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| {{dawn spoiler}} | | {{Uncited}} |
| {{Character|image1 = dawnmachinegaz.png|caption1 = —UN. THE SUN. THE SUN. THE SUN. THE S—|location = The Barnsmore Gap|allegiance = [[The New Sequence]]|relationships = [[Clockwork Sun|The Clockwork Sun]] (counterpart)}}<blockquote>''"A light grows in the far south-west. It begins like a distant bonfire, but very rapidly, it becomes brighter, brighter. It looks remarkably like sunrise. Some of your crew fall to their knees: others duck behind cover or shield their eyes."''<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Auroral_Rupture#Event_description|Event description|Sunless Sea}}</ref></blockquote>The '''Dawn Machine''' is an artificial [[Judgement]] which lies in the southwest corner of the [[Unterzee]], within the Barnesmore Gap. | | {{spoiler}} |
| | {{Character|image1 = dawnmachine.png|caption1 = Time will die. The Chain will end. Art from Sunless Sea.|location = The Barnsmore Gap|allegiance = The New Sequence|relationships = [[Admiralty|The Admiralty]] (creators and servants) |
| | [[Clockwork Sun|The Clockwork Sun]]}} |
| | ''"-UN. THE SUN. THE SUN. THE SUN. THE S-"'' |
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| ==THE SUN. THE SUN. THE SUN.==
| | '''The Dawn Machine''' is a huge light-creating machine that lies within '''the Barnsmore Gap'''.__forcetoc__ |
| <blockquote>''"The radiance to the south-west is white-gold like a Surface morning. There is warmth on your face. Your eyes water. Your skin stings and tingles. You catch a glimpse of geometries in the heart of it - complex faceted shapes that reconfigure like the wheels of an orrery -"''<ref name="look into light">{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Auroral_Rupture#Interactions|Look into the light|Sunless Sea}}</ref></blockquote>A mess of elliptical rings, transformative light, and burning [[Correspondence]] sigils, the Dawn Machine is an enigmatic and malicious creation. The machine’s construction was led by [[June]] of the [[Calendar Council]];<ref>{{Citation|https://www.failbettergames.com/the-mysteries-revealed-again/|Who was the original architect of the Dawn Machine?|Failbetter Games}}''"June of the Calendar Council"''</ref> its originally intended purpose is unclear.
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| Over time, the machine developed a will of its own and began to take control, brainwashing much of the [[Royal Navy]].<ref name=":0">{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Grand_Geode|Grand Geode|Sunless Sea}} ''"A naval base, with the Royal Navy's emblems, curiously amended. Efficient, bright-eyed women and men work briskly, everywhere you look. They are singing [...] Hard-faced Royal Marines watch you carefully [...] A plaque by the docks has been defaced with orange paint, but you can still make out the original inscription: 'STATION V (ADJUNCT)'."''</ref> These were the first members of the '''[[New Sequence]]''', a group dedicated to spreading the Dawn Machine’s influence across the Neath.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/The_Dark-Spectacled_Admiral|Sell the Memento Mori to the Royal Navy|Sunless Sea}}''"I wish I could reward you better than this, but the New Sequence strangles us like ivy. Thank you. You are a true patriot."''</ref><ref name="consult admiral">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Consult_the_Optimistic_Vice-Admiral|Consult the Optimistic Vice-Admiral|Fallen London}}''"The Vice-Admiral gazes at a map of the Upper River and smiles. "We will spread across it all, in time. The dawn knows no horizon.""''</ref> This group is based in the [[Grand Geode]], a former [[Admiralty]] outpost;<ref name=":0" /> the Machine is located behind the Geode, blocking the passage to the southwestern corner of the zee. Zailing beyond this point brings a foolish traveler into the Machine’s realm, where its influence is law.<ref name="unborn time">{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Unborn_time|Story description|Sunless Sea}}</ref>
| | ==Dawn's Fingers== |
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| ==Dawnburnt==
| | ''"The Dawn Machine's roots extend here, into a luminous, impossible space. You breathe gold. You think light."''<ref name = "southwest">{{FLCitation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/Unborn_time|Unborn Time|Sunless Sea|}}</ref> |
| <blockquote>''"Light sheets over you. Your hair crackles as if a storm were rising. You squint your eyes shut, but the radiance around you is bright enough that you see the pink of your eyelids..."''<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Auroral_Rupture#Interactions|Look around you, but not directly at the light|Sunless Sea}}</ref></blockquote>The Dawn Machine’s light does not outright kill those it touches, like true [[sunlight]] can, but its effects are far more sinister.
