The Boiler Room

March 19th, 1884

       I nearly died today. The boiler almost exploded. If it had, you'd bet I be a melted blob of human flesh right now. Instead, I got away with a minor burn on my arm. A water injector broke. There are only two of them, and the boiler needs both working to keep from heating too quickly.
       I don't know how the city council could have overlooked this, though. The boiler was just repaired last month after it nearly exploded then. I don't know what happened, but the guy who had this job before me didn't have my luck. The guy was an old man of sixty-some-odd years, and the third degree burns from the steam almost killed him. Of course, if that hadn't happened, the job wouldn't have opened up for me to take... Anyway, the shoddy water injector should've been caught then.

       Besides a near scrape with death, I also ran into my little sister Molly.  We work in the same building, so it shouldn't be too unusual to see her. She works in administration, though. A desk job. So, really I haven't seen her since I moved out of her guest room a couple of weeks ago.
       I never thought Molly would be against the city council ordinances. Growing up, she always seemed so responsible. Keeping her bed made. Always polishing her copper gears and goggles. Never climbing on pipes, just like Mother said. But Molly told me she's tired of being under the city council's thumb. She's tired of living by their "ridiculous rules." She actually questioned their law not to let anyone beyond the dome. As if that weren't for our own safety!
       But, even worse, she said she got a letter from the Conductor.
       The Conductor is an absolute cad! He uses the Silver Train scam to lure innocent citizens from the safety of our city. Any idiot who reads the papers can see that. I never believed my sister an idiot.
       "The Silver Train is not something to be feared," Molly told me. "It will save us."  Save us from what? Why would we need to be saved from this city? Sure, we've suffered a few problems lately, but there's no reason we need to be saved.
       I only hope I can make her see reason. Before she falls victim to this "Conductor."