Adjustments

The Builders

"Turn them off? Why?"

Nalini looked enquiringly at Umesha. Umesha hesitated, for he hadn't expected surprise. His lips quivered as his mind started framing a response. He had to yell to make himself heard above the noise around them.

"I'm...I'm not sure. Don't they ever switch off?"

Nalini had a small smile on her face. He was new, so he couldn't understand. Besides, he was from the river. She'd heard that folks from around there were less connected.

"They shouldn't switch off." she shouted.

"Why not?"

She shrugged.

"It's just not done. They ensure our survival. Turning them off would mean losing our livelihoods."

He turned to her.

"I'm afraid I don't understand." His tone was polite, in spite of him having to shout. "You have other machines to work your farms, no?"

"Yes...?"

"Are they somehow connected to these ones?"

"In a way." A hint of irritation had entered her voice. Umesha could tell she was getting impatient with him.

"Look, I'm not really an expert. I know the Builders are connected to our other machines somehow. Don't ask me for details, though. I can't really tell you."

Umesha quickly raised his hand in reassurance.

"I'm sorry." He said. "I didn't mean to be rude. Do you want to continue the tour?"

She shrugged again.

"If you like. We're almost done, but there's still an hour to go before lunch. Let's walk back a bit."

As they turned, Umesha twisted his neck for one last glimpse of the sight below him. The two of them had been standing on a ridge. At their feet, a gentle slope rolled downward for a few hundred metres, before being rudely interrupted by a sharp, artificial precipice. Six metres below, the precipice ended at the bottom of a circular pit. The exposed soil was a deep red, contrasting violently with the soft greens and yellows of the land around.

Within this arena, the Builders built. One machine emitted a dull, constant, thud-thud-thud as it drilled into the ground, breaking up chunks of red soil. Another Builder emitted a shrill hum as it gathered the broken soil and molded them into lumps. A third machine was shaping these lumps into cubes, while a fourth arranged these cubes into walls. A fifth emitted a high-pitched continuous din, as it sucked water out of the ground. Umesha had just learned the water it extracted had been pumped there by yet another machine several months ago. The noise was overwhelming. A combination of continuous thudding, squealing, pealing, and rattling that made Umesha's ears throb. He stayed silent until they reached a line of trees.

"The noise." He said. "Don't the Builders disturb you with their noise?"

She looked at him incredulously.

"Disturb?" She asked. Their voices were more even now, the noise from the pit somewhat reduced by the trees.

"Yes. Don't they keep you awake at night?"

She look at him with open contempt.

"You must be mad. Are you saying the river lands have no such noise?"

"Sometimes, when we work our farm machines." He replied. "But they only operate in the day. We shut them off at night."

She shook her head.