Oliver noticed the smirk on Lucass face and realized this whole tour had been a charade, just a way to show Oliver all the things he wasnt allowed to do and all the places in the factory he didnt have access to. Lucas was just trying to make it clear that when it came to the pecking order, Oliver was at the bottom.

But his interest had been piqued by Lucass choice of words. Armandos secret invention. It sounded very mysterious and Olivers curiosity grew.

Can you tell me whats inside? he asked. Even though Im not allowed to see it, Id love to know what Armando is working on.

Lucass frown intensified. Thats classified information, he said evasively.

Oliver suddenly realized that Lucas didnt know either.

Its off limits to you, too, isnt it? he said, hiding his delight that even the arrogant elderly foreman wasnt quite as important as he liked to pretend.

Lucass silence spoke volumes. If being Armandos foreman for seventy years hadnt afforded Lucas any particular luxuries, Oliver could begin to understand the mans resentment toward him. But he didnt have to behave so unpleasantly because of it. Oliver was sure that Armando wasnt keeping things secret to be cruel. There was surely a good reason for it. Still, he desperately wanted to know himself what was going on behind those doors.

Come on, its time to start work, Lucas snapped. He seemed to be in an even worse mood now that Oliver had exposed him.

Despite Lucass rough personality, Oliver was excited to begin work. He hoped his assignment would be something cool. Hed seen so many amazing things in the factory so far, from the chemistry labs to the plastic printers, the astronomy floor and the electrical rooms, that he felt his heart leap with excitement at the thought of finally being able to get started.

You can help with that, Lucas barked when they reached a workbench.

Oliver looked and saw that upon it were a thousand tiny cogs. His heart sunk.

But what is it? he said, frowning. What am I supposed to do?

The atmosphere was tense. Oliver could feel Lucass eyes boring into him. Lucas sighed loudly.

Its a rack and pinion gear, he said. We use them to power conveyor belts. And those thingshe jabbed his pointer finger at the minuscule cogsneed to go in there to make it work.

Oliver felt crushed. His first assignment was to fix what was clearly an insignificant machine, a broken conveyor belt, rather than invent anything important or interesting. He was just being used for hard labor.

Why do you need all of them? he exclaimed, eyeing the tabletop. There were at least a thousand cogs. It would take hours! Even the most complex of gears dont need a thousand cogs to run!

Lucas narrowed his eyes. Youre not an expert on how rack and pinion gears work, he said dryly. This one needs all these cogs. So get to work.