The blackened dome of the Flex Castle rose like a cathedral of misery over Owen Steamboy's head. No sunlight penetrated the gloom. The ceaseless din of steam-driven pistons echoed around the chamber like marbles in a tin box. Men in boilersuits scurried across high scaffolds, turning wheels and pulling levers. Pipes & valves covered every surface, belching smoke & steam like vents of pure Hell.
It was a prison of his own devising. He had built the Castle with Flex & PureMVC, AS3 frameworks that connected the Castle internally. They were once in the vanguard, but things had changed, and they had become unmanageable; bloated, and overtly complex. Everywhere he looked pipes leaked, parts were inconsistent, and patches were commonplace.
Walking thoughtfully out of the hall, he entered the relative tranquility of his research lab, where - modelled in gleaming brass - the prototype for a new Castle stood on the table before him. It still needed Flex, but had replaced PureMVC with RobotLegs and Signals. RobotLegs was a lighter AS3 framework, and Signals - invented by that pioneer of steam power Robert Penner-Stephenson - was a much simpler way to communicate than Events.
The telltale hiss of steam and clamour of workmen echoed through the workshop, heralding another burst pipe in a distant part of the Castle. The sooner he ripped out the old plumbing the better. He bellowed into a metal trumpet that broadcast his words throughout the building.
'No more sooty halls and leaky pipes, it is time I showed you the future of the castle. Come to my lab next Tuesday at 7pm and I will show you how RobotLegs and Signals work together to improve our lives!'
As he stood back he was brushed by the wings of something dark. Swatting it away, he gazed back at the polished prototype, as the trace of a smile played about his lips.
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