Jessie is always able to inspire all those around her, but this is not her most valuable skill. She is an excellent Machinist, probably one of the very best.
People have Jessie to thank for the recent inventions: compact shower heaters, automatic conveyor belts for the iron and coal fields, and steam-powered chainsaws. They all helped to improve productivity and quality of life. Jessie's other inventions include a series of children's toys and trinkets, less practical but much-beloved by families. "We should still have fun even at the end of the world," is what she always says.
Last but not least, her latest weaponry greatly improved City security. "I didn't expect Jessie of all people to carry such a heavy rifle". A kind-hearted manner should not be mistaken for weakness, and Jessie has been known to show a much more aggressive side when defending fellow survivors. She was nicknamed "the machinist machine-gunner" after helping to repel a bandit assault with one of her new inventions. The bandits scattered from the hail of bullets as fellow defenders stared at Jessie with newfound awe in their eyes.
Though Jessie is always smiling, she also has wounds of her own. Her optimism is more like a defense mechanism than genuine cheerfulness. Jessie may try to suppress the memories, but there are times when the past well up in her thoughts.
Jessie once lived in Arcadia, the crown jewel of Cities and a genuine utopia of the post-Great Chill world. The City Chief (a former engineer) had realized early on that the oncoming winter posed an enormous threat to our survival, and took every methodical, technological, and societal step to ensure that their oasis could endure for the long haul. Unfortunately, years of prosperity could not make up for a lack of military strength.
Arcadia could not remain immune to the fires of war. The city was ravaged in a day by a well-organized band of invaders, Jessie and the other survivors were sent on a run for their lives. After that, Jessie has come to a very different view of firearms: they are needed to achieve the "hopes for a better world".