The Machine
Where have you been? It's alright, we know where you've been
Schizophrenia below, please ignore.
What is the Machine?
The Machine is everything. The Machine is all-consuming. It would be better to ask what the Machine isn't. The Machine turns everyone into a cog for the Machine. The cogs only exist to further the Machine. The Machine knows this, the cogs are expendable. The Machine knows cogs don't need personality. The Machine knows cogs don't need independent thought. Cogs serve one purpose: keep the Machine alive.
The Cogs
Cogs don't last forever, so the Machine needs to replace them. How does the Machine replace cogs? Simple: it forges new ones. The youth of the world are shaped by the Machine to become cogs. These cogs will go onto propagate the Machine for another generation, before recruiting a new generation of cogs to join in their places. Without new cogs, the Machine will break. The Machine knows this. The Machine goes to great lengths to make sure that it cannot collapse.
Is there an Escape?
No, you cannot escape the Machine. The Machine knows where you are. The Machine knows what you want. The Machine knows what you have. The Machine knows how to distract you. The Machine knows how to break you. The Machine knows that you dislike the Machine. The Machine is not afraid of you. The Machine cannot be afraid of you, it's not a real thing. Right?
Living with the Machine
Can one live in the Machine without becoming a faceless cog? Can one live in the Machine without helping it continue its destruction? Can one live in the Machine and remain sane? Will the Machine outlive modernity? Or, is modernity the Machine?
No one will know. Is there a life beyond the Machine? No one will know.
They know