The Final Eight

Chas was sitting at his desk reviewing the Hacienda’s repair list when Link spoke.

“CHAS WE HAVE A PROBLEM.”

“Only one? That’s an improvement.”

“EIGHT ACTUALLY.”

Chas looked up.

“The final eight substations?”

“CORRECT.”

“I thought we’d already determined those couldn’t be repaired.”

“WE DID. IN EACH CASE, THE PRIMARY TRANSFORMER WAS DESTROYED. THE REMAINING EQUIPMENT IS EITHER SERVICEABLE OR CAN BE REWORKED.”

“So what’s changed?”

“OUR ABILITY TO REWORK TRANSFORMERS HAS IMPROVED DRAMATICALLY. ONLY THE FINAL EIGHT ARE BADLY DAMAGED. THEY WILL NEED TO BE REPLACD.”

“Can we buy them?”

“NOT WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME. MANUFACTURERS HAVE BACKORDERS EXTENDING MANY MONTHS. IN SOME CASES, YEARS.”

“What about making them ourselves?”

“POSSIBLE, BUT WE WOULD NEED TO DEVELOP ADDITIONAL MANUFACTURING CAPABILITIES. THE CORES ALONE PRESENT A SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGE.”

Chas leaned back in his chair.

“Link, what happens to a transformer when it fails?”

“THAT DEPENDS ON THE NATURE OF THE FAILURE.”

“Suppose a winding shorts out, but the core is still good.”

“THEN THE TRANSFORMER MAY BE REBUILDABLE. THE DAMAGED WINDINGS CAN BE REMOVED AND REPLACED, PROVIDED THE CORE AND OTHER COMPONENTS REMAIN SERVICEABLE.”

“And we have precision winding equipment?”

“WE DO. BUT LARGER TRANSFORMERS WILL REQUIRE WE GET MORE EQUIPMENT.”

Chas thought for a moment.

“Then why are we talking about building transformers from scratch?”

“I DON’T UNDERSTAND.”

“Scrap yards, Link. There must be hundreds of failed transformers sitting in scrap yards around the country. Some of them probably have perfectly good cores.”

“THAT’S A REASONABLE ASSUMPTION.”

“So we buy the junk, bring it here, and rebuild what we can.”

Link was silent for several seconds.

“CHAS, THAT MAY BE A PRACTICAL SOLUTION.”

“How many would we need?”

“EIGHT SERVICEABLE REPLACEMENTS. HOWEVER, THE TRANSFORMERS MUST MATCH THE ELECTRICAL REQUIREMENTS OF THEIR RESPECTIVE SUBSTATIONS.”

“So eight scrap transformers won’t necessarily give us eight good ones.”

“CORRECT. SOME WILL HAVE DAMAGED CORES. OTHERS WILL BE UNSUITABLE IN VOLTAGE, CAPACITY, OR CONFIGURATION.”

“What do you suggest?”

“WE SHOULD LOCATE APPROXIMATELY TWENTY CANDIDATE TRANSFORMERS IN SURROUNDING SCRAP YARDS. THAT WOULD PROVIDE A REASONABLE INITIAL POOL FROM WHICH TO SELECT EIGHT REBUILDABLE UNITS.”

“Twenty to get eight?”

“THAT IS A TARGET, NOT A GUARANTEE. WE MAY NEED MORE.”

Chas smiled.

“Sounds like a plan. How far would we have to look?”

“I SUGGEST BEGINNING WITHIN A TWO-HUNDRED-MILE RADIUS. ELECTRICAL SALVAGE YARDS, UTILITY STORAGE FACILITIES, AND INDUSTRIAL SCRAP DEALERS WOULD BE THE MOST PROMISING SOURCES.”

“Can you find twenty?”

“I CAN BEGIN SEARCHING INVENTORIES AND CONTACTING DEALERS. HOWEVER, PHYSICAL INSPECTION WILL BE NECESSARY BEFORE PURCHASE.”

