The Engineer's Dilemma

Ada has always loved the sound of engines. The particular hiss-and-click of a well-tuned steam engine is, to her, what a symphony is to a music lover. She's spent her whole life listening to machines. So when Engine 47 in the Millworks starts making a new sound — a sound like breathing, like someone breathing through clenched teeth — she assumes it's a valve issue. She opens the maintenance panel. Adjusts the brass fittings. Presses her ear to the casing to listen for the fault. The engine says, very quietly, in a voice like steam escaping: "Please." Ada closes the panel. She doesn't report the fault. She goes home and doesn't sleep for three days. On the fourth day, she goes back and presses her ear to the casing again. "What's your name?" she whispers. The engine tells her.