Moxon's Master, Ambrose Bierce pg 235-243
When I started to read this story I was confused and it was hard to follow. When I completed the passage I envisioned a Frankenstein creature as the machine chest player.
The following quote helped me connect the content from Moxon's conversation to his invention. "Was all his talk about the consciousness and intelligence of the machines merely a prelude to eventual exhibition of this device.....upon me in my ignorance of it's secret?"pg 241.
Moxon created a machine and was playing chest, once Moxon won the machine had a negative reaction to loosing, which could lead to his idea of it being conscious and can think for itself, as he described the vine following the stake in the soil several times, until it gave up and went it's own way.
Moxon did not seem to fear the machine man, even after there was a struggle and blood was on him after going into the "Machine Shop". I feel like maybe he was testing the machine man to see what his reaction was going to be, but unfortunately the machine was stronger than him, which lead to his death. He should not have done this without his assistant, Haley, present, maybe things would have ended differently.
Moxon's friend, the one telling the story, was a very curious, smart, and brave man. I also think he knew something was wrong when Moxon returned from the "Machine Shop" with blood on him. When he returned to the house and no one was answering the door, he could have turned away but instead he was curious and went inside to check on his friend and tried to save him when he was being attacked. He risked his life for Moxon and went up against a machine man, he knew nothing about. Thankfully he was saved by Haley. I wonder what happened tot he machine man?
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