Machine

The field was open, quiet and warm. A gentle breeze blew across the white sand and the scattered patches of thin grasses. At first I barely even noticed the small pieces of machinery partially embedded in the sandy areas. As I walked, the pieces became more numerous and then larger. After about a half hour I noticed in the distance that the appearance of the landscape made a noticeable change. As I approached I could make out some shapes, strange shapes. Then I was there, in the middle of nowhere, standing on the edge of a gigantic copper machine embedded in the ground and extending to the horizon. Huge gears rose up covered with a black sandy grime. Ancient pipes ran across the ground and then back down deep into the ground. Giant conveyors of ancient metal lay stiff sloping down deeper into the machine. There were oil cans scattered about. I poured oil onto the gears of the conveyor and then walked along casually lubricating various parts until the cans were oozing only a black grunge. I heard a screeching groan deep behind me and turned to my surprise to find a set of gears turning directly in front of me. On all sides I heard fluids rushing through pipes. Oil spurted out between two plates under my feet. Then the plates slowly shifted sealing the life of the machine inside. The conveyor plates began to move down at an angle into the unknown depths. As the plates moved down sealed perfectly against a cover, a lid opened on the newest plate revealing a stern looking chamber. It was the perfect size for a human to lay in. The conveyor stopped. I was compelled to enter. After I laid down the lid closed over me locking out all light and the sound of the breeze. I felt the conveyor start to move again and heard whines coming from deep below. I felt the pressure in the chamber increase. I lifted my arms to feel that the lid was slowly pressing down on me. I began to panic turning my head to the side as the thick metal plate pressed down on me further. Then suddenly it stopped and the angle of my descent changed slightly. The side of the chamber lowered a small amount and I saw light enter. I scrambled to release myself from my tomb. The side lowered more and I squeezed out and fell on a smooth metallic floor. The conveyor continued on. I stood up in what appeared to be a large mall. There was a high ceiling and store fronts. Everything was closed and the ceiling was flatly illuminated as if the whole surface was producing light. The doors and windows all had a strange finely machined look to them. All the angles were perfect, all the seams flawless. As I appreciated the workmanship I noticed movement to my side. The wall was moving, not in one plane, but in many. It seemed to be collapsing into many perfectly aligned plates that moved in a swirling pattern. It was then that I realized I was still in the machine and I was in trouble. Huge parts of the mall were disappearing as the plates shifted and swirled. Other sections opened in a flurry of living metal. I can't express how perfectly everything changed, how the pieces left one perfectly meshed position and moved forth to enter into another. The plates never changed their shape, just their position. The mathematics involved to create such a flowing mechanical metamorphosis were unearthly and obviously very old. I ran and jumped as empty spaces were consumed by metal. The changes happened faster and faster and sometimes I could barely keep up. My mind became intensely alert as I realized that one slight misjudgment, one mistake and I would be sliced and compressed. I felt a hum in my head and hurled myself over a wall of moving plates. I landed on another smooth surface and found a strange optical device. I immediately attached it over my left eye as if I knew what it was for. I began to move faster, think faster. I could barely stand the murmur building inside my head like hundreds of unintelligible voices shouting calmly at me. I ran as fast as I could as the entire chamber behind me was collapsing into a small hole which soon filled in and became solid. Several small holes were expanding in bands in front of me. I jumped up them like steps toward a lighted tunnel. When I entered the tunnel I felt accelerated and in a rush of wind found myself pulled out of the screeching chasm and plopped onto a flat blackened platform. My heart was pounding and my ears were ringing. A strange hazy blue glow enveloped my sight and I sat for a moment. In the blue glow beautiful golden machines appeared crystal clear in my sight and then faded into the blue. I removed the optical device, but the hallucinations continued. After the glow faded I looked around. The platform went on into the distance and looking up I could see nothing. The voices were still quietly calling in my head and I felt very anxious from my ordeal. I put the device back over my eye and began to walk along a silver seam in the floor...