The sun was just barely peeking over the top of the Cedar Rock Mountains, casting a fiery glow over the sleepy town of Wynnemiller. The morning dew was still thick on the grapevines that crept up the town sign – proudly announcing, “Welcome to Wynnemiller, Innovation Central!”

Static cracked on an old radio as the familiar voice of DJ Lynn Sparkling filled the silence.

“It’s going to be a scorcher today, y’all. The local weather service has issued a severe heat advisory for the tri-county area, starting this Friday through the weekend. Temperatures are expected to soar past previous record highs, and the heat index is expected to reach dangerous levels. Please make sure to stay indoors when at all possible, stay hydrated, and make sure your pets have a shady spot and plenty of water. Better yet, bring Fido inside for a few days; it’s gonna be too hot for the babies!”

With this announcement, windows were quickly shuttered, and air conditioning units suddenly hummed to life as the townspeople prepared for the miserable days ahead. But for eleven-year-old Lacey Vargas, the heatwave announcement sparked a curiosity in her, and she suddenly felt an endowed sense of adventure.

Wynnemiller wasn’t a very big town, and Lacey could see all the way into the heart of downtown from her front porch swing. She spent the first half of the morning just watching the people around her as they rushed to the local grocery store and bought ridiculous amounts of bottled water, groceries, and gasoline. The air conditioning unit attached to the neighbor’s house suddenly roared to life, breaking the silence of the calm morning air. Lacey marveled at how quickly the town had come to life with just one little announcement.

The town usually entertained mild weather throughout the year. Being bordered to the North by the Cedar Rock Mountains and to the East by Grand Valley Lake, it never got exceptionally hot or cold. However, this year, the weather had been anything but normal. The winter brought with it snow for the first time in Wynnemiller’s known history, and spring brought heavy rain and flooding. Summer, so far, was proving to follow suit with this threat of a heatwave.

After becoming bored with the activity she could see from her front porch, Lacey decided to go for a walk, which brought her to the edge of town. She didn’t find herself in this part of town often; it was one of those areas that kids told stories about. The kind of stories that make the hair on the back of the neck stand on end – legends of haunted houses and witches that would eat any child that dared step on their property. Lacey didn’t really believe any of these stories, but she never took a chance to come this far alone until this particular day.

The area itself was nothing spectacular – there were no giant two-story homes with gargoyles guarding the gates or any especially haunted-looking houses. It was a regular neighborhood, just like every other neighborhood on every other street in town.

Still, she walked cautiously and stayed aware of her surroundings. Ahead of her was an old Victorian-style home decked out in pale blue paint with pure white trim. It was a charming-looking house and was very well taken care of. It had a wrap-around porch adorned with rocking chairs. The house appeared to be very inviting, and before she realized it, Lacey found herself standing in front of the house with her hand on the gate, prepared to swing it open.

“Oh! Oh no! Not again!” Lacey heard a voice scream from somewhere behind the house. She looked around to see if someone was around but couldn’t see anyone. Suddenly, she heard a loud crash!

The sound came from behind the house, so she pushed her way through the front gate and jogged along the side of the house. When she came to the back, she saw, behind the house, there was a small workshop. The door was closed, but light spilled out from under it. As she approached, she could smell something burning.

“Oh, I just knew this wasn’t going to work!” She heard the same voice bellow out through one of the open windows in the shop.

The windows were too high for her to peek into, so she looked around for something to stand on and finally found an old milk crate. She placed the milk crate precariously under one of the windows and carefully stood on top. As she peeked into the window, she was quickly met with a sharp, “What are you doing here?” The harshness of the voice scared her so much that she fell backward into the leaf litter that was scattered on the ground.

“I’m sorry,” she responded, “I heard a crash, and I was checking to see if you needed any help.”

With that, the door of the shop opened, and the light was blotted out by a figure. The figure moved toward Lacey, and once he was out of the light, she could see his features. He was a man, probably in his late seventies, with a tall, slender frame that had become slightly hunched with age. The mop of thinning white hair on top of his head looked as though it hadn’t been brushed in weeks, but his deep blue eyes twinkled with a mixture of curiosity and intelligence. His skin was weathered and tanned from years of working outdoors, and his hands were calloused and permanently stained with oil and grease. Upon his face, he wore a pair of wire-rimmed glasses, and he wore an old, worn-out flannel shirt with faded suspenders and work boots that had seen better days.

