Mileage

The great machines that power the city are failing. The massive gears, with teeth the size of a man, are ground down and warping. Coolant, turned acidic and corrosive from countless cycles of heating and cooling, eats away at the seals and hoses. The oil has become sludge, filled with particulate metals that have flaked off during a million hours of internal combustions. As it circulates, it scours and dulls the precisely engineered parts more and more until nothing fits anything. 

I am an expert at my job, helping this engine run another day. Ultimately, it may not matter, because it will fail. I keep my eyes and ears open for solutions, but it is very dark down here. 

I'll keep working, because it is what I know how to do. And perhaps someone else is working too, and they'll come up with a way to fix everything, and my work is buying them time. 

Maybe.