# The Lord of the Dynamos explained — Short Fiction > Chapter companion for Short Fiction by H. G. Wells. ## What happens James Holroyd, a brutish Yorkshire electrician, and his assistant Azuma-zi, a superstitious immigrant from the East, work in the roaring dynamo shed at Camberwell. Holroyd bullies Azuma-zi, who begins to worship the largest dynamo as a god. After Holroyd forbids him from approaching it, Azuma-zi sacrifices Holroyd to the dynamo by pushing him into its machinery. The death is ruled a suicide, and Azuma-zi remains, now contemplating a further sacrifice of the scientific manager. ## Themes in this chapter ### Technology and Dehumanization The dynamo shed's relentless noise and machinery drive Azuma-zi to madness and worship, while Holroyd is dehumanized by his own brutality and mechanical routine. ### Artifice vs. Authenticity Azuma-zi's primitive superstition clashes with the artificial, mechanical 'civilization' of London, leading to a violent fusion of the two. ## Character check-ins ### Holroyd The chief attendant of the dynamos, a heavy, red-haired brute who bullies Azuma-zi and is ultimately killed by the dynamo. ### Azuma-zi Holroyd's helper from the mysterious East, who comes to worship the dynamo as a god and sacrifices Holroyd to it. ## Key lines > The chief attendant of the three dynamos that buzzed and rattled at Camberwell, and kept the electric railway going, came out of Yorkshire, and his name was James Holroyd. James Holroyd, a Yorkshireman, was the main operator of the three dynamos at Camberwell that powered the electric railway. _Introduces Holroyd and the setting._ > His helper came out of the mysterious East, and his name was Azuma-zi. But Holroyd called him Pooh-bah. Azuma-zi, from the East, was Holroyd's assistant, whom Holroyd nicknamed Pooh-bah. _Introduces Azuma-zi and Holroyd's dismissive attitude._ > To define Azuma-zi was beyond ethnology. He was, perhaps, more negroid than anything else, though his hair was curly rather than frizzy, and his nose had a bridge. Azuma-zi's racial background was ambiguous, but he appeared mostly of African descent with some mixed features. _Describes Azuma-zi's appearance and the narrator's ethnographic tone._ > Azuma-zi had come, clad in white but insufficient raiment, out of the stokehole of the Lord Clive, from the Straits Settlements and beyond, into London. Azuma-zi arrived in London from the Straits Settlements, having worked on the ship Lord Clive, wearing only thin white clothes. _Details Azuma-zi's journey and impoverished arrival._ > He had heard even in his youth of the greatness and riches of London, where all the women are white and fair, and even the beggars in the streets are white, and he had arrived, with newly-earned gold coins in his pocket, to worship at the shrine of civilisation. Azuma-zi had dreamed of London as a place of wealth and white beauty, and came to revere its civilization. _Shows Azuma-zi's idealized view of London._ > The day of his landing was a dismal one; the sky was dun, and a wind-worried drizzle filtered down to the greasy streets, but he plunged boldly into the delights of Shadwell, and was presently cast up, shattered in health, civilised in costume, penniless, and, except in matters of the direst necessity, practically a dumb animal, to toil for James Holroyd, and to be bullied by him in the dynamo shed at Camberwell. Upon landing in gloomy London, Azuma-zi indulged in Shadwell's pleasures, but soon ended up broke, sick, and working for Holroyd, who bullied him. _Summarizes Azuma-zi's rapid decline after arrival._ > And to James Holroyd bullying was a labour of love. Holroyd enjoyed bullying others. _Characterizes Holroyd's cruelty._ > It was a confusing, unsteady place, and enough to send anyone's thoughts jerking into odd zigzags. The shed's chaotic noise and vibration could disorient anyone's thinking. _Describes the psychological effect of the dynamo shed._ > When he came into the roaring shed one morning he salaamed to the Lord of the Dynamos, and then, when Holroyd was away, he went and whispered to the thundering machine that he was its servant, and prayed it to have pity on him and save him from Holroyd. Azuma-zi began to bow and pray to the big dynamo as a god, asking for deliverance from Holroyd. _Azuma-zi's worship of the dynamo begins._ > Then Azuma-zi knew that his service was acceptable to his Lord. Azuma-zi felt that the dynamo accepted his worship. _Azuma-zi's delusion deepens._ > The incessant din and whirl of the dynamo shed may have churned up his little store of knowledge and big store of superstitious fancy, at last, into something akin to frenzy. The constant noise and motion of the shed likely drove Azuma-zi's superstition into madness. _Narrator suggests Azuma-zi's mental state._ > That night the two men and their black shadows were alone in the shed together. That night, only Holroyd and Azuma-zi were in the shed, with their shadows cast by the arc light. _Sets the scene for the murder._ > In another moment the two men were grappling fiercely in front of the great dynamo. They began to struggle violently near the large dynamo. _The physical fight begins._ > In another moment he was tripped and reeling back upon the Lord of the Dynamos. Holroyd was tripped and fell backward onto the dynamo. _Holroyd's fatal fall._ > He instinctively loosened his grip upon his antagonist to save himself from the machine. Holroyd let go of Azuma-zi to try to avoid the dynamo. _Holroyd's fatal mistake._ > When Azuma-zi saw Holroyd die in the grip of the Great Dynamo he had been a little scared about the consequences of his act. Yet he felt strangely elated, and knew that the favour of the Lord Dynamo was upon him. Azuma-zi was briefly afraid after Holroyd's death, but felt elated and believed the dynamo favored him. _Azuma-zi's mixed emotions after the murder._ > This expert scarcely noticed Azuma-zi, except to ask a few questions. The scientific manager barely paid attention to Azuma-zi, only asking a few questions. _The manager's dismissal of Azuma-zi._ > The distorted remains of Holroyd, which the electrician removed from the machine, were hastily covered by the porter with a coffee-stained tablecloth. Holroyd's mangled body was taken off the dynamo and covered with a dirty tablecloth. _The undignified handling of Holroyd's corpse._ > After all, from the mechanical point of view, it had been a most insignificant incident—the mere temporary deflection of a current. Mechanically, the murder was trivial—just a brief electrical disruption. _The cold, technical perspective on the death._ > Was the Lord Dynamo still hungry? His servant was ready. Azuma-zi wondered if the dynamo wanted another sacrifice, and he was willing to provide it. _Azuma-zi's intent to kill again._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_25_se/chapters/the-lord-of-the-dynamos - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_25_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_25_se/chapters