“Then send out some of the Iron Horsemen with a couple of robots. Have them inspect anything that looks promising.”

“SHOULD I EXPLAIN OUR INTENDED USE TO THE DEALERS?”

Chas shook his head.

“No. Just tell them we’re buying scrap electrical equipment.”

“YOU ARE CONCERNED THE PRICES WILL INCREASE?”

“Link, right now those things are worth whatever the scrap metal brings. The minute somebody discovers we can turn them back into working transformers, the price goes up.”

“THAT IS LIKELY.”

“So let’s buy what we need before everybody figures it out.”

“UNDERSTOOD.”

Chas returned his attention to the repair list.

“You know, Link, I was beginning to think we’d never clear those last eight.”

“WE HAVE NOT CLEARED THEM YET.”

“No, but for the first time, we’ve got a way to try.”

“SHALL I AUTHORIZE THE SEARCH?”

“Do it. And Link?”

“Yes, Chas?”

“Don’t stop at twenty if you find some good ones. We might need a few spares.”

“THAT WOULD BE PRUDENT.”

Chas smiled.

“Besides, something tells me eight won’t be the last transformers somebody asks us to replace.”

“ON THAT POINT, CHAS, I BELIEVE YOU ARE CORRECT.”

“CHAS THERE IS ANOTHER POINT TO CONSIDER.”

Chas looked up from his tablet.

“Of course there is. What now?”

“TRANSPORTATION AND INSTALLATION.”

“What about them?”

“WE HAVE IDENTIFIED A POSSIBLE METHOD OF REBUILDING THE TRANSFORMERS, BUT WE DO NOT CURRENTLY POSSESS THE EQUIPMENT NECESSARY TO MOVE OR INSTALL THEM.”

Chas thought about that.

“How heavy are these things?”

“THE EIGHT TRANSFORMERS VARY CONSIDERABLY IN SIZE. THE SMALLEST WEIGHS APPROXIMATELY TWELVE TONS. THE LARGEST, THIRTY-EIGHT TONS.”

“That’s a lot of transformer.”

“CORRECT.”

“Oracle, what would we need to move them?”

The Oracle responded on his tablet.

HEAVY-HAUL TRANSPORTATION.

MOBILE CRANE.

HYDRAULIC JACKING AND SKIDDING EQUIPMENT.

SPECIALIZED RIGGING.

Chas studied the list.

“That’s quite a shopping list.”

“THERE ARE ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS,” the Oracle replied.

“Somehow I knew you were going to say that.”

TRANSFORMER OIL HANDLING AND FILTRATION EQUIPMENT.

VACUUM PROCESSING EQUIPMENT.

HIGH-VOLTAGE TEST EQUIPMENT.

Chas shook his head.

“Link, I thought we were going to repair some transformers, not start a construction company.”

“WE ARE EXPANDING OUR CAPABILITIES.”

“That’s one way of putting it.”

Chas leaned back in his chair.

“Okay, let’s start with the crane. How big?”

The Oracle answered.

A MOBILE CRANE WITH APPROXIMATELY ONE-HUNDRED-TON LIFTING CAPACITY WOULD BE SUITABLE FOR MANY OF THE ANTICIPATED OPERATIONS, SUBJECT TO SITE CONDITIONS AND LIFT CONFIGURATION.

“One hundred tons? The biggest transformer only weighs thirty-eight.”

“CRANE CAPACITY DECREASES WITH BOOM EXTENSION AND OPERATING RADIUS,” Link explained. “WE MUST ALSO ALLOW FOR RIGGING WEIGHT AND SAFE WORKING MARGINS.”

“Right. I should have thought of that.”

“WE WILL ALSO NEED A TRACTOR AND HEAVY-HAUL TRAILER,” the Oracle added.

“Can the Iron Horsemen operate that equipment?”

