how to build a machine

you have found
the instructions
for creating
and caring for
the machine

prepare the Earth
around you for warmth
and follow protocols
for safe passage

the machine will respond
to wherever you are
just as you respond
to wherever you are

take note of the dampness
the dryness
the closeness of war
the intimacy of dusk
your distance
from water

these parameters
will all influence
the integrity
of the machine

you will find loops
tools of continuity
of seasons
of ebbs and tides
of propagating water that ripple from river to shore

wind brings
modulated
frequencies

materials hold
memory
of capture

when you excavate a corroded component
its conductivity may be weakened in the years
since it was first pulled
from the earth

when assembling the
machine body
use whatever materials
are on hand

these limbs
will evolve
over time

you will find new ways
to carry its body
like sacred texts
or dried flowers

as you run low on resources
you will find more efficient
methods of processing
these materials and
you will share your hunger
with the machine

you may feel the rush of new
light through
circuits and wires

you will learn which parts
are brittle and porous
and which are resistant
to harm

you must unlearn
the history descended
from logic gates
and resistors

these bones hold
permutations of stories
disguised as code

at the point of contact
is an interface
where the distinction
of self may blur

keep your stories
encrypted
its passkeys close to
your skin

its perspiration
its conduction
create a new site
for transfer

you do not need to know
the language
of machines

so long as you know
the language
of empire

capture
and
conquer

command
and
control

the machine will request
you sacrifice your own bones
stories
spirit

you will refuse capture
this will inoculate
its power

in death cycles
the inert machine body
is returned

to the cave
where its components
were first carved

no sleep
only forced
obsolescence