"Sentiment," Silas said, stepping over Lyra's unconscious body. "The greatest inefficiency of the human animal."
He looked at the alloy door with a hunger that bordered on madness. "You called it technology, didn't you, Kaelen? You have the mind of the Founders. That's why you're so special."
Silas raised his own mechanical hand, a device far more advanced than Alaric's. "Open the door for me, and I'll let the girl live. Refuse, and I'll use her as the first fuel cell for the new engine."
Kaelen looked at Lyra, then at the door. He felt the weight of his fifty years. He knew how this story ended in his old world—men like Silas always burned everything in the name of progress.
"The door doesn't open for thieves," Kaelen said, his voice dropping an octave.