Lacey trembled at the sight of him. She immediately knew that this was the man the other kids had referred to as “Old Man Graves,” the elderly recluse who was holding his grandson prisoner in the upstairs bedroom and never let him out to play with the other kids.

The old man cocked his head as he watched Lacey flop along amongst the leaves, unable to gain her footing. He took a step towards her, a crooked smile on his face. Then, as he let out a bellowed laugh, he reached his hand down and around her waist. In one movement, he quickly raised her up to her feet and set her down safely.

“I’m so sorry, sir, I was just…” The old man threw a hand up as if to tell her to stop talking.

“You don’t need to apologize, Lassie; it’s not that often I have company, and I’m quite happy to have someone to talk to.” With that, Lacey could see the warmth in his smile, and his blue eyes softened to show hints at a kind and generous spirit beneath that gruff exterior. Lacey stood there, catching her breath as the old man chuckled and brushed her off. She felt all the fear melt away under the warmth of his gaze.

“Well, you were so curious to see what all the fuss was about; why don’t you come inside?” Graves smiled as he propped the door open with his foot.

Inside the Workshop

Lacey couldn’t believe her eyes as she entered the shop – strange inventions lay strewn about, and the worktables were littered with wires and gears. Everywhere she looked, in every little hole and crevice, some sort of contraption was stashed away. However, Lacey’s attention was quickly stolen by an object at the center of the room.

The machine was a hodgepodge of old and new technology, reflecting the many years Graves had spent perfecting it. At the base of the machine was an array of dials, switches, and gauges. From there, a central column rose, flanked by copper coils that emitted the faintest humming sound as they pulsed.

Atop the central column was a series of robotic arms, each holding a different object. One held a miniature wind turbine, one held a nozzle that sprayed a fine mist, and one held a disk-like structure that crackled and popped as electricity danced across it like lightning.

The entire machine was encapsulated in a dome of thick glass embedded with various crystals and gemstones, all of which flashed in rhythm with the machine as it pulsed.

Lacey walked around to the other side of the machine, where she saw a control panel covered in buttons and levers and, above that, a screen showing weather data. She was in awe and felt as though the machine was almost alive; moving with such synchronicity.

Now that her curiosity was piqued, she couldn’t help herself and very quickly blurted out “What the heck IS  this thing?!”

Graves cocked his head to the side again, but this time a prideful grin covered his face. “This, my dear, is my life’s work. The official name is Atmospheric Localized Interventions and Climate Enhancer, but I prefer to just call her A.L.I.C.E.”

Lacey’s eyes twinkled with excitement, “Wait, are you saying this thing can change the weather?”

“That’s the plan,” Graves lifted his hand to his chin. “ But I’ve never gotten it to work; it’s had a few bugs I’ve had to take care of. However, with this heatwave coming, I thought I’d give it one last real shot.”

Lacey could see the desperation on his face. He had put so much time and effort into building this machine; he didn’t have to say it; she knew that one more failure was all his heart could take. She walked around the machine again, inspecting every detail. “Why don’t we get someone to help us?”

“You don’t think I’ve tried that already? The townsfolk don’t call me ‘Crazy Graves’ for nothing. They all think I’ve lost my mind – just some old codger tinkering with his toys, thinks he can save the world.” The dejected look that played across his face was hard for Lacey to deal with.

“Mayor Whitby’s daughter and I are best friends; the mayor is practically a second mother to me; if I talk to her about this, she’s sure to agree to help us! Just tell me what you need!”

“Well, if you really think you can convince her, I can’t see how it would hurt to give it a shot. Let me make you a list.” With that, Graves sent Lacey on her way.  

Help Has Arrived

“So, you really think this machine is a solution to the heat wave?” Priscilla (aka Mayor) Barnes stared at Lacey for a long time, studying her face. “Lacey Basey, this better not be some practical joke you’re pulling on me right now; this is serious; the people in this town have never experienced temperatures like the meteorologist is predicting.”

“I swear, Mama Priss, I really think Mr. Graves is on to something.” Lacey smiled to reassure the older woman.

Finally, the mayor agreed to go with Lacey to Graves’ house, bringing along a few strong police officers to be the muscle.

