<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" standalone="yes"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"><channel><title>Shezmu on Gromet's Plaza Archive</title><link>/authors/shezmu/</link><description>Recent content in Shezmu on Gromet's Plaza Archive</description><generator>Hugo</generator><language>en-us</language><lastBuildDate>Tue, 22 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0000</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="/authors/shezmu/index.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title>Macchine</title><link>/stories/2009/12/22/macchine/</link><pubDate>Tue, 22 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><guid>/stories/2009/12/22/macchine/</guid><description>&lt;p&gt;A tapping ring: a small, precise hammer striking a perfectly milled steel cotter pin. The smell of shaved steel and machine oil, a dark, musty but sharp scent. Brilliant platinum halogen lights try to penetrate the thick darkness of the cavernous room, but light is sucked away; the room&amp;rsquo;s corners are invisible. The lights seem lonely, frightened, by the immensity of the cold, hangar-sized space. They huddle around the workspace, where a small, elderly, balding man hunches over a tiny mechanical assembly, his eyes obscured by a grey metal magnifying visor. Above the man, the great beast slumbers, menacing, dominating, drawing my gaze, sucking the light into itself as if its gunmetal-steel hide is made of shadow.&lt;/p&gt;</description></item></channel></rss>