Editing Crucible:Beetle (section)

== Barney Furley ==

Barney Furley spent most of his life being overlooked.

Bookish, awkward, and chronically timid, Barney possessed one extraordinary gift: an almost supernatural talent for machinery. He could repair nearly anything mechanical, often improving devices in the process without fully realizing how impressive his work actually was.

Unfortunately, talent alone was never enough to overcome Furley’s complete lack of confidence.

He struggled financially, failed repeatedly in business ventures, and spent much of his adult life drifting through low-paying technical jobs while watching less capable people achieve success he secretly believed should have been his.

What Barney wanted most was respect.

Money mattered.

Recognition mattered more.

Especially from women like his longtime crush, the perpetually unimpressed '''Miss Lurlene'''.