What Lies Beneath the Old Mill (part.2)
>barely a fifth of the way through, I've gone from excited to confused
>anoniel makes numerous references to pieces of American history I've never even heard of
>he talks about concentration camps for women, and a "waifu industry"
>not only that, but the US won the revolutionary war because of the founding of this industry, which in turn lead to a cultural renaissance
>apparently, there was even an amendment which guarded man's right to the feminine facsimilies
>continued reading doesn't reveal much more detail about this, unfortunately
>the journal mostly chronicles his time spent designing experimental weapons for the Confederacy
>he delves into great detail about an automated turret system, quite a radical concept for the time
>he also wanted to send out steam-powered artificial women to the battlefield to fight alongside men
>due to the constraints of steam power, however, he was forced to make his design stationary, so he decided to combine the two ideas
>material and industrial constraints of the Confederacy further limited him, meaning he could only build one
>this steam battle-waifu, the first and last, was destroyed by unknown means in the battle of Atlanta
>from there, the journal entries grow chronologically further apart
>shortly before the fall of the Confederacy, he fled to what would become Kansas, and built the house and mill I'm standing in
>in the basement of the mill, he began to build his original civilian waifu prototype
>however, he fell ill partway through, and couldn't finish
>with the last of his strength, he pens his final testament in December of 1899:
>"Of the man who finds this journal, I beg of you, finish what I started. I could find no love, but there is still hope for you. She is very near to completion. She is underneath the mill, waiting to know the warmth of love."
>thoroughly haunted, I ponder anoniel's words
>none of the things he speaks of make any sense, when compared to my existing knowledge of history
>could he be a madman, or is this America's greatest secret?
>and more importantly, just what am I going to find entombed beneath the mill?
>I notice a slight seam in the floorboards under the desk
>well, only one way to find out
>and this time, I'm going to see this expedition through to completion
>I grab a flashlight, move the desk, and make my way down the hatch and into a place untouched for nearly a hundred years
>as I descend, my thoughts wander back to the statue
>particularly the... anatomic accommodations
>come to think of it, that isn't the first time I've come across anthropomorphic anomalies like that
>numerous times I've come across ancient living quarters or workshops that contain pieces of some similarly strange statue, or stray bits of rudimentary machinery that seemed to once be a part of something distinctly human
>is there a connection to be made here?
>it's then that I realize I've been standing at the bottom of the ladder for five minutes
>I can worry about all that later
>now, it's time to do what I do best
>shining my flashlight around reveals a wealth of dusty, rotting schematics, and other documents scattered amongst a haphazard mix of metal and wooden furniture on a packed dirt floor
>hopefully I won't be needing those papers too much, anoniel stated his project was only mostly complete
>delving further into the darkness reveals a small pile of pipes, plates, and other metallic pieces of god only knows what resting on a cloth tarp near a mechanical elevator
>then, resting at the very far end of the basement, I see it
>or, more precisely, her
>laying atop a metal platform lies an astoundingly complex construct of pipes, switches, levers, piano wire, and even motors with electrical wiring, all painstakingly crafted by the hands of a true master for the sole purpose of human emulation
>and quite a convincing construct she is, metallic construction aside
>contrary to the earlier design detailed in the journal, her design seems to be not only mobile, but human, everything being contained within a distinctly female form, with only a strange power cable leading out of her, likely designed for use with a lead-acid battery bank
>her form bore an alluring curvature, reminiscent of those famed paintings that are really just old-world pornography
>hmm
>unsurprisingly, shining my flashlight between her legs reveals a strategically placed hollow pipe
>what is surprising is the presence of a mechanical button in the back
>it seems anoniel went to great pains to make her fully featured
>why would he go to so much trouble, though?
>given the technology of the time, he'd at best be able to grant her twice the mental capacity of a woman
>and that won't get you very far
>of course, that may be my own jaded mind misconstruing things
>maybe intelligence isn't the goal, but rather an upgrade