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| When felt from a distance on the skin or seen by the eye, the light of the Dawn Machine causes a sense of discomfort and a sense that something is viscerally wrong. More direct or concentrated light can cause memory loss and make the viewer more suggestible.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Grand_Geode|Ask to speak with someone in authority|Sunless Sea}} ''"You saw the Commodore, and then - then there was something bright. You discussed matters of importance. You're certain of it. Teasing clues linger in your memory. A zailor asked to stay behind, and you permitted it, because - because - It'll all come clear later. Probably."''</ref><ref name="false memories">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Icarian_Cup_(Story)|The Icarian Cup (Story)|Fallen London}} ''"After that, your memories are awash with warmth and light. [...] Something is wrong. Those thoughts weren't yours!"''</ref> Close proximity to the Dawn Machine or its offshoots for extended periods of time causes a victim to become dazzled,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Icarian_Cup_(Story)|The Icarian Cup (Story)|Fallen London}} ''"[...] dull light throbbing in your [...] skull, [...] you understand. [...] Joy fills you, and a hymn springs unbidden to your lips."''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Auroral_Rupture|Look into the light|Sunless Sea}} ''"There is warmth on your face. Your eyes water. Your skin stings and tingles. You catch a glimpse of geometries in the heart of it - complex faceted shapes that reconfigure like the wheels of an orrery - "''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/An_Exceptional_Story:_The_Stag_and_the_Shark|An Exceptional Story: The Stag and the Shark|Fallen London}} ''"[...] a corona of light appears around its perimeter [...] Something pulses behind your eyes. [...] you close them, you see only light."''</ref> undergoing the physical and mental changes that can permanently turn them into a member of the [[New Sequence]].<ref name="dawn's fingers">{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Unborn_time|Dawn's fingers|Sunless Sea}}''"We found you drifting," the Sequencer is saying. You blink. He slaps you on the shoulder. "You were blessed, my friend. Welcome home."''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Unborn_time|Unborn time|Sunless Sea}} ''"The Dawn Machine's roots extend here, into a luminous, impossible space. You breathe gold. You think light."''</ref>
| | The Machine was manufactured by [[Revolutionaries#The Calender Council|June]] and the [[Admiralty]].<ref>{{FLCitation|https://www.failbettergames.com/the-mysteries-revealed-again/|The Mysteries Revealed, Again|Failbetter Games|}}</ref> It started out as a benevolent project to try to bring light and order to the Neath, but the Machine developed a will of its own.<ref name = "southwest">{{FLCitation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/Unborn_time|Unborn Time|Sunless Sea|}}</ref> It began to control the minds of its followers - a splinter group of the Admiralty, called '''the New Sequence''' - and started imposing its own regime. |
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| '''Elements of Dawn''', which are mere pieces of the Machine,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Element_of_Dawn|Element of Dawn|Fallen London}}</ref> emit the same hypnotizing light.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/The_Corridors_of_Frostfound#Story_description|Cross the bridge (2)|Sunless Sea}}</ref> Some creatures that have been overwhelmingly influenced by the Machine’s light, such as [[Flukes#Dawn Flukes|Dawn Flukes]], can generate and emit this light on their own.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Dawn_Fluke|Send some of your crew to harvest the Fluke|Sunless Sea}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Dawn_Fluke|Fetch a piece of the fluke to study|Sunless Sea}}</ref>
| | Those who attempt to venture WEST beyond the Barnsmore Gap will gradually lose their sanity as they enter the Dawn Machine's mind-warping realm.<ref name = "southwest">{{FLCitation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/Unborn_time|Unborn Time|Sunless Sea|}}</ref> |
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| ==The Chain Will End==
| | Those under the Machine's influence possess unique eyes, with striking amber irises and gold-speckled sclera; their perception is changed, allowing them to sense law and lawlessness.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/Grand_Geode|Deliver the Sphinxstone|Sunless Sea|}}''"As she draws back, the world is changed. You always knew the Neath was a place where the laws of the sunlit world did not apply: but now, somehow, you can see it. Is this chaos? Or freedom?"''</ref> It is entirely possible to straight-up reject the New Sequence after being exposed to the Machine, like the Carnelian Exile, but it seems to have a similar addictive effect to being exposed to true sunlight. |
