Arthur sighed. He could order them online, but he didn't want to wait three days for a cardboard box to arrive from a warehouse across the country. He wanted the smell of solder in the air tonight.

An older man with thick spectacles looked up from a workbench. "Need something specific, or just browsing the bins?"

The following story explores the quest for the perfect component to complete a passion project.

"Local hobbyists usually go to the big industrial suppliers like or Mouser for bulk," Barnaby explained as he rang up the fifty-cent purchase. "Or they hit the big-box hardware stores if they just need basic electrical wire. But for the soul of a machine like yours? You need a specialist."

He drove further out, toward the industrial district, until he spotted a faded yellow sign: . The shop was a narrow slice of a building, wedged between a tire shop and a bakery. Inside, the walls were lined from floor to ceiling with tiny plastic drawers, each labeled with cryptic codes and values.