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When he was satisfied that the gears and cranks and chains and presses were all working properly, he went to one of the sacks on the floor and pulled out a large handful of cashehich had been stripped of their poisonous fruit by a few Necessaries in the Ancients Sector ere scheduled to die soon anyway

Aaron carried the nuts to one end of the contraption and loaded them into the hopper--a metal box with a sh the hole, went down a chute, and landed neatly on a conveyor belt Aaron turned the crank, whichout of the chute landed a few inches apart from each other From the belt, the nuts dropped into a circular container with a mesh bottom and a thick metal lid The lid dropped on top of a few nuts and pressed down Aaron turned the crank harder, intently watching the circular container as the nuts were s minute, a small, cloudy drop of liquid fell onto the desk below

Aaron stared at the drop He let go of the crank and rushed over to the other side of the desk to look at it ently rubbed it between his finger and thumb It was silky smooth

"It works!" he cried "It works! Lia on the stairs and sliding in the hallway, and soon a wild-haired Lia a quick nap, poked his head in the doorway of Aaron’s office

"Come in, come in," Aaron said impatiently "You have to see this"

Liam came closer

Aaron pulled the cashew pulp out of the circular mesh container and popped it into hisThe nuts tasted like dirt, but they were still edible Another bonus! He’d feed the remains of his project to the Necessaries, and there would be no waste

"Noatch," he said He turned the crank The next nut dropped out of the hopper, went down the chute, and landed on the conveyor belt And then the next one did the sa until one by one they were deposited into theThe thick metal lid dropped down on top of the nuts and pressed down hard

"Watch over there!" Aaron cried, pointing

Liaer cloudy drop of oil splattered onto the desk below

"Touch it," Aaron commanded