I am an antique among machines. At times, I am an automaton. At times, I’m not an automaton. In the moments when I’m not this kind of machine, I am but a fan admiring these creations from a distance. In contrast, I’m not passionate about the technology of this day and age. The same goes for the technology of the future, be it based in the aspirations of our current societies or in the imagination of storytellers and artists through science fiction. Whether it’s because of my familiarity with the former or my disinterest with the latter, my feelings towards either are neutral at best.

I look at the technology of the first and second Industrial Revolutions, and only then am I invested what is put before me. I love technologies of the past in general. The older, the better one might say. This is based on my curiosity regarding these creations’ utility, their evolution and significance to our world’s history, not on the basis of practicality. The astrolabe of the Hellenistic Period, Su Song's water-powered clock tower ("Cosmic Engine"), Munich's beautiful Rathaus-Glockenspiel… I love learning about devices such as these! With the exception of the latter's figurines, I look like none of them as an automaton. Regardless, they’re important to me not only as an alterhuman but from an animist standpoint as well.

In my opinion, there is life within these inventions. Anthropologically, they are the embodiment of innovation, the desire to create and reshape our society through said creations. There hasn’t been a moment in time where humans looked at something and didn’t go “I’m gonna fuck with this thing until I shift its whole purpose in my favor!”— sometimes for good reasons, sometimes absolutely terrible reasons. It is through humanity, its societies and those developments that life can be found in the machines representing them. No machine is perfect. A machine is bound to bug out or go through malfunctions (read as: make mistakes) through trial and error stages, and it can even cause irreversible damage like its creators. It is also capable of incredible feats and inspiring generations like its creators. That is life captured through artificial eyes. Alternatively, if you’re like me, one may sense life in every little piece before these projects are assembled. In a way, that life fully emerges once all the pieces fall into place and a model is completed.

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