“SOME HAVE COMMERCIAL DRIVING EXPERIENCE. HOWEVER, CRANE OPERATIONS REQUIRE SPECIALIZED TRAINING AND QUALIFIED PERSONNEL.”

“Then we’ll find somebody who knows what they’re doing.”

Chas considered the problem.

“Link, we’re talking about buying a crane, a truck, a trailer, and a bunch of specialized equipment. What’s this going to cost?”

“THAT DEPENDS UPON WHETHER WE PURCHASE NEW OR USED EQUIPMENT.”

“Used. There’s no reason to buy new if we can find something serviceable.”

“THE HACIENDA IS CAPABLE OF REWORKING MOST MECHANICAL AND ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS. HOWEVER, LOAD-BEARING COMPONENTS AND SAFETY SYSTEMS WILL REQUIRE PROPER INSPECTION AND CERTIFICATION.”

“Fine. Find something worth buying.”

The Oracle interrupted.

THERE IS AN ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATION.

Chas laughed.

“Oracle, you’re beginning to sound like Link.”

“THANK YOU.”

“That wasn’t necessarily a compliment.”

“UNDERSTOOD.”

Chas smiled.

“What’s the consideration?”

THE EQUIPMENT WILL BE REQUIRED AT MULTIPLE LOCATIONS. PURCHASING IT MAY BE MORE ECONOMICAL THAN REPEATEDLY CONTRACTING HEAVY-LIFT SERVICES, PROVIDED SUFFICIENT FUTURE WORK EXISTS.

“How much future work do you expect?”

The Oracle paused.

THE EIGHT SUBSTATIONS ARE UNLIKELY TO BE THE LAST FACILITIES REQUIRING TRANSFORMER REPLACEMENT.

“That’s what I was afraid of.”

Link spoke.

“CHAS, THERE IS ALSO THE MATTER OF OUR MANUFACTURING FACILITY.”

“What about it?”

“WE WILL NEED TO MOVE LARGE TRANSFORMER CORES, TANKS, AND WINDING ASSEMBLIES DURING RECONSTRUCTION. OUR EXISTING MATERIAL-HANDLING EQUIPMENT IS INADEQUATE.”

“So we need another crane?”

“NOT NECESSARILY. AN OVERHEAD BRIDGE CRANE INSTALLED IN AN APPROPRIATE WORKSHOP WOULD BE MORE PRACTICAL.”

Chas stared at the ceiling.

“A mobile crane, an overhead crane, a heavy truck, a trailer, and enough equipment to rebuild a power station.”

“THAT IS A REASONABLE SUMMARY,” Link replied.

“And we haven’t even bought the twenty scrap transformers yet.”

“CORRECT.”

Chas was silent for a moment.

“Oracle, can we afford all this?”

The response appeared almost immediately.

YES.

“Without putting the Hacienda’s other operations at risk?”

YES.

Chas nodded.

“Then I guess we’re going shopping.”

“SHALL I BEGIN LOCATING SUITABLE EQUIPMENT?” Link asked.

“Go ahead. Used equipment first. I want good machinery, not shiny machinery.”

“UNDERSTOOD.”

“And Link?”

“YES, CHAS?”

“Make sure we have somewhere to put all this stuff.”

“WE MAY NEED AN ADDITIONAL BUILDING.”

Chas closed his eyes.

“Of course we do.”

The Oracle displayed one final message.

THE HACIENDA IS BECOMING A SIGNIFICANT INDUSTRIAL OPERATION.

Chas looked at the words.

“Oracle, all I wanted to do was get the lights back on.”

THAT REMAINS THE OBJECTIVE.

Chas laughed.

“Somehow I don’t think it’s going to be that simple anymore.”

Three months later, the first two rebuilt transformers were ready for installation.

Removing the destroyed transformers, installing their replacements, and reworking the remaining substation equipment took approximately one week per site.

It was another four months before the remaining six transformers were rebuilt, installed, tested, and placed into service.

Seven months after the project began, the final eight substations were back online.