Name: Parralax
Gender: Male
Sima number: SNOW sima 6
Edits/traits:
Nose edit - uncommon
Muzzle edit - uncommon
Missing patch of fur on neck - rare
Rat tail - rare
Reptilian-like arm - rare
Edited eye - uncommon
Small hair - common
Partial flopped ear - uncommon
Prompt answered: Eh, it's basically his backstory but I edited that a bit. You can see the original
here but it's basically a not-as-good version of what's below.
Backstory:
Summary and background knowledge:He was the subject of the company’s third experiment on perspective, this one centering around technology. The company existed to genetically engineer humans to fix their day-to-day problems, they had not opened for business yet as they were worried that, despite having their problems fixed, the customers would be unsatisfied. So they then went on to research how simas, one of the few animals that actually displayed emotion and intelligent thinking, would react to solutions before and after receiving them. He was taken as a kit, he never knew his parents and never learned how to miss them. To prepare him for the experiments, he was raised in a rural habitat, under the watch of a young company employee named Cillos. His original name was EP_S:03 after being the third subject of Experiment: Perspective, but Cillos thought it would be inhuman to call him by a number, and with the company’s permission; gave him the second name of Parallax. He currently "works" as a Sima rights activist.
Parallax
(Noun)
The effect whereby the position or direction of an object appears to differ when viewed from different positions, example: through the viewfinder and the lens of a camera.
Unknown to Parallax’s guardian, the company hired him disingenuously, never telling him the full extent that the experiments would lead to, just saying that he would raise a sima in an urban area, which would then be exposed to technology to test it’s reaction. Parallax was shown no technology as a young sima, learning to take care of other animals on the farm he was raised at instead. Part of his learning as a young sima was to be taught how to recognise the letters of human speech, and how to communicate through it. Of course, Cillos was informed that, because simas are both incapable of speaking human languages and holding pens with their paws, he would have to find an alternative way to teach Parallax. He made a chart showing all of the letters, symbols of punctuation, and a blank square representing a space. He taught Parallax what each character meant and what everything sounded like. They listened to beautiful songs and poems, trying to get the lyrics. Parallax may not have been able to talk, but he figured out how to hum. How to mimic the notes of his favorite tunes as a way to express his feeling in a language that anyone can speak.
Cillos J
Raising Parallax
April 28
I was hired by a genetic engineering company today who wanted me to start this journal. I guess I should clarify that I’m not doing anything science-y, no, my job is going to be working at a farm. A pretty fancy one at that, I went to visit it and the living spaces are quite pleasant. My job specifically is to raise a sima in the rural atmosphere. How great is that? If you know me, then you know that I have always been interested in simas, especially because of how rare they are around here. I also took a two year trip to a ranch that ended a while ago, so considering the knowledge I gained from that, and the incredible pay I’ll get, this job is perfect! The only odd thing is that the man who hired me seemed to be speaking for someone else over a headset. He was very stiff throughout the conversation and kept glancing over his shoulders, looking like there might be someone watching us, just acting all weird. Guess he’s not from around here.
May 9
Today I met the sima I’ll be taking care of, he’s a spunky little guy and we already get along! It seems that he was specially bred by the company for this experiment, he even has one of those names like in those action movies about robots that that are named weird combos of numbers and letters. His name is EP_S:03. I honestly couldn’t imagine calling him that, I’ll be looking after him for a year and I want to be able to address him with a real name. So, I browsed google for words related to perspective and found Parallax, which I thought would fit pretty well. I messaged the company asking if it would be ok to call him that and they said it could work. I’m not sure what they meant by that, but I like how Parallax rolls off the tongue and I can’t wait until tomorrow when I will start work.
May 10
I had the morning to acquaint myself with the farm and meet the animals living there. At about 1 in the afternoon Parallax was brought over in a cage covered with a cloth so he couldn’t see. He was a little nervous when he was let out, but it was quickly replaced with curiosity as he started bounding around and sniffing things. He really seemed to like the other animals, except for the cows, which he shied away from. I guess you could say Parallax might be a bit of a… COWard! (ba-dum tss) Anyway, it’s getting dark, and I’m getting tired.
July 30
I came up with a way to teach Parallax how to understand our language (the smart little guy) and started using it last June. I drew a small chart with numbers and letters and stuff, a large one so that he can put his paw on one letter at a time. Right now, I am just trying to teach him what everything sounds like in between taking care of the farm and the animals. He’s starting to understand most of them and seems pretty interested, so this is going faster than I thought it would.
August 23
I let Parallax out of my sight for ten minutes and he comes back with a bird. It was alive, and by the looks of it, he was carrying the bird really carefully in his jaw so as not to hurt it. I laughed as he brought it to me, most pets that bring their owner a ‘present’ kill it first, but I guess Parallax is too kind for that. He enjoys the birds’ singing, and when he thinks I’m not listening, will try to copy the sound. This gives me an idea.
August 28
I sent an email to the company asking if I could show Parallax some music. They replied at first with a series of numbers and letters that went on for a paragraph, then sending a second message apologizing for the first and saying it would be fine as long as I downloaded it to a record and played it on a gramophone. I assume that would be because Parallax isn’t supposed to be exposed to modern technology. I’ve found a place where I can buy the gramophone, it honestly wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. Now to test my theory.
September 3
Looks like I was right. When I first brought in the gramophone, Parallax was a little apprehensive, sitting on the other side of the room and looking at it like it was going to move. He was scared out of his wits when I started the record at a high volume, I had to pick him up to calm him down and we sat there, listening to the song. He looked really interested, moving his head around to try to see how the gramophone worked, his eyes were full of wonder. I played a lot of different genres of songs but Parallax seems most interested in songs that use a mix of techno and real instruments. He seems really intrigued by piano and guitar, even nodding his head with the beat of some songs. He always grins and chirrs excitedly when I grab a record, hopping around in joy. How sweet.
