Novalyst.
Spoiler-aware compendium Sign in
Library/ Dust
Compendium Story so far
Reading position Whole book
Whole book
← The Compendium
Generic item illustration for Digger
item

Digger

The digger opened a passage between silos and became an evacuation route; its fuel and orientation now suggest another possible destination.

Story so far

Solo identified the buried diggers as the machines that excavated the silo, guessing that they were too heavy to remove and had been walled in. When Juliette’s workers uncovered a machine, they found a huge steel cylinder with cutting discs, tracks, a transmission, and rear chutes for removing crushed rock. It had no installed engine, though its mountings and removable rear plates offered a way to fit one. Juliette suspected an airtight chamber had preserved it.

The restored digger broke through into the neighboring silo’s generator room at level one-forty-two. People could pass beside it or through its interior corridor, making it the link between the silos and later the bottleneck at the end of the evacuation tunnel. An explosion shook it during the escape. Refugees subsequently tried to turn it to dig another way out, while its cleared conveyor became a workbench.

The team’s plan is to clear space around the machine and operate its tracks separately. Charlotte has theorized that the digger was meant for something other than travel between silos. Raph says the survivors have only one working generator for two diggers, and Juliette believes the large fuel supply points to a much longer intended journey.

In presenting her escape proposal, Juliette says the diggers point slightly upward and warns that running and turning the machine have already consumed fuel.

Appearance

A steel cylinder one silo level high and twice as long, with tracks along its bottom, sides, and ceiling. Its cutting face carries many spinning discs within a larger disc; rear chutes discharge crushed rock.

Role

Excavation machinery that connected the silos and carried evacuees; it now informs competing plans for escape.

Relationships

Juliette — Juliette studies and restores the machine, then interprets its fuel capacity as evidence of a longer intended route.
Charlotte — Charlotte theorizes that the digger had another purpose beyond connecting silos.
Raph — Raph reports that only one functioning generator remains for the two diggers.

Earlier in this series

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

Sources — 36 recorded facts, by chapter
Chapter 3
  • The machine beyond the wall has struts, bolts, hose, and plate steel marked by chipped paint and rust.
  • The machine beyond the wall extends upward and sideways beyond the reach of the workers’ flashlight beams.
Chapter 4
  • The digger is a steel cylinder one level high and twice that in length, fitted snugly inside a circular cave.
  • Juliette explains that the buried machine is intended to dig its own way out.
  • The digger’s moving chutes carry crushed rock out the back for workers to remove in barrows.
  • The digger’s steel remains shiny in places despite centuries underground.
  • Juliette suspects an airtight chamber helped preserve the digger.
  • The digger has long treads along its bottom, sides, and ceiling.
  • Juliette identifies a rotating front section and believes protruding discs cut the rock.
  • The digger’s transmission contains waist-sized helical gears embedded in dried grease.
  • The digger has no engine installed.
  • Six threaded engine mounts, each eight inches across, retain their matching nuts on nearby hooks.
  • Juliette believes the digger’s rear is designed to open to admit a motor as well as discharge tailings.
Chapter 5
  • The back of the digger can be opened by removing bolts and plates.
Chapter 8
  • The digger is cleaning up well and appears to be in remarkably good condition.
  • The digger has a separate space for an accessible engine, with the remaining mechanism consisting of steel, teeth, and greased gears.
Chapter 10
  • Juliette says the digging machine uncovered in the silo’s depths could take people to new places.
Chapter 19
  • The digger breaks through the wall of level one-forty-two.
  • The digger bores a hole taller than a silo level.
  • The digger’s cutting face consists of dozens of spinning discs within a larger disc.
  • The digger stops its main cutting disc after entering the generator room.
  • A length of rebar becomes wrapped around one of the digger’s cutting wheels.
Chapter 22
  • The digger has broken through into Silo 17 and stopped.
  • A gap beside the digger allows people to pass between the two silos.
  • The digger has an interior corridor through which the evacuees pass.
Chapter 36
  • The digger’s rear access door forms a bottleneck at the end of the escape tunnel.
  • The digger’s temporary interior lights are off during the evacuation.
  • The tunnel explosion sends a tremor through the digger.
Chapter 41
  • Refugees are trying to turn the digger around so they can excavate a way out.
Chapter 47
  • Charlotte theorizes that the digger was intended for a purpose other than traveling between silos.
Chapter 48
  • The digger’s cleared conveyor belt serves as a workbench for Walker and the dig team.
  • The dig team plans to turn the digger by clearing space around it and operating the tracks separately.
Chapter 59
  • Raph says the survivors have only one functioning generator for their two diggers.
  • Juliette believes the digger’s large fuel supply indicates that it was designed for a much longer journey.
Chapter 60
  • Juliette says fuel has been consumed both by continued use and by the effort of turning the digger.
  • Juliette says the diggers are aimed slightly upward.
Character portrait