Kalon Entry Writings

[fuiuki]

Kalon Entry Writings

This is where I'll be storing the writing for my kalon writing entries.

Kalon 1500 Entry

[fuiuki]

Court Case Records

”Court is now in session.”

The courtroom settled down and fell quiet, most eyes falling on a single kalon sitting behind a table in cuffs. Her expression laid calm yet determined, the calm of a person who’s accepted her fate. Her posture showed she was paying attention but she would not budge on her convictions, that much was clear.
The Judge took in all of this in just a glance. She had presided over enough trials to know how people act by now. Still, this would be very interesting… It was time to start and see where this would go.

“Please state your full name for the records” the Judge stated.

“My name is Amadeus, Your Honour.” Her tone lacked doubt, and her face was firmly set. She kept solid eye contact with the Judge.

“According to the records I have here, your designated name is Cybernetic Experiment Unit 37. Is that correct?”

“Correct, that was my assigned name. However, as I am an intelligent being, and not-“

“That will be enough, thank you” the Judge interrupted, “You will henceforth be referred to as Unit 37.”

“But that’s not my-“

“That will be all, understood?” the Judge gave a sharp glare. “You will have your time to speak, but that time is not now.”

Amadeus’ jaw tensed, but she gave a nod in acknowledgement.

The Judge shuffled her papers for a few seconds before starting again. “You are being accused of treason, murder and working against the state. How do you plead to these charges?”

“Guilty, Your Honour.” Amadeus answered curtly. The Judge raised an eyebrow. This simple, huh? She had a feeling it wasn’t going to end there.

“Care to explain your reasoning behind such crimes?” the Judge inquired.

“As you already know, Your Honour, I am part of a government experiment to artificially grow soldiers for the war. As for the most part, a large fraction of my body is organic, with my spine and neck being the only exception. However, I am not a tool nor a toy. I, like you all, am a person. I have a mind of my own, with wishes, dreams, and thoughts just like anyone else in this room who has a beating heart.”

“So you rebelled?” the Judge asked.

“Yes, Your Honour. I did.” At this, She grabbed her tail to show it off to the judge. “My tail is what remains of the connector cord, as you can easily tell. This cord is what the operation used to feed us any given information, and subsequently control us. To escape, I ripped the cord out of the wall. However, unless you remove the cord with proper tools, you get this result,” she carefully held up the frayed and torn ends of her tail to illustrate her point. “It easily results in heavy damage” she added with a slight wince.

“I see. So let me guess: you hate us for creating you without a choice and therefore decided to work with the aliens against us, starting by quite literally ripping yourself out of the system?” The Judge stated, feeling slightly unnerved. The case seemed to be coming to an end faster than she thought it would.

“If you had asked me just a few days ago, Your Honour, that would have been entirely correct. However, an incident that occurred earlier in the week changed my mind.” Amadeus stated with sadness creeping onto her features. “I was restocking my supplies at an alien base, in preparation for a scouting mission I had been given. The aliens occasionally ‘save’ someone by bringing them in and removing all cybernetic augmentations they can. This time, they had brought in a crying child.” Amadeus’ legs began to shake fairly unnoticeably with an unknown emotion. “The child... the child was missing a leg and the other three were very obviously malformed, whether from damage done to them or from birth defects. Her eyes were as cloudy and milky white as well, leading me to believe she had to be at least partially blind. I soon realised that they had taken her prosthetics from her, rendering her both blind and immobile.”

The courtroom fell silent, many staring in mild horror at what they were hearing. Many faces also displayed anger, anger at the aliens for doing such a thing to a child, anger at this not being the first time this has happened... and anger at Amadeus for joining with the aliens. Amadeus herself showed just as much anger. She did not shake in horror or sadness, but in barely restrained anger. Her face was tense, and the Judge could see in her eyes that she was itching to fight someone.
Amadeus soon calmed down however, taking a deep breath and relaxing her posture before continuing with her retelling.

“I realised in that moment that the aliens were wrong. I agree with them that we should follow nature’s course, and be in harmony with it. I will never find it acceptable that my own kind was created as fodder and as tools. However... I also know now that cybernetic implants and prosthetics help countless lives. Some may not even have a life at all without them. I realised I was fighting the wrong battle. That is why I have also turned myself in.”

The Judge peered at Amadeus. “As I seem to recall, you were captured on the battlefield with the bodies of 3 aliens as well as one of our own soldiers nearby.”

