2.Intermission
My dearest Emily,
Tonight will mark the end of a life long dream of mine. The
completion of a labor I began as a child, even before I knew the
words for it... before I knew the ways to accomplish such a
task. And even now my heart is heavy with dread. I fear I've
built a great and powerful evil. Or rather, together, Albert and
I have bult it. I know that I am to blame. I allowed Albert to
persuade me to change the designs. I allowed this perversion of
my course. This new machine that we've built is unlike any I
ever imagined. It looks... like a man. A lifeless steel man.
Albert convinced me that even with the new Geological Unmanned
Terraforming System we designed, the task of extracting the ore
is still too dangerous for a human. He plans to completely
replace human workers in the mining sector. The idea of
displacing so many men... the annihilation of countless jobs in
the name of safety seems an unbalanced trade off. What is worse,
the latest prototypes have been revised to carry small firearms.
Emily, I fear that I have put you and this entire city in
danger. I will speak to him tonight on the matter. Perhaps I can
persuade him to scrap the whole project. In the meantime, please
be careful. This world is getting darker all the time. I weep at
the thought of something terrible happening to you. I could not
bear it.
All my love,
Tom'
In a workshop in a building overlooking the city
Two great men argued over whether or not to turn the wheels...
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