[SPOILER] Plot Discussion Thread *Spoiler Alert*

[Alardem]

But you're completely ignoring Mandus' motivation: his children. Not to mention the buildup to what leads him to build the Machine in the first place. I mean, it's fun to joke about, but ultimately it isn't that simple.

I'm not talking about his motivation to destroy the machine, I'm talking about his motivation for building in the first place. The idea that turning people into pies is somehow going to prevent future global conflict, is not especially rational.

You're assuming he is completely rational. That he is not at all swayed by tragedy, otherworldly forces, or anything else compromising his judgment.

The Machine's a gigantic sacrificial altar, guys. It unto itself is nothing more than a conduit for a creation event - which, from what I understand, involves detonating the earth's core/"stone egg at the bottom of the world" with atomic flame and bringing about what is likely a hellish world in the ashes.

Disregarding that Mandus is effectively acting out a warped version of an Aztec creation myth, he is still a genocidal lunatic who hates everyone equally. The writer posits that such murderous behavior can never be rationalized. I disagree with him because the genocides of Armenia, Rwanda, Germany and many other horrors were motivated by hatred, not some utilitarian nonsense. Then again, I'd argue that Mandus is attempting to put a paternalistic face on his ultimately misanthropic motivation.

My take on the ending is that Mandus has already inadvertently changed history for the worse. He may have averted the Machine's attempt to ignite the earth's core, but the sheer scale of his slaughter makes me think he's already altered the state of London beyond what it was in our reality.

And the old bastard? He doesn't die. He gets to lie there, forgotten and rotting, and hear the world continue to suffer and embody everything he hates.