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Generic faction illustration for Mechanical
faction

Mechanical

Maintenance

Mechanical is the silo’s maintenance community, diminished by fighting and evacuation; some of its people now marvel at the bunker’s moving platform.

Story so far

Mechanical accepted Juliette as an unusually young apprentice and became the mutually supportive community she remembered for its overlapping practical skills. Headed by Deagan Knox, it occupied eight floors and kept vital systems working; Juliette said it recycled the silo’s oxygen and pumped exhaled toxins into the earth. Its blue-clad workers worked considerable overtime, used computers for control and diagnostics, and designed durable heat tape. Hundreds signed a petition to save Juliette.

Anger over deliberately failing cleaning suits helped drive Mechanical into rebellion. Workers improvised weapons and marched upward, while others kept equipment running. Retreat became a prolonged barricaded struggle, and defenders were killed as attackers penetrated their position; radio reports eventually announced surrenders. The workforce remained depleted when people were diverted to the excavation, and Shirly supervised skeleton shifts.

People from Mechanical helped evacuate residents at the bottom of the stairs. Its continuing need for workers remained urgent. Those who have reached the bunker outside now marvel at its moving platform.

Appearance

Mechanical workers traditionally wear blue denim overalls and carry blue identification cards. Its former working area occupied eight silo floors.

Role

It is the technical community responsible for essential maintenance and a source of the skills used in excavation and evacuation.

Relationships

Juliette — Juliette grew from Mechanical apprentice into a worker whose community petitioned for her survival.
Shirly — Shirly supervised its skeleton shifts after violence reduced its workforce.

Earlier in this series

Also appears in books you've already read — spoiler-safe to their endings:

Sources — 7 recorded facts, by chapter
Chapter 3
  • Mechanical’s workforce was already depleted by violence when workers were called away for the excavation.
Chapter 15
  • Mechanical operates with skeleton shifts under Shirly’s supervision.
Chapter 30
  • Some third-shift mechanics visit the other silo instead of sleeping, according to Shirly.
Chapter 33
  • Lukas remembers Mechanical once trying to choke him with diverted gas while he was locked in the server room.
Chapter 35
  • People from Mechanical help with the evacuation at the bottom of the stairs.
Chapter 54
  • Juliette says Mechanical needs workers.
Chapter 64
  • People from Mechanical marvel at the bunker’s moving platform.
Character portrait