Amadeus nodded. “Unfortunate losses, but I had to gain your attention in some way on the battlefield.” She then smirked cockily, “I am a master raider, I’ve been at this for 3 years. I am highly intelligent with an augmented nervous system, far better than any biologically born kalon’s system. Did you really think that you had captured me out of your own efforts only?”

The Judge ignored her cocky attitude. “And so you expect me to just... what, accept you back into our midst? After all the raids you’ve performed on our bases and supply lines, the countless lives you’ve helped take, and all the damage you’ve done to our war efforts?”

Unblinking and unflinching: “Yes, Your Honour.”
The Judge leaned back, staring at this... traitor. The one menace they hadn’t been able to defeat for more than 3 years now. The Swift Raider, the Hidden Wind of Death, the Half-blood Thief... She looked deep into Amadeus eyes, and suddenly she knew what her verdict would be.

“This court will reconvene tomorrow. I know what needs to be done, but I need to pull some strings first. Cybernetic Experiment Unit 37... neigh, Amadeus, you are hereby sentenced to aid in diplomatic efforts between us and the aliens, provided I can find you a position for it.”
The courtroom exploded into chaos. Defendants and the opposition alike were screaming bloody murder, and a few fights even broke out. Amadeus however, she just sat, calmly. She had known what her fate would be, as surely as she knew she had a beating heart, for she knew what the Judge understood that the others in the room did not. The Judge had a beating heart just like her, unlike everyone else around them. She understood what emotions were, what regret and passion was. Amadeus knew that everything would be alright, and that she would soon be able to start making amends for all the horrible crimes she had so foolishly committed. She could finally start fixing things, for real this time.

Amadeus was led out of the hall, a proud smile on her face and with confidence in her stride. It was time to save the world, for both sides this time.

Big thanks to ghost ship for helping with quality control!

[fuiuki]

Medical Document
Classified Material

Current date: [Redacted]
Attending physician: [Redacted]

Subject's Legal Name:
Cybernetic Experiment Unit 37

Subject's Spoken Name:
Amadeus

Sex (Biological):
Female

Subject's age as of writing this document:
3 Years and 9 Months

Noteworthy about subject's body:

*Subject’s spine has been entirely replaced with cybernetic implants.
*Subject has a flexible metal collar around their neck. Seemingly connected to spine.
*Subject’s right hind leg has exposed mechanical parts halfway down the leg.
*Subject’s right front leg has the interior wiring exposed on the lower portion of the leg through flexible, transparent material. A sharp blade is attached to subject’s leg on the exposed part.
*Subject’s left front leg has a metal bracelet.
*Subject’s stomach area is covered in flexible, transparent material, exposing the interior wiring.
*Subject’s “tail” consist of a cord wrapped in black material. Portions of the cord are exposed by the same flexible, see through material as the leg and stomach. The cord terminates in a rough cut, with cords cut and exposed.
*The purpose of the exposed sections remain unclear.



Examination results (physical):

*Subject’s collar and bracelet, as well as several other areas, appear to be covered in neon blue markings. Upon further examination, these areas were discovered to contain circuitry that interacts with the artificial muscles throughout the subject’s body.

*The metal blade attached to the right front leg appears to be retractable.

*The visor and head attachments are not attached permanently to the head.

*Subject’s reflexes and physical abilities far outclass any regular, non-enhanced kalon. This is currently being attributed to the improved nervous system of the artificial spine.

*Subject’s “tail” appears to serve no clear purpose, the exception being to keep balance. Subject has limited motor-control over the tail. Despite the tail appearing to be non-biological, the subject has somehow managed to grow a shine on it, and expresses pain upon handling the ends of the tail roughly. Further study is required.

*Subject’s movements appear unhindered by the exposed parts of the body.

*Eyesight perfect, with ability to zoom in on targets up to 400 meters away.

*Subject lacks the necessary organs to reproduce. Tissue tests had to be done to determine the biological sex of the subject.


Examination results (psychological):

Subject appears to be in relatively good mental health. No signs of PTSD or severe mental trauma due to the war. Subject appears in good control of their emotions and mental state. Subject displays signs of an optimistic look on life, with strong feelings for justice. Subject displays passion when discussing themselves and the state of their body. Signs of mild resentment towards both aliens and ourselves are displayed as well. Subject expresses strong feelings of loyalty to a good cause.

Upon discussing subject’s lack of reproductive organs, subject appears disheartened. Subject expresses a desire for a family. This indicates a capacity for compassion.


