9

The time is the too-near future. Powered and enabled by the invention known as the Great Machine, the world’s machines have turned on mankind and sparked social unrest, decimating the human population before being largely shut down.

But, as our world fell to pieces, a mission began to salvage the legacy of civilisation; a group of small creations was given the spark of life by a scientist in the final days of humanity, and they continue to exist post-apocalypse. Another of their own, #9, emerges and displays leadership qualities that may help these creations survive and possibly even thrive. The conflicted but resilient tribe already includes #1, a domineering war veteran and the group’s longtime leader; #2, a kindly but now-frail inventor; #3 and #4, scholarly twins who communicate non-verbally and mostly with each other; #5, a stalwart and nurturing engineer; #6, an erratic artist beset with visions; #7, a brave and self-sufficient warrior; and #8, the none-too-bright muscle and enforcer for #1.

With their group so few, these “stitchpunk” creations must summon individual strengths well beyond their own proportions in order to outwit and fight against still-functioning machines, one of which is a marauding, mechanised beast. In the darkness just before the dawn, #9 rallies everyone of his number to band together.