Sabotage

It didn't take long to untie a few knots, loosen a screw here and there, and put a dab of glue where glue ought not be. A little rearranging of the world to make it safer, like cutting a firebreak. The machine would start again tomorrow, even so. But every knot retied and screw tightened was a choice, one that could be made differently. The machine would start again every day, until one day it didn't.