FACTUAL / CONCEPTUAL NOTE MECHANICAL MEMORY "Memory" does not require silicon. A machine can preserve state as: - wheel position - lever position - latch state - punched pattern - cam position - counter value - physical arrangement This is not always memory in the architecture sense used for modern computers, but the broader point matters: state can persist physically. The moment a machine's future behavior depends on a preserved prior condition, there is something memory-like happening. Mechanical computers make this visible. Their state is often literally where the parts are.