At 06:12, the aircraft entered the mountains. The autopilot was flying. That was exactly how the Pilot wanted it. Altitude steady. Course steady. Airspeed steady. The navigation system tracked the planned route through a broad valley toward the western pass. The machine made hundreds of tiny corrections without complaint. The Copilot studied the instruments. “She's holding it better than I could.” “Probably.” “Better than you?” The Pilot smiled. “Probably.”

The machine arrived before sunrise. It came on a wagon reinforced with iron. Four men unloaded it. A fifth carried a wooden case containing gears, belts, fittings and a handwritten manual. The Apprentice walked around it twice. “What does it do?” The Blacksmith ran his hand along the machine's steel frame. “Hammers.” The Apprentice looked toward the ordinary hammer hanging beside the forge. “We already have one.” “Not like this.”