The Same Coin

A Grandiose Gesture

Winry didn't spare a glance for the hotel mirror as she prepared to leave her room. Her reflection had never held her interest, and she only noticed it except when she happened to catch it reflected in steel. She'd dressed in a drab olive button-up shirt that was soft and well- worn, with tan work overalls. The sleeves were tied around her waist. They were one of her better pairs; the tan hid some of the work stains, and there were only a few scorch marks.

The hotel room here was easily the nicest place she'd ever stayed. After what had happened with the airship, the corporation had insisted on repaying her somehow — if she hadn't intervened, the airship would have crashed and cost them millions. She was a much cheaper date. They'd agreed to put her up in a higher rated hotel than Garfiel would be getting a refund for.

The suite in the Hotel Beitacle was bigger than her grandmother's house back in Resembool. There was a sitting room with bar and two bedrooms, each with its own bath. Both freestanding tubs sat before tinted glass windows that looked out across Yorknew City, and the walk-in glass showers were bigger than her room at Garfiel's. The suite also had a private balcony to dine on, with a pool.

Hotel Beitacle came with all the requisite perks; turndown service, laundry, even a pillow menu. She deliberately chose not to take a bag today, instead opting to put the essentials — e.g. her work gloves, wrench, and gun — into her pockets. She ahad a money clip, fat with a generous reward tucked inside her blouse. After all, she'd been raised to drive a hard bargain — and she was still a cheaper date than a crashed airship.

Winry stepped into the elevator, and her eyes began darting around, searching for the mechanisms that she could hear moving. The technology here in Saherta was nothing less than fantastical — airships, elevators, even the escalators from the airport were breathtaking. This place was whimsical, and she was completely dumbfounded that a place so advanced didn't have automail.

Winry walked to the Bull Market, attentively watching everyone she passed on her way. People talked into mobile telephones and the cars were so different than in Amestris — these were low and sleek. The buildings, however, were so tall. When she'd first gone to Central to see Edward, she'd been convinced it was the biggest, most advanced place in the entire world. Yorknew City, however, was forcing her to reevaluate her perspective on the entire world.

She found the Bull Market easy enough and a switch inside her flipped into work mode once she arrived. Winry began scouring the vendor stalls, searching for anything she thought she or Garfiel could use — but she quickly realized what the greatest dilemma was:

There was simply too large of a gap between the technology of Amestris and the technology of Saherta.

Winry opted to use some of her personal money to purchase a computer and a cellphone to experiment on. She didn't want to use Garfiel's money on them, just in case she couldn't figure out how they worked and how to incorporate either into an automail design. The screens were problematic. While that would be suitable for some automail users, for someone like Ed — who was in combat a little too frequently for her tastes — it wouldn't be functional. A weak point. Too vulnerable.

She found herself looking mostly at the older technologies; things that were outdated here in Saherta, but were still ahead-of-the-times for Amestris. She put in a bid on something she found called a transistor, and a hydrogen fuel cell. She'd heard Ed talk about hydrogen more than a few times. She was willing to bet if he could figure hydrogen out, she could, too.

The most promising device she found was something called a drone. She wondered what Ed would think of the ability to have something detach from his automail and go airborne, so that it could attack from above. Or maybe for surveillance.