 Laura
“Hydro” Thompson
Age: 32
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 160
Nickname: Hydro
A wiry and intense woman in perpetual motion.
Personal background: Hydro has always gone against expectation.
She is stubbornly independent, rather than pointedly rebellious. In
important ways, her feeling of being the perpetual outsider has given
her freedom from social pressures, and allows her to observe intently,
which is an essential element in her creative process.
Early on Laura's father had pointed out the extraordinary fact that,
unlike most compounds, solid water (ice) is less dense than its liquid
counterpart. The fact that water, which makes up 71% of the planet’s
surface, disobeys this otherwise useful principle gave Hydro the confidence
that anything is possible, no matter how crazy it may seem at first.
It is just necessary observe by experiment, and be ready at any moment
to have that observation contradict "established" principles.
At age 12, for her science project Laura developed a water-filtering
system for water fountains. Her teacher insisted it would have won the
state science fair had she not lost the entry forms, forgotten the deadline,
and refused to write the required 3-page report. It was then that her
uncle dubbed her "Hydro" because she was as willful as a river,
and as changeable. Hydro has strong opinions about the "most precious
resource." Water, she points out, is essential to life, but can
be deadly, especially if it is mismanaged. She says that while some
people believe that those who control water control life, she believes
that it is impossible for anyone to really control water. Instead, her
approach is to work with it, knowing intimately its abilities and properties.
Hydro is well-liked, by some, because of her caustic sense of humor,
her intelligence, and the directness and honesty that derives from a
kind of obliviousness. Others are put off by her relaxed, even apathetic,
attitude toward formality. She finds most codes of conduct and appearance
not so much laughable as easy to ignore.
Business background: After college Hydro had a dozen or more
jobs before beginning work for Maxlore. She never stayed at one for
more than a year and a half. Never subtle, she tended to say the wrong
thing when the boss was around. Or she felt an undeniable urge to move
on.
She worked her way through college as a mechanic. After graduating,
she designed septic systems for contractor friends of her father's.
Needing a change of pace, she apprenticed in a foundry, learning the
techniques of casting the latest exotic alloys. Her next position was
at Groton shipyard working as an engineer using her knowledge of metallurgy
to improve the structural-integrity of nuclear submarine hulls. Being
part of a team worked well for awhile, but Hydro, wanting more input
and control over the final product of her work, left her prestigious
position at Groton for a lower-paying position at a smaller company
where she designed bathospheres and underwater submersibles.
Just after she turned 30, Hydro began working as an engineer, updating
the turbines of the Hoover Dam, replacing older technology with newer.
The company forced out several of her co-workers when they accused the
company of a lack of concern for the social and environmental impact
of their policies. Hydro did not leave and still questions her decision
to support the project, and wonders if her single-minded focus on challenge
and innovation can lead her astray.
Hydro began working for Maxlore when he bought one of her early submersibles
and, impressed, offered her a sizeable salary - and complete creative
control -- to work on a project she had already begun on her own. She
has stayed because the position gives her financial stability and the
ability to work on nearly any project that strikes her fancy.
Wanting to learn more, she worked her way to a prestigious position
improving the efficiency of the submarines' hydraulic and power-supply
systems.
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