Sacred Engine and the kid going into the engine
Ok, what was that about?
shareThe job can only be performed by a small child.
No, not that. The metal cylinder that extended, the kid got in it, then it retracted back. What the hell was that? I suspected some kind of escape pod or something, but the seat was small, not suitable for an adult. But it was not shown again.
Is there an explanation about that in the novel?
Exactly.
No answer?
In another thread on this board people suggested it was just another failed machine part that's function the kid had to do manually, and he was so brainwashed that he did his job mechanically, without any order, and not caring about anything and anyone.
I can accept that, but then it's not really well written. The kid under the floor had to oil the thing, or remove the waste or whatever he did about ten times a minute. I thought the other kid was the other shift, taking over when the first kid sleeps. It's not making any sense having two kids for two different jobs when one of them need to be done constantly, and the other must be done only when the first one fails.
And how much time did pass between them taking the kids and the rebellion? It only felt days, yet they managed to brainwash the kids completely...
But then again, the bitch and the engineer did the same gesture as the kid under the floor. It was a foreshadowing that made no sense, as they were clearly too old to do the kids job.
So I'll chalk this one up to bad writing, and won't think about it much further...