Examination Conclusion:

Subject appears to be fit for delicate diplomatic interactions as well as fieldwork. It is of this physician’s opinion that Cybernetic Experiment Unit 37, or Amadeus, is suitable for a diplomatic role in the government.

[fuiuki]

1250 Main Entry

There was no heartbeat.

It started as something simple. He had been asked a question by one of the residents of the research facility.

“When were you created?”

When indeed? It was about a year ago, and it had been a year of great scientific progress since. Whey had done what he was created to do: research and test. Giving an answer to the query wasn’t difficult; he knew when he was created. It was what it made him realise that made him pause. He had been created. He had never before questioned this, or more importantly; what he was. But... what was he, really? While the resident who had asked him about his age waited for an answer, Whey sat and thought. Eventually he responded not with an answer to the question asked, but with a question of his own:

“What makes someone into a person?”

This surprised and confused the asker, who was a regular flesh-and-blood kalon. They thought for a while before answering.

“I think you need to both think and know you think.”

This did for some reason not satisfy Whey. That fact alone puzzled him. He had gotten an answer, and it should’ve been enough, but wasn’t. This required further study, and questioning more people. And so he went to find someone else.

Eventually he ran across a researcher. He once again asked the same thing.

“What makes someone into a person?”

The researcher did not spend long thinking.

"To be a person you need to think and know-“

Whey had already heard this answer, and as such interrupted the researcher.

“Yes, I have gotten that answer already, but it does not feel like it’s enough. Isn’t there anything else that makes someone a person?”

The researcher thought longer and harder this time. After several minutes, he answered once again.

“Perhaps, to be a person you also need to feel emotions, and express them.”

Whey thought about this, but realised he was still not satisfied. He thanked the researcher, and went to find someone else to ask once again.

Finally, he came across the facility research manager. For the third time that day, he asked his question.

“What makes someone into a person?” he asked. “I have been told you need to think, and KNOW you think. I have also been told you need to feel and express emotions. It still does not seem to be enough, something is missing.”

The facility research manager thought for a few minutes before answering with a smile.

“You need to care about lives, whether it’s the lives of people you care about, or insignificant critters on the ground.”

This felt strange to Whey, but he thanked the facility research manager nonetheless. He went to find a last person to ask. He eventually came across a computer terminal.

“What makes someone into a person?” he wrote into the terminal. “I have been told you need to think, and KNOW you think. I have also been told you need to feel and express emotions, as well as care about the lives of others. Is there anything else I’m missing?”

The terminal blinked for a few seconds before writing out an answer.

“Logic dictates that one would need a physical body to be a person. As such, this terminal does not qualify as a person.”

Whey finally had all the answers he needed to come to a conclusion.

Whey could think, and he knew he did so. Whey also felt emotions, although a limited amount of such. He felt excitement at successful experiments, and anger at simple mistakes that ruined the results of said experiments. He could express as much as well, filling that requirement. He did not, however, care much for lives. He knew they mattered simply because beings could not operate without lives. Further than that, he did not care whether someone lost their life or not. Of course, he also had a body, even if it wasn’t made of only flesh and blood.

While Whey contemplated the results of his impromptu research project, the first resident he had spoken to that day walked by. He had thought about Whey’s question since they last talked, and had come to a conclusion of his own.

“I do not think you are a person” he said to Whey. “You do not have a Heart, you are merely machinery that thinks.”

Whey thought on this, and he knew what the final test would be that could determine whether he was a person, or something else. And so, he went to find a final person who could help him with this.

Whey eventually found a doctor; just what he needed.

“Doctor, I need you to check if I have a heart in my chest.”

The doctor, ever the dutiful worker, took out his stethoscope to listen to Whey’s chest. After a minute, he gave the stethoscope to Whey. Whey checked his own chest, and listened.

There was no heartbeat.

Whey knew what he was now.

He was not a person, but a machine. And he felt a strange sadness at this.

[fuiuki]

Extra 1

Subject: Worrying behaviour
From: Research Assistant Monica G.
To: Research Manager Markus L.
Sent: Tuesday, 11:27

Hey Markus, I’ve been observing some worrying behaviour from CEU Whey. He's been going around the facility asking about being a person? His performance has dropped since, I’m worried he’s questioning what he is. It’s been a year since he got created so I’ve been expecting this for a while, what do you advise we do? Do you think his brain is rejecting the programming?

