Geometry of Assembly

That afternoon, the committee relocated from the plush corporate offices to the floor of Plant One.

Ernest did not want to inspect Plant Two, which was still in the middle of tooling up for heavy volume. He wanted to watch the original Model One moving down the active production line. He wanted to observe the physical friction of human hands building the car.

He pulled a brass mechanical stopwatch from his vest pocket.

Hollen winced the moment he saw the glint of brass. "Put that away, Ernest."

Ernest clicked the crown, resetting the second hand to zero. "I am merely conducting time-motion observations."

"You become utterly insufferable whenever you hold a stopwatch," Hollen grumbled, pulling his flat cap down over his brow.

Arthur hung back several paces, deliberately keeping his hands tucked into his suit pockets. "I am remaining entirely neutral. If a wrench gets thrown, I want clean hands."