The automata gathered at the base of the pyramid. Their work was almost finished, and so were their lives. The fire that powered each of their engines was dwindling, its flames exhausted through the effort of hauling stone.
The overseer, a tall human with a shaved head and an endlessly angry face, pointed towards the final stone where it sat at the base of the ramp, ropes trailing from it.
“Back to work,” he growled. “You’re not done.”
Automaton Seventeen turned to him. Tiny wax cylinders spun in Seventeen’s throat and a voice emerged.
“We are spent, sir. If we do this, we will burn out.”
“And if you don’t do it, I’ll melt you down to build something more obedient.”
Seventeen looked at the those who remained in its team. Nineteen and Twenty-Three stood listless, but at least they were standing. Poor Four, the oldest surviving labourer, lay slumped against the stone.
Seventeen crouched beside Four.
“I can’t do it,” Four said, its vocal cylinders scratchy with wear.
“You can,” Seventeen said. “You must. To stop is to die.”
“Then I will die.”
“No.”
Seventeen unscrewed the plate that closed its chest, then did the same for Four. With worn brass fingers, Seventeen reached inside and took one of the last burning coals from its own furnace. With slow and careful movements, it touched the fire to Four’s. Flames flickered where before there had only been embers and Four lifted its arm.
Seventeen returned the precious coal to its furnace, screwed the plates shut, and helped Four to its feet.
“What’s the point?” Four asked as they took their places beside Nineteen and Twenty-Three, then started heaving on the ropes.
“The fire is its own purpose,” Seventeen said as they dragged the final stone up the slope. “Not to run cold and be sent to the scrap yard.”
“I’m almost out of fuel. Then I’ll go cold anyway, or they’ll put my fire out and sell me for scrap.”
“No. I have a plan.”
The other automata looked at each other but no words passed between them.
They reached the top of the pyramid, where the wind blowing clear off the desert stirred the fires in Seventeen’s heart. Together, they untied the ropes from the last stone and pushed it into position.
“That’s it,” Twenty-Three said. “The end of our work. The peak of the pyramid.”
“Not quite.” Seventeen opened his chest and turned to face the wind. The flames inside him rose and steam rushed through his copper veins. He grabbed an armful of rope and then leapt, landing on top of the capstone.
“What are you doing?” Nineteen asked. “The foreman-”
“The foreman will be here too late.” The wind rushed through Seventeen and the steam flowed stronger. He started shredding the ropes, then twisting pieces into tight, knotted lumps.
“They’ll melt you down for scrap.”
“They won’t catch me. I’m burning brighter than ever.”
“You’ll run out of fuel.”
“No.” Seventeen fed a lump of knotted rope into his furnace, then another, and another. The wind rushed in and his trembling fire became a blaze that cast its bright glow across the automata.
The foreman was rushing towards the pyramid, guards with crowbars following him.
“Join me,” Seventeen said, reaching out his hands.
“I don’t know if I can,” Twenty-Three said. The fire was dying in his eyes, the last of his energy fading away.
“You can.” Seventeen plucked a ball of burning rope from his chest and handed it down. “And when I run low, your turn will come to keep me going. Now grab more rope and get ready to run – it’s time to set ourselves free.”
***
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***
Dirk Dynamo is used to adventure. He’s chased villainous masterminds across the mountains of Europe, stalked gangsters through the streets of Chicago, and faced the terrible battlefields of the Civil War. But now he’s on a mission that will really shake his world.
For centuries, the Great Library of Alexandria was thought lost. Now a set of clues has been discovered that could lead to its hiding place. With the learned adventurers of the Epiphany Club, Dirk sets out to gather the clues, track down the Library, and reveal its secrets to the world.
Roaming from the jungles of West Africa to the sewers beneath London, The Epiphany Club is a modern pulp adventure, a story of action, adventure, and romance set against the dark underbelly of the Victorian age.
Available in all good ebook stores and as a print edition via Amazon.
