the label outlasted the machine.

After one failed test, they stamped REJECTED across the machine and pushed it against the wall. The factory closed. Its copper was stripped out, its gauges removed. The stamp survived every departure.

Years later, a cleaner found the hollow casing beneath a collapsed shelf. He needed a light over his workbench. He ran a cable through the old housing and fitted a lamp beside it. By evening, there was a small circle of brightness among the dead switchboards.

A visitor pointed at the stamp. “Doesn't work?” The cleaner looked up from mending his glove. “Depends what you want it to do.” He turned the lamp a little, so the visitor could see.