Challenge #01596-D135: The Little TouchessteemCreated with Sketch.

in #fiction8 years ago (edited)

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the stuff every JOAT needs, and of course the Bargain Bin. -- Knitnan

It was one of those poky little storefronts that one could swear entered into another dimension. The ones with more depth than they rightfully should have had, and surprise extra levels with staircases and shelving designed by Escher. It was called simply Things and every JOAT browsed there at least once a day.

Inside was organised chaos. JOATs could do things with paperclips and ductape that no other cogniscent dared to try, but there was also a certain kind of allure that attracted JOATs to the place. The store carried the strange, the unusual, the assortments of odd things that JOATs and jackdaws alike found irresistible.

The stuff that demonstrated a concept. The stuff that could be disassembled and reconfigured. The stuff to store culch in. The things made for one purpose that could, nevertheless, be turned to other purposes that the original creator never intended.

Shayde insisted on calling it a 'junk shop'. But the contents were clearly not junk, because the assembled JOAT community made certain that everything in there almost flew off the shelves. Be it the engineer, or the artsy-fartsy, or just someone with a Project. There was always something useful in Things. Even if it promised to be useful at an unspecified later date.

Rael, for example, could always use a spare roll of ductape. And he inevitably picked a jacaranda-mauve hue that nearly matched his usual skin tone. Shayde, on basket duty and adding sparkly gewgaws as her mood deemed fit, murmured, "What is it wi' you JOATs an' different colours o' duck tape?"

"So we can tell who's been where," said Rael. "More or less. There's only so many patterns and colours, but at least we can narrow things down to a select few. It's a just-in-case thing."

"Just in case somebody fooks it up?"

"Or accidentally causes a fault. Yes. Assigned engineers use standard grey, and annotate it. We use... colours and patterns.

Shayde, who hadn't needed to do much in the way of JOATing, nodded in understanding and scanned the racks of ductape for something appropriate. She picked out a variegated grey-tone roll and held it up. "What d'ye reckon? Is it 'me'?"

Shades of grey. Ugh. A pun. "It's entirely 'you'," he growled.

[Image (c) Can Stock Photo / Planpraz]

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