October 31
Parallax’s first halloween! Whilst we can’t exactly go trick-or-treating, I got some materials for costumes and some pumpkins for carving. We both dressed up as samurai, I felt kind of childish but Parallax really got into it, grabbing a ‘sword’ (it was really a stick) and walking around confidently, so I played along. We stayed up late with candles and the light of the jack-o-lanterns listening to halloween themed music. I know simas aren’t really supposed to eat human food, but I gave him a small bit of pumpkin pie. He earned it.
November 27
I finally taught Parallax how to read! We even use the chart I made so he can spell words as I write them on a separate piece of paper. While he understands my speech, this is a good way for us to communicate. I can tell he wishes he could talk like us, but I think this is fine as-is.
December 25
Merry Christmas! I’m not exactly a christian, but I think it’s a nice holiday to celebrate. I told Parallax what it was a week ago so he wouldn’t be confused when I carried a tree into our home. (by the way, we had a great time decorating it.) I went to put a gift for Parallax under the tree pretty late last night so that he wouldn’t see it, that’s just how I grew up doing it. Looks like he must have snuck out to do the same. When we got up in the morning so Parallax could open his present, I found something else wrapped crudely in brown paper. There was a large note on it that said “Merry Christmas Cillos!” in practically illegible handwriting. I looked over at him and grinned, picking him up and ruffling his fur before opening it. It was a pendant made of wood, looking to have been carved by his own claws, emblazoned with a human hand holding the tail gem of a Sima. I immediately got some string and turned it into a necklace. I saw Parallax walk up sheepishly and hold up a second pendant, figuring that he had made one for himself as well, kind of like a friendship necklace. I put a string through it and hung it around his neck. He had opened his present of multiple new records for us to play, but I knew I had gotten the better gift, this pendant is invaluable. Looking at it, it must have taken forever for him to make it.
February 2
You won’t believe what I saw today. As I was carrying some birdseed for our chickens, I saw Parallax perched on the fence, whistling along with the birds. Whistling?! I barely stopped myself from dropping the seeds in shock. How did he figure out how to do that? Later this afternoon, I started whistling to myself, and Parallax joined in.
March 16
Parallax’s necklace has been getting tangled up in his neck fur a lot lately, it doesn’t seem to hurt him, but it is clearly annoying him. Not much we can do about it though, especially because it is one of the few things keeping him warm in this chilly weather.
April 23
It’s Parallax’s birthday! I got a message from the company a little while back, telling me that I can now expose him to one piece of modern tech, we agreed on some headphones and an IPod. He was really confused when he opened his gift, but as I started explaining it to him, his eyes lit up. We couldn’t get the headphones to sit comfortably on his incredibly floppy ears, so we hung them around his neck and turned up the volume. The sound quality is much better than that of our gramophone, so he has been re-listening to his favorite songs to hear the difference all day. He’s going to go to the labs of that company at the start of may to begin testing, and while I know I’ll miss him, I will be able to visit Parallax once a month.
May 1
I told Parallax what was going to happen a few days ago, but I guess neither of us was emotionally prepared. We were able to smile as he departed, but I have felt pretty awful for the rest of today. Why do I have a bad feeling about this?
May 23
I came to visit Parallax. It seems the only thing they’ve done is given him a laptop, but I can’t imagine how difficult it must be for him to type anything on it without hitting multiple keys at a time. He seems well taken care of, and happy despite missing me. I wonder why the company even needs a copy of my journal, but they took all the information from raising him, they don’t have these new parts though.
June 23
Before I entered the room where they keep Parallax, I was told that they did something to remove the fur from his neck so his necklace wouldn’t get tangled in it, but there was a mishap so it removed the fur from his tail as well. I was worried, but as I saw Parallax, he looked quite happy with the change.
July 23
This time they gave him a reptile arm so he can type and do things such as hold a pen. There were no malfunctions in this test, and Parallax was really eager to show off. He even wrote something with it, chirring with joy. I guess these tests are just to help him.
August 23
This time they told me that they did a test to erect his floppy ears so they could stop getting in his way and so he could put the headphones on his head. They said that the right ear was only mostly straightened, with a fold at the tip. When I went in to see him, he waved his ears around to show me, but he didn’t seem as enthusiastic this time, like the ‘magic’ was wearing off.
September 23
They didn’t do any experiments on him this month, but he is definitely getting more bored with the place. I can tell he wants to leave. I’m getting a little concerned.
October 23
They removed all of the furniture from Parallax's room except for a small mattress. There is no light except for his computer and he seemed incredibly scared when I came to see him. The company promised me that they would see to it, but I don't think I can trust them.
November 28
I’m done. This time, they changed his eyes and added odd green patterns to his fur JUST TO SEE HOW HE WOULD REACT! I filed a lawsuit against the company, which is now being shut down. I’m back with Parallax now. I guess that’s all that matters. They didn’t know what to do with the farm, so we got it back. It was nice to see the place with fresh eyes, literally for Parallax. We threw away his laptop, headphones, and IPod, they seem to bring back bad memories.
December 16
We are now going to start a small business that uses Parallax’s experience to advocate for Sima rights and wellfare. In his free time, he listens to our old gramophone. We still take after the farm, but we have less animals now, so it is a bit less time consuming. Whenever it pops up, we go to marches for animal rights and stopping animal testing, in fact, we will be attending one this sunday. Whatever we can do to make this world just a little better.
