And So It Began, With a Great Turning of Wheels

It was dark, dank, decrepit, and dilapidated, all rusted cogs and bars, tarnished chains, and dripping fluid. It had obviously not seen use in quite some time. It stood as an edifice to a more productive age, an age long passed into memory and the recollections of the elders. There was talk of tearing it down to make room for expansion; "Put that space to better use," the proponents said, "it's a waste keeping it there." Many had begun to agree with them. After all, wasn't the world changing? How would the community remain competitive if they clung to the old ways and outdated ideas? Gradually, the opinions of the community shifted. Even the elders began to acquiesce and turned their backs, one by one, on the machine. Finally, the young voices won out. The machine was to be dismantled and its warehouse put to use as storage space. All that remained was for the final vote to take place.

It was here, at the last moment, that he appeared in town and walked boldly up to the warehouse. Ignoring the locked door, he slipped in through a broken window. The members of the community followed him, some in anger at his trespassing, some in curiousity, and a few older souls in the faintest of hopes. They all gathered outside the warehouse and waited for something to happen. The expansionists, the ones who first put forth the idea of dismantling the machine, began to grow impatient and started to walk forward. A locksmith was called to deal with the door, so that the man inside could be dragged out and the expansion could proceed. It was only a matter of time. Those who had hoped for something to happen faltered in their beliefs. The locksmith gave a grunt and pushed his shoulder against the door, hard, and it swung open.

It was then that a great sound rumbled out from the warehouse; a turning, screeching, rusty, clanking sound that marched around the warehouse and through the ranks of people. A gout of steam erupted from the smokestack. Colour shot into the air and fell to the ground like rain. The elders smiled and shook their heads. There would be no tearing it down now, no dismantling it.

The man had restarted the Machine.