Cailin and the Curse of the Quantum Mechanics — Robert Bennett

Cailin, an Irish orphan, escapes from a nineteenth century textile mill where she has been held a virtual prisoner. She flees into a primeval forest where she encounters a clutch of curious characters who have been infected by a contagion created by the Quantum Mechanics, two snake oil hucksters who have recklessly concocted a cure all elixir that mutates people into half human, half machine hybrids.