An engine works by mysterious means as it drinks the fuel and releases a whir of motion and clatter of noise; the pistons explode outward with enormous power, spinning the crankshaft faster and faster so that only the strength of steel can hold everything together: the valves open and close with lightning speed while the spark plugs use real lightning to ignite the blaze; the exhaust blows; everything is too hot to touch, too hot to even function if it wasn’t for the radiator coming to the rescue — to cool everything down, to keep the machine whirring smoothly, and to bring the engine under control so that it can live on.
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