Mysterious Machine Part 1

When we discover the machine most of it is buried and hidden from sight. The piece we see is just the tip of the iceberg, a tiny fraction of the whole, but even that is enough to incite awe and wonder in our hearts. It's a thing of beauty, a gigantic piece of art, a device so complex and magnificent it stops us dead in our tracks. 

We circle the exposed portion of the machine cautiously, studying its moving parts. There are countless pieces in all shapes and sizes and they interact together in strange ways. Some of the pieces come together and produce new components; other pieces consume lesser parts, assimilating them into their own circuitry. Some parts are stationary. Others move but appear to serve no purpose whatsoever. 

It isn't long before we start asking ourselves questions. Where did the device come from? Who built it and why? What is its purpose or function? How does it work? How do the parts move and function  without help? 

Crowds gather around to marvel at the machine. This one guy steps forward brimming with confidence and he rolls his eyes at our questions. Things don't just move of their own accord, you morons! There's clearly people hiding inside the machine and moving the pieces. And since they know how it works, they must've built it, too!

We label the myriad parts, record their movements and interactions, and note their function. Some parts move with regularity, allowing us to keep track of time. Other parts yield food and drink at regular intervals. There are even pieces that can be manipulated to produce resources for making tools and clothes!

As more and more people poke and prod at the machine it begins to reveal a sinister side. It produces fire and lightning, striking down unlucky ones. It acts without prompting, injuring and killing for no apparent reason. One time it opens up and swallows this poor lady whole.

We're scared of the machine now but we're too intrigued and dependent on its gifts to leave it alone. We keep tinkering, ignoring the risks. 
 

The arrogant know-it-all shows up again. This time he claims that the PIM (people inside the machine) chose him to be their spokesman. We ask the spokesman why the machine has turned against us and he replies like a parent answering a child's annoying question. They want gifts for their hard work. If you don't give them what they want, they’ll keep turning the machine against you.

We start singing, praising, and dancing but the PIM never acknowledge our worship. They want you to build a temple in their name, the spokesman says. We use materials provided by the machine to build a temple. We dedicate it to the PIM and furnish it with all kinds of trinkets. 

The spokesman moves into the temple promptly. The PIM are pleased, he announces. Carry on.

Now people are lining up to ask the spokesman questions. 

"Where did the PIM come from?"

They didn't come from anywhere. They've always been here.

"Why did they make the machine?"

Because they were bored and wanted to make something awesome. Next!

"Where do we come from?"

The spokesman pauses. "The PIM made us so that someone might use their machine."

"Why does the machine harm us sometimes?"

The machine only hurts you when you make the PIM angry. As long as you do what they ask, the machine will continue to serve us.

"How do we know what the PIM want with us?"

The spokesman smiles. I'll tell you what they want, that's how.

Most people are content with the spokesman's answers. They give up tinkering with the mysterious machine and start doing the spokesman's bidding.

Some of us can't help ourselves. The spokesman might be right or he might be wrong. Why take his word for it when the machine is right there for us to see and touch and study? We keep experimenting, pulling levers and flipping switches. In doing so we learn more about the machine and develop better tools with which to study it. 

The more we learn about the machine and its myriad parts, the better we get at developing new tools. We start to dig around the machine, discovering new parts and pieces. We take better and better measurements of it. We compare notes with others who have studied the machine. 

As we learn more about the machine we realize we don't really understand the machine at all. It's bigger than we imagined, bigger than we can imagine. Some start doubting the spokesman and his story about the PIM. How is it that the PIM have always been here? We all come from somewhere.

And if the PIM do exist and they're smart and powerful enough to make this wondrous and mysterious machine, why can't they come out and explain how it works to us directly? Why did they pick this one guy as their spokesman? Seems like a pretty silly way to do things, which is weird because it the PIM supposedly built this amazing device capable of miraculous things.

A brave few start to doubt the PIM's existence. "What if the machine works all by itself through some unknown mechanism or power-source? Sure, that doesn't explain who made the machine, but then again why does the machine require a maker? Maybe the machine is the ultimate maker. Maybe its function is to create and destroy."

"Maybe the machine made itself. Maybe it is constantly building and rebuilding, building and rebuilding, endlessly and forever."

"Wait. What if the machine made us?"

"If that's the case then we're no different from the other components, parts, and pieces we have been studying. We're just another cog in the wheel, another set of gears interacting with each other and the myriad parts in strange and wonderful ways!"

Blasphemy! says the spokesman. You wouldn't expect a watch to make itself, would you? 

By now the spokesman has lost some of his prestige. Dozens of other spokesmen have risen from the rank and file, each one claiming to have a direct line to whoever or whatever made the machine. Each one provides a different explanation about the machine's purpose, gathering his own set of followers.

These new spokesmen build a fence around the machine. The machine is sacred, a gift from the Makers, they announce. Only the chosen ones may study and interpret the machine's functions. Anyone else who dares approach the machine will be shot. Now get back to work!

Most people listen but there's one or two of us who can't leave the machine alone. It's captured our imagination and promises to reveal mind-blowing secrets if we just keep messing with it. 

At night, when everyone is asleep, we climb the fences. We keep digging, noting, and experimenting.

What good is a life of lies, anyway? Better death and truth, we say.

To be continued...