The Acquisitions Bureau; Mandatory Invitation

Preface

In regards to the rather mysterious circumstances surrounding the recent wreck of the private airship 'Annabel-Lee', the death of her crew, and the recovery of much stolen and illicit cargo from amongst the rubble, I offer this insight. The wreck was caused by a collision with the airship 'Le Froid' the remains of which were found by our colleagues some distance away. Among the dead there were four souls. All bodies were burned to such a degree that that their identities cannot be discerned; although the cargo they were in possession of at the time lead us to believe they were in fact the members of the notorious Bureau of Acquisitions. I have been in contact with one who claims to be the sole survivor of the collision, though he has not given me his name, and instead implores me for information surrounding the fates of the others aboard at the time. In exchange he has offered me an anonymous account of the events prior to the crash. I have followed up his statements and found them to be largely truthful; So much so that I motion for them to be included in the official investigation. The following account is one produced by my own investigation, as well as the testimony of Nameless. Although Nameless has reserved the right to withhold information in certain matters, I will do my best to distil the truth of the situation.

I am aware that the mere existence of the Acquisitions Bureau has been in doubt at times, and the nature of their operation is dubious at best. But please believe me when I say that my source is reliable. Although it is possible to begin my narrative much, much earlier, I find it considerably more simple to begin in the summer of 1868, three years after the patent office had closed, and a time in which hardship was keenly felt amongst the resulting unemployed inventors. A time in which the old automation was a rarity, and the new rarer still.