Byron stepped forward cautiously and touched the golden projection, and in a trance seemed to hear a sacred chant echoing in his ears:
"Ring the bell once, push the lever, activate the piston and pump; ring the bell twice, press the button, ignite the engine, light up the turbine, inject life;
Ring the bell three times, sing in unison, praise the God of All Machines!"
When he came to his senses, he realized that the sacred chant was a figment of his imagination, but the presence of a living [Machine Spirit] was undeniably real!
Whoosh—!
A gust of wind swept by, and the enormous projection enveloping the prototype machine instantly dissipated, replaced by a golden Leviathan Whale soaring in the air.
It was not a creature of flesh and blood, but a mechanical entity composed of levers, gears, drive shafts, cylinders... and so on, with white hot steam continuously spewing from its vents.
Its eyes were pure yet bewildered, with a straightforwardness unique to machinery.
