Chapter 68 - CH 67 - The Resonance of Absence

The shop, in Amelia's absence, developed a new acoustic profile. It was not quieter the sounds of the CNC mill, the hiss of the TIG welder, the deep-throated rumble of the air compressor were all present and correct but its soundscape had lost a fundamental frequency. The soft, rhythmic tapping of Amelia's keyboard, the crisp turning of a page in her ledger, the low, focused murmur of her phone conversations: these were the silent beats around which the shop's noise had once organized itself. Now, the mechanical sounds existed in a raw, unmodulated state. It was a symphony without its conductor, a engine running without a flywheel to smooth its pulses.