[SPOILER] Plot Discussion Thread *Spoiler Alert*

[Paddy™]

If this has been covered before, I apologise, but only in a half-assed, insincere kinda way.

The "Machine" appears to be a walking, talking human being before becoming the machine. When you enter the sewer section, a flashback of an old conversation between Mandus and the Machine occurs. It's the part where the Machine explains that the turd-water can be used to drive turbines, or something. Here's the conversation:

Spoiler below!

\Amnesia - A Machine For Pigs\redist\sounds\vo\09_sewer\vo_sewer_trigger_01_flashback.ogg

sewer_trigger_01_flashback Mandus

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Isn't it dangerous allowing this filthy discharge to collect so close to the core?

The Machine
We can use the flow to drive the turbines.

There will always be a torrent of excreta flooding through these tunnels.

We can use this to supplement the steam production and ensure constancy.

Mandus
Dear God, the stench. This faecal matter is the true product of the age.

This conversation sounds like a real-time conversation between two people, rather than Oswald talking to The Machine. I find this confusing. Was the Machine someone who melded with the actual machine after it was built? Was that him in the life support pod thing at the end? Is he a separate person from Mandus, rather than a manifestation of some internal demon? If so, who was he? If not, how did this conversation take place?