolan’s group joining in, the trading post quickly became a hive of activity. Some carried sun-dried bricks and lumber, others continued working on the unfinished roof, while the rest cleared away the materials and clutter piled around the area under Jack and Marlin’s direction.

Jack didn’t return to his camping chair. He moved around the trading post, lending a hand wherever one was needed.

As everyone got to work, the half-finished trading post gradually began to take shape.

Just then, Edith, Ruth, and Helen approached. The three women looked around the trading post as though searching for Jack.