Excerpt: The Tungsten Mind

Malden's hands shook as he assembled the mechanism, who's design he had laid out on his desk. The look that had frozen itself on his wrinkled visage was one of utmost concentration. The tremors had set in only a year ago, and had become progressively worse even as the engineer become more ambitious. A single lamp illuminated his labors with a golden brown light that caused the bronze mechanism to shine and reflect onto the his glasses. A plethora of quiet mechanical clicks and grinding filled the room, sitting on the edge of hearing like trees on the horizon of sight. The only other source of light was the dim suggestion at moonlight that leaked in from underneath the tall, dark wooden door behind him. A light tapping came from the door. Malden turned the gear which he was examining over in his fingers several times before answering.
“Come in, Helios.”
The room was thrown into stark relief as a metal man opened the door. The light upon his head was pulsing slowly, first bright and slowly descending into a dim glow, and then back again. It revealed glimpses of other mechanisms lining the walls; clocks, motors, and machines so complicated that their function could not be reverse-engineered by sight alone. His limbs were weak and spindly, his torso uncovered. As he stepped into the room the gears, pistons springs and motors in his body all sprang to life; a mess of metallic chaos contained within the frail outline of his unfinished body. He spoke, though he had no mouth. His voice was strained and metallic, and with each sentence came an audible click that rang above the rest of his body's workings.
“Hello father.”
“Hello, Helios. How are you?”
Helios paused “I... Am troubled.”
Malden sighed and put down his tools, though a look of loving concern was on his face as his chair swiveled to face his creation. “What troubles you?” He asked
“Is this all that there is?” Helios responded. Malden frowned and looked curiously at Helios. He removed his glasses and wiped them upon his apron before look up again and asking.
“'This' being in reference to what, Helios? You must be specific.”
“Everything I have seen so far. The floors, the walls, you, the books in your study. I have known nothing else and it all adds up to be a frighteningly small existence. Why should I 'be' if there is so little for me to discover?”
Malden placed his glasses back on the bridge of his nose and rose creakily from his chair. He placed his hand on Helios' cold shoulder and looked directly into his expressionless eyes.
“Trust me Helios, there is more than you and I could possibly imagine. But you must be satisfied with what is before you for a time; you are not ready to see what the world has in store for you.”
“When will I be ready?”
“In due time. You must be finished first...” Malden ran his fingers over Helios' face. “I have to give you a mouth, eyebrows, and... Yes, here, let me show you something.” Malden turned his back on Helios and took the mechanism from the table. “This” he turned and held it up for Helios to see “will be your mouth.”
“...I look forward to it.”