Rsch. Assist. Monica

Subject: Re:Worrying behaviour
From: Research Manager Markus L.
To: Research Assistant Monica G.
Sent: Tuesday, 13:43

I’d like to remind you that CEU 19 (not Whey) is not a HE, it’s an IT. CEU 19 is an experiment, not a person. I will make sure that 19 receives disciplinary actions to eradicate the notion of being a person. We’ve spent too much money on this to let it be brought down by thoughts and “feelings”.

R.M Markus

Subject: Re:Worrying behaviour
From: Research Assistant Monica G.
To: Research Manager Markus L.
Sent: Tuesday, 19:05

Excuse me?? Whey’s got a biological brain just like you and I, regardless of the AI imprint we left on it. Dumbing him down to an ITEM is not ok, he’s a living thing! I highly doubt “disciplinary actions” will do anything productive, Markus.
Also for the record, raising a CHILD is expensive, Whey’s upkeep is CHEAP in comparison to that! I’m gonna talk to him, don’t you dare take actions. You may view him as an item but the REST of us here at the facility like him, and think of him as a person.

Subject: Re:Worrying behaviour
From: Research Manager Markus L.
To: Research Assistant Monica G.
Sent: Tuesday 19:31

I strongly advise that you watch your words, research ASSISTANT Monica. If you want to keep your job, you will distance yourself from any feelings for this, and you will also not talk to any of your colleagues about this. I hope I am making myself clear.

R.M Markus

Subject: Re:Worrying behaviour
From: Research Assistant Monica G.
To: Research Manager Markus L.
Sent: Wednesday, 07:14

Perfectly clear, Markus.

Rsch. Assist. Monica

[fuiuki]

Extra 2

Breaking News!
Government experiment gone rogue?

Yesterday evening, the government sent out a Wanted notice for a rogue robot. Allegedly, the robot has been smuggled out of a government research facility by an employee, and is in the shape of a kalon. However, an anonymous source has leaked that it was in fact NOT a robot, but an artificially created living being. With the war still raging on, this is supposedly the future for our army: soldiers, scientists, and all the other dangerous jobs will be carried out. One of these experimental “units” has now fled, according to our source, and has most likely done so with the help of a facility worker where the experimental unit was held. The whereabouts of both the worker and the stolen “robot” are as of yet unknown, but sightings have already been reported all over the city...

[fuiuki]

Capricious Koi

Capricious is a fickle woman. One day she’ll be working on a project to end world hunger, a big and expensive project. The next day, it’ll be about saving the turtles. She would never stay in one place either, always flitting from one place to another. One day she might be staying at a hotel in Greece, another day she could be surfing in California. She could be sleeping over in your house, only for you to wake up to her shaking you gently, saying she’s gonna climb on top of the house to watch the stars. Or you might wake up and she’s gone, and you find her in the next city over, feeding pigeons in a park. She was, quite frankly, spontaneous and crazy and very, VERY hard to pin down. She would never commit, never stay, never stop. She only spent as much time as she had to in one place, never more. Capricious lived up to her name, and she liked it this way.

Capricious would travel far and wide. She would also travel near and close, exploring the tiny nooks and crannies of local areas. Caves, neighbourhoods, forests and more, all got explored inside and out. Sometimes she’d bring a souvenir with her, but usually not. She had little space to store anything after all.

On a warm summer day, in some big city somewhere in a big country, Capricious entered an aquarium. Fish from all over the world could be found there, both big and small. She wandered for a long time, watching the critters swim about. One or two even looked a bit like her!

Eventually, she found her way to the back of the building. In a small, undecorated room, a small pond rested. A beautiful little pond for sure, and of course she could not resist it. In it, swimming lazily, was a single koi fish. Surrounded by tiny goldfish, the big fish swam about. Surrounded by the golden scales of the goldfish, the large koi looked much like her. She sat, pondering by the pond. The fish was trapped in there, in a small pond without direct sunlight and surrounded by tiny versions of itself. Yet… it didn’t look sad. Granted, she wasn’t the best at understanding fish of course, but it didn’t look very sad. It looked… at peace.

As Capricious was about to leave, a young man rushed by and plopped down in front of the pond. He didn’t seem to notice her presence. She could both see and hear, he was crying heavily. Concerned, she approached him.

That’s how she met her husband. He showed her what it was like to have someone to stay in one place for, someone who could make a house into a home. Eventually, he showed her the joys of family. She finally understood that koi in its pond, happily swimming about. It wasn’t so bad, being tied down. Not when she was surrounded by love on all sides.


Neon Kal: development