Tom woke up at 6:59 precisely. Not many people knew it was 6:59, but Tom did. He always knew exactly what time it was, and never understood how other people couldn't. It was the same with sleep - surely you just picked two times and slept between them? That was how it worked for him, anyway. And the time he habitually chose to wake up at was 6:59. It provided him one minute to gather his thoughts before what he considered the official start of the day, 7:00.

Sixty seconds ticked past, and he rose smoothly out of bed, rubbing his eyes as he walked over to his second-favourite Ancient Device, something he had dubbed the "spray-clean". It consisted of a pumping mechanism connected by a pipe to a plate with numerous small holes in it that sprayed water over the person inside the Device. The tank which held the pump also held a heater that made the water wonderfully hot. As such, he was one of the cleanest people in the Ruins. He made a good living just from people paying to use it.

Of course, like all the Ancient Devices, it required an Ancient Core to work. These were among the most highly prized of items, small golden cubes lit up blue from within. When plugged into a Core Socket, they could produce seemingly limitless energy. Some devices came with a Core built in, but most needed connecting to a Socket. He was fortunate enough to have three Cores and their corresponding sockets. One was entirely taken up in powering his defensive mechanisms - when one had as many Ancient Devices as Tom, it was necessary to have such things, as many would find it worth the risk of attacking you to get them. The second was linked to his lab equipment - rare and prized Devices that were capable of cutting and moulding Ancient Alloys. The third powered his miscellaneous gizmos and gadgets such as the spray-clean and the lights, and was slightly faulty. Sometimes he'd have to spend hours fiddling with it to get it to work.

Once he was clean and dressed, he ambled down to the market. This was a neutral zone by common consent of all the gangs - after all, even the hardest thugs need a place to buy food, clothes and weaponry. As usual, he swapped a chunk of Ancient Alloy for an apple before checking the List. This was a large board in the middle of the Market where people made requests or answered them. While he examined it, three men sauntered up behind him

"Well, well... look at the rich man's nice clothes. I think someone like you should be more than capable of helping those in need, eh?"

To punctuate this remark, the lead thug slowly drew his spear. The haft was nothing more than a long pole of wood, but the head was dangerous. A sharp and jagged bit of Ancient Alloy, it would be more than capable of going through flesh, bone and out the other side. The crowd around them was rapidly backing away. Swallowing nervously, Tom turned to the man.

"If it's money you want, I could probably accommodate you. But I have a better suggestion."

Now shouting to the crowd, he spread his arms wide.

[b]"Free Ancient tech to the person who gets rid of my assailants! Take your pick of two items from my lab!"[/b]