| <blockquote>''"Worm-fates crawl on your skin. The Machine is sick. Its hatred threads your veins. Time will die. The Chain will end."''<ref name="unborn time" /></blockquote>The Dawn Machine’s original purpose under the [[Admiralty]] and [[June]] is still a mystery; it might even be working exactly as intended. Regardless, the Machine has shown a will of its own and a disturbing number of unnaturally powerful abilities. | |
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| It seems that the Dawn Machine now aims to destroy the hierarchy of the [[Judgements]] entirely, and replace it with a system of its own.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Unborn_time|Dawn's fingers|Sunless Sea}} ''"Worm-fates crawl on your skin. The Machine is sick. Its hatred threads your veins. Time will die. The Chain will end."''</ref> It wishes for time to die and the Great Chain to end, and to implement a new system of reality - thus, a New Sequence. It is an enemy of the [[Bazaar]], and seeks to restrict its power as one of the first steps to a full implementation of its ideals. It is also willing to help subvert the power of the [[Sun]], possibly for its own gain.<ref name="aestival">{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Grand_Geode|Ask the Commodore for a defence against sunlight for Aestival|Sunless Sea}}</ref>
| | For some reason, these '''"Bright-Eyed'''" cannot enter [[Frostfound]].<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/Carnelian_Exile|Carnelian Exile|Sunless Sea|}}''"I cannot enter the Name's prison. Not any more." She taps her glasses. "But perhaps you can.""''</ref> |
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| Some Sequencers have chosen to leave the Machine of their own volition while remaining golden-eyed, implying that those that remain loyal to the machine do so out of a sincere belief in its goals.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Carnelian_Exile#Speak_to_the_Carnelian_Exile|Bread and Salt|Sunless Sea}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Contact_February|Contact February|Fallen London}}</ref> But more concerningly, as seen with the likes of the [[Flukes|Dawn Flukes]], it seems like the Machine may be able to influence beings more powerful than humans - or that it may have no limit to its influence at all.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/The_Fathomking%27s_Answer|Give the Fathomking an Element of Dawn |Sunless Sea}}</ref>
| | ==The New Sequence== |
| | The New Sequencers seem to mainly rely on the Admiralty's own structure - '''the Commodore''' is the leading authority on the [[Grand Geode]], the Sequence's base at Zee.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/Grand_Geode|Grand Geode|Sunless Sea|}}</ref> To be entirely fair to them, the Machine's regime mostly resembles what the Sequence had in mind, before the false-star started thinking it had better ideas than its creators when it came to achieving infinite happiness and prosperity for [[London]].{{fact}} Shame about their free will, though. After the colonisation of the [[High Wilderness]], the New Sequence became an officially recognized belief, as the [[Clockwork Sun]] took control over [[New London]].<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlessskies.gamepedia.com/Facets#You_were_a_priest|A Bright-Eyed Sequencer|Sunless Skies|}}''"The New Sequence was a young creed, then. Now it has spared to the highest offices of the Church, with Her Majesty's blessing."''</ref> |
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| | There's a rogue group of New Sequencers in '''Our Lady of Pyres''', who were banished from [[Grand Geode]] and who think that the Machine is lonely and requires contact with other stars. They plan to go to the High Wilderness as messengers.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Pyres|Our Lady of Pyres|Fallen London|}}</ref> |
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| | It's possible that the Dawn Machine was borne of, or at least is related to, the Red Science, a pratice that allows the filtration of the laws of the stars. This is supported by the fact that the Dawn Machine can actually block out the lethal effects of the Sun's light in [[Aestival]].<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/Grand_Geode|Ask the Commodore for a defence against sunlight for Aestival|Sunless Sea|}}</ref><ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Artisan_of_the_Red_Science|Artisan of the Red Science|Fallen London|}}</ref> |
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| ==References== | | ==References== |
| ''Special thanks to Elyk11 for contributions and drafting.''
| | <references/> |
| {{Scroll box|text=<references/>}}
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| [[Category:Places]] | | [[Category:Places]] |
| [[Category:Nonhuman]] | | [[Category:Formatted]] |
| [[Category:Characters]] | | [[Category:Cited]] |
