3 - Train Fellow

In the quiet evenings, when the wind whistles through the old rail ties, some swear they can hear a distant, low thrum—like a heart beating beneath the earth. It’s a reminder that, in the world of steel and steam, there once lived an engine whose pulse was more human than any man’s own.

Ephraim’s heart gave one final, resonant pulse, and the engine’s brass gleamed one last time before the fire was gently lowered. The steam faded, but the echo of its beat lingered in the valley—heard by those who would listen, felt by those who believed. Decades later, children still gather around the rusted skeleton of Train Fellow III at the Alden Museum, eyes wide with wonder. Engineers study Ada Whitmore’s schematics, seeking inspiration for modern autonomous systems that might one day listen to human hearts as Ephraim once did. Train Fellow 3

The Syndicate sent an emissary, , a charismatic yet ruthless engineer, to infiltrate Merrick & Sons. He pretended to be a consultant, offering to upgrade the locomotive’s speed. Ada, suspicious, refused, but Krauss slipped a team of saboteurs into the workshop under the cover of night. The Sabotage The saboteurs attempted to tamper with the heart’s resonator, planning to replace it with a simple boiler pressure regulator. As they worked, a sudden tremor shook the ground—an early warning from the analog brain that sensed the intrusion. The heart began to thrum faster, sending a pulse through the locomotive’s frame. In the quiet evenings, when the wind whistles