From the Diary of William Afton

February 25, 1969

There are only a handful of moments in a man's life that change and define who he is as a man. This is one of those days. I am no longer merely a man, but now a father. My son, William Afton, Jr. was born early this morning, and I couldn't be prouder. He is everything we had hoped. When I am not with Isabelle while she rests, I am watching him through the little window where he sleeps in his bed. Children always look so peaceful, so content with the world when they sleep.

The hospital will release both of them tomorrow and we can begin our new life as a family. I have been trying to finish all the last-minute changes to the nursery when I can. Meanwhile, I cannot help but feel distracted by it all. It's such a whirlwind of change all in one single moment.

But there are still many other changes going on as well. I have completed my restoration of Merveille. I believe the lessons I have learned working with his inner mechanics might give me some inspiration for my own creations. But that will be for another time. No, what interests me is that Merveille is more than just a mere amusement. He is the key to understanding so much more.

Upon restoring the cylinders of Merveille's workings, I found something rather peculiar. It would seem that I am able to change some things on the cylinder, something I never thought possible, to change what it is Merveille will write. I believe it was some sort of secret code. After messing with the cylinder for a while, I was able to get Merveille to write a rather interesting message. My German is a bit rusty, and I had to turn to a friend to help me translate the message.

It would appear that Merveille's creator was part of a secret society of automaton makers who shared techniques and tricks with each other. Furthermore, this group liked to experiment with new ways to build their fantastic machines. However, one concept still eludes me: that of what they refer to as "remnant energy."

My friend seems to believe, given the context of the message, that this creator may have been part of some modern "mystery cult" dedicated to their automata. The idea of "remnant energy," as he says, implies something akin to a form of spiritual connection between man and machine, that this secret society may have actually believed that upon their death, their souls could be transferred to their own machines. I find that hard to believe myself, but I suppose it is no different than the hopeful messages ancient religions such as those to Dionysus or Mithras offered to their followers. But could such actually be possible? Perhaps Merveille does contain the soul of his own creator? I highly doubt it, but it does make me wonder what made these men of mechanical know-how turn to such superstitions.

These are questions which I must ask another time. For now, more pressing matters, such as my son, take precedence. Who knows? Perhaps one day, young William might share my own interests in the wonders of robotics. But for now, he only needs the love and care a father and mother can bring him.


Author's Notes: Remnant energy was a fascinating concept presented only at the very last minute in the series with very little explanation. I wanted to explore this a little through William's perspective. Since I have a background with myth and religion, I decided to look at things from that perspective. Secretive, alchemical cults like what I've described would not have been uncommon. In many ways, those who studied alchemy were not all early chemists trying to find a way to turn lead into gold. Rather, alchemy has a history as more of a philosophical persuasion, and cults and organizations dedicated to it often looked at things from a more academic perspective. Alchemy was an act of learning. So, I decided to take that angle with it. What does that mean for the rest of this story? Well, it may mean that this idea of an afterlife inside a machine could be possible, but how long will it take William to discover that, or will he be the one to discover it? You'll have to wait to find out.