“We’re here!” Lacey announced as they strode through the gate and to the back of the house where Graves was still tinkering with A. L.I.C.E. “I’ve brought along the mayor and a few people to help; we also have all of the items on your list to finish fixing the machine.”

Graves poked his head around and smiled at the sight of adults who actually believed in and were willing to support him.

“You think we can have this done before it gets too hot, Mr. Graves?” Mayor Barnes asked as she reached towards the elderly man for a handshake.

“I think we just might, Mrs. Barnes!” Graves replied jovially as he graciously took her hand and shook it.

They spent several hours hammering and sawing, hauling, and chunking until finally, Graves threw his hands up in excitement, exclaiming something about the computer system. He was so thrilled and giddy; he spoke so quickly that no one really understood what he said; they just understood that their work was almost done. All that was left was to transport the machine to the center of town.

The Heatwave Arrives

The truck was scheduled to arrive Friday morning, but a flat tire caused it to be closer to noon. By that time, the heatwave had already struck. This didn’t deter Graves from continuing with the plan, and A.L.I.C.E. was loaded up and shipped off to her new home.

It was brutally hot, the temperature seemed to keep going up, and the townspeople had retreated. The streets were eerily quiet.

“I hope this works.” The mayor declared as she fanned herself with a piece of cardboard she had picked up from somewhere.

Lacey and Mr. Graves worked feverishly to prepare the machine. With a deep sigh, Graves flipped the switch to turn it on, and A.L.I.C.E. whirred to life.

At first, everything seemed to work perfectly – the sky, which had been a harsh, unforgiving sun, began darkening as clouds began to form, a cool breeze swept through the town center, and people began to peek their heads out of their doorways as they felt some relief from the drop in temperature. But just as quickly as it happened, everything seemed to go wrong, and the machine began to malfunction, causing the weather to spiral out of control.

The sky darkened, and a powerful storm threatened to unleash chaos. Clouds thickened and churned, turning an ominous shade of green. A violent gush of wind howled through the streets, knocking over trash cans and sending debris flying through the air. Large, heavy raindrops began to fall, followed quickly by a torrential downpour.

“Shut it off!” The mayor squealed as she ducked beneath a restaurant awning. “Graves! Turn it off NOW!”

As lightning flashed across the sky, Lacey turned to Graves, who was standing in the rain. Even through the solid sheet of precipitation, she could see the sadness on his face. She wanted to run to him and hug him; she knew how hard it must be for him to realize that his life’s work had turned out to be nothing short of a disaster.

As she began to walk towards him, something caught her eye. A flicker. It was one of the embedded crystals; it was flickering like a lightbulb that had given  everything it had left until it finally burned out forever. “That’s it!” she thought to herself; that crystal is faulty; it needs to be replaced, and she pulled it out of its resting place. She soon remembered a story that her grandmother had told her about a unique crystal buried beneath the town square. “Wait!” she exclaimed, slapping Graves’ hand away from the A.L.I.C.E.’s power switch. “I have an idea.”

Through the wind and the rain, Lacey managed to make her way to the town square and, with the help of a few other brave souls, was able to unearth the crystal. As she ran back, the crystal began to pulse the closer they got to the machine. As she trudged through the mud, which was now caking on her shoes and legs, Lacey lunged forward and jammed the crystal into the machine where the faulty one had been.

A.L.I.C.E. stabilized, and the clouds parted. As the sun shone through, the sky above them presented giant rainbows. The heatwave broke, and the residents of Wynnemiller gathered in the town square to celebrate. They cheered for their unexpected heroes. Lacey and Graves shared a smile as the people gathered around them to thank them.

As the radio station announced the end of the heatwave, Lacey felt fulfilled. Not only had she made a new friend, but she realized that adventure and discovery could be found in even the most unlikely places.

Mr. Graves became a respected member of the community, and kids no longer told nasty stories about him. The story about him keeping his grandson locked away turned out to be nothing more than a fairy tale. In fact, Lacey had the pleasure of meeting his grandson, and they became fast friends. Lacey continued to visit Mr. Graves, learning more and more about science, engineering, and innovation. Their friendship blossomed, and Wynnemiller was finally able to proudly share that they were, after all, “Innovation Central.”