The Engine What Runs the World by Quinn Buckland

Author:Quinn Buckland [Buckland, Quinn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-07-14T22:00:00+00:00

15

Smoke had never seen anything so vast or expansive. The cogs which spun in a synchronised pattern spanned as far as he could see. Hundreds of boilers sat on interconnected platforms manned by no less than three people at any given time. The pipes that brought water in and let out steam came from the ceiling. Copper wires were spread in every direction, giving the look of a chaotic, though intricate web. Several sprockets attached to the walls and platforms spun massive columns of chain that looked to be what rotated the gears.

Robert grinned at him and slapped Smoke on the shoulder. “Come with me. I have to bring you to my boss.”

Smoke could hardly hear him. It wasn’t that the noise had been deafening. The place was loud; it would have been neigh impossible for a machine this large to have been silent. He could have heard Robert perfectly if his mind hadn’t still been preoccupied with the machine. He tried to piece together everything that he could see to figure out what the machine did. To his dismay he couldn’t think of anything.

He turned towards Robert, “Did you say something?”

Robert grinned; this hadn’t been the first time he’d had to repeat himself to a person recently introduced to ‘The Engine What Runs the World’. He gave Smoke a slight chuckle and shook his head. “Every time,” he said before taking a long pause to chuckle to himself. “Everyone needs me to repeat this part. I always try to give enough time to adjust at least to a point but it never works. I said we should get going. I need to take you to see my boss. She will give you the grand tour.”

Smoke nodded, he wasn’t quite sure just what to say to that. He followed Robert through several narrow paths over the spinning gears and sprockets. One false move or even the lightest shove and a person could fall over into the gears. The body would never be found or reconstructed; the cogs would tear a body to shreds, leaving unrecognizable red goo. That hadn’t been a thought Smoke wanted, but it had been where his brain went and he was stuck with the mental image of himself being turned into the red goo on the floor beneath, the only distinguishing feature being the tattered remains of his longcoat and hat.

He didn’t trust Robert to not push him off the ledge. If he tried anything, he’d be taking the psychopath along with him. “How far is your boss?” Smoke asked, trying to break the silence between them, filled only by the sound of metal on metal.

“Not much farther,” he said, pointing towards a cliff standing several hundred feet upward. “We’re going there. It’s an easy walk, lesser men have made it, and so will you.”

Smoke gave a half smile and continued forward. He wondered what kind of person could run this sort of place. He wondered what sort of person could build such a place and keep it secret.

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