Protomen 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...]
