regarding the city and machine

((maybe scrap? Announcer (job to "keep peace and unity of purpose"):

Your plug is unbreakable, and just as unique and reliable as you are. Don't you want life you can trust to be there tomorrow?


No one wants to see their loved ones pass away. Treasure your life. Treasure your plug.


In just a few conventional lifetimes, we have come so far. With the safety, convenience, and reliability of our plugs, it's our turn to shape the future. We have the power.


Woman's voice: "I used to be sure there wa something missing in my life. And since I've earned higher output, I realize there was! I've never been happier. With my new level of energy, every day's a blessing. An I have to wonder, why did I ever settle for less?" -laughs-


Did you know? As your power flows through the machine, it becomes purer, more healthy, and better at keeping you happy and energetic. Every last watt of energy delivered to your plug is full of the love and strength of your friends and neighbors. But your heart is what makes it all so special. Yours is the heart of the city!

----))

Lights in the cavern- some kind of hypnotizing display. Comes directly from the machine, along with the white noise and announcements. Consumes energy but no one would dare cut off. It is the source of beauty and comfort in the cavern. Without it, people might have to look at the cavern as it is.
***
The distraction allows them to keep living, even when they are suffering from the lack of energy and purpose. It gives them relief from tedium and the drain of living a lifestyle that their bodies have grown used to, but were not meant for.
===========

The ground is paved with tar. Walking from place to place is impeded by thousands of houses.
===========
Inside the machine, the sound of heartbeats is overwhelming ( an ocean of loud white noise )

----
mwmh: What is it you want me to do?
-v.o as he walks through the machine-
vo: For some reason, there is a place within the machine that rejects the plugs and will not give energy. The last people who tried to enter had to be pulled out, mostly dead. Thankfully no one has been killed, but no one plugged in can stay there long enough to fix the problem.
mwmh: I am sorry, but my eyes cannot see. I do not think I will be able to find what is broken for you, and would not know how to fix it if I could.
vo: That isn't important. If you go in and do what you can, it is enough. We need you to try.


(Whether or not the outsider actually changes anything or not, they are simply looking for a way to mask other changes they have planned- by telling everyone it was the outsider's actions that gained the energy, removing the plugs from other people, or falling on reserve energy supplies kept for emergencies, they can continue their farce. They kept the secret of the anti-plug room to avoid what speculation it might cause among the public ((stumbling across the possibility that the creators of the machine did not intend themselves to be plugged in- something the thinkers have figured out- and are figuring out how to unplug themselves safely, so when the machine breaks, they have the backups of their own hearts. Of course this fate would be as miserable as death for them, but they are blind to anything but pushing back the date of their expiration and increasing their pleasure in the world)). Now that the outsider has come as a scapegoat, they can tell the public about the room and say the problem is solved, even if tmwmh is completely powerless.)