Autonomous Library

The Autonomous Library is a device and system built by Simon Voltaire, the Master of Paris, to document what happened all over the city automatically and continuously. It [ "...record[s] the important things that happened in Paris every day. Even if no one knew they were important at the time."] The actual sensor net which feeds data into the recording scribing mechanism is unknown, but may relate to the Master's [ electro-æther shadow projection equipment], which may be secretly integrated into every structure in Paris.

The Library's lobby is at street level, but the scribing engine, and collation and storage systems are secured underground, protected with reinforced building against vibration damage (earthquakes, very large clanks, bombs) and environmental variation (cold/heat/humidity). The scribing engine itself was built and supplied to persist for 1000 years, unmaintained and unmonitored.

There is an implication that the Library archives were for public access, which further suggests Master Voltaire may have either set recording parameters to exclude his and the city's security secrets, or he had trusted staff winnowing the records as they came off the scribing engine.