It became increasingly tense in the estate, the lone, last son of Keller blood sitting in the puffy, leather-backed chair that once sat Damion himself, was now occupied by the brown otter that once considered himself a son of the Kellers. He fascinated himself with the former journals and recordings of his Uncle-in-law, appreciating the sheer beauty of Damion's labyrinthian mind. He clicked "play", for the umpteenth time today.
"Day four, sixteen hundred hours, subject 145B, Procedure 1150 Seleucid. It seems as if I have successfully created a "Consciousness Server", with Barnaby- I mean, 145B, describing his vivid dreams of seeing his wife, who had gone missing a decade ago. He tells me that from their conversation in the dream, that she is residing in Tanseltown, the Genoese quarter. We'll head down there to confirm or deny his statements."
The otter skipped to the next recording.
"Day five, remarkable, Subject 145B actually found his wife through Procedure 1150 Seleucid, my first patient to not only survive with a stable mind, but confirm the broadcasts.... How I see this experiment progress is just another chapter: What if I had the brain waves synchronize to share more than one consciousness? The implications on psychology are astronomic, but I must be careful, I know well what happens if I let a psychopath get his hands on my invention, or worse, let myself be a test subject. Any regular, sane person won't be able to handle my mind, my memories, nor my dreams.."
The otter was about to flip again, when the front door creaked open. He turned his head rapidly, heart pounding.
"H-Hello...? Is there someone there...?" he called.
The door swung shut, and a figure appeared in the mammoth living room. A voice chuckled softly.
"Day six, Subject 145B relinquished from experimentation, I had already reached my goal from that person, so he's of no further use to me, I turned down several of his attempts to bring me gifts, for helping him find his wife, but at least he's happy, and my appetite for discovery sated for a bit," the voice imitated the recording.
"U-Uncle Damion?" the otter replied in shock.
"Indeed, may I sit down by the fire with you Johnston?" he asked politely.
"Sure... How.. How did you get out of jail..?" Johnston's eyes widened.
Damion smiled.
"They forgot to replace the door to my cell and forgot that I was taught computer sciences and lock-picking by my father," Damion stifled a laugh.
Johnston chuckled.
"You truly are a sick freak, but, you're a sick freak in the most eccentric way possible."
Damion grinned.
"Oh?"
"You prefer to dabble in the strange, obscure schemes of science, but not the revolutionary."
"Not everyone has to be the next Nikolai Tesla or Steve Wozniak, Johnston, I please myself with knowing what questions I ask myself."
"Steve Wozniak?"
"Yes, Jobs is but a mere hype man, Wozniak, created Apple, not Jobs."
"That's quite, malicious of him..."
"Define."
"No one should take all the credit for cooperation, that's just ev-"
"Evil?"
"Yeah..."
Damion pounded his chest on Johnston's chest.
"We have EVOLVED past that kind of thinking Johnston!"
"W-What?" Johnston wondered with a stutter, getting knocked on his back, Damion stood on his belly.
"Why must the gift of sentience be bringing an undeniable prejudice in this swelling universe? The sharp lines of good versus evil reflect the sharp lines of a shoddy cartoon, such lines don't exist in natural settings! Black and white, Water and Fire, Good and Evil, Dark and Light!" All polar opposites divided by a blurred line of deceit. On one hand, I kill some old man, everyone wants the "bad guy" to go to jail for killing an old man, but it is later revealed the old man was an Ex-Nazi in disguise. Now we have a moral paradox. Am I justified for killing a man who committed wicked deeds in the past? Or is this still a murder out of spite and vengeance to an innocent old man who had a dark past and grew to be a better person around it? Please think about that, what's your answer?"
"The former?"
"Tells me a bit about yourself if you pick the first option. By picking the former, you have the mindset of an avenger, someone who has a gut instinct and wants to "bring justice" by inflicting the same degree of punishment onto wrongdoers for their crimes. I however pick neither, first of all, what business do I have stalking the poor man to find out he was an ex-Nazi in the first place? Never said that in the question, second, why would I NEED, to kill an ex-Nazi? As far as I know, nobody in my family had been killed in the holocaust, so why should I care if some old man used to be a Nazi?"
"True..."
"Johnston, we aren't a hive mind, we must have our own views of right and wrong, although the two can't live without each other. Solutions can't be made if there are no problems to solve. It's what creates a scientist like me. I have an idea, make a prediction, set control groups, toy with my variables and get it in print, see what happens. Will it grow? If not, will it decay? If not, it will surely, transform~" Damion put on a pair of shades and a fedora.
"Day four, sixteen hundred hours, subject 145B, Procedure 1150 Seleucid. It seems as if I have successfully created a "Consciousness Server", with Barnaby- I mean, 145B, describing his vivid dreams of seeing his wife, who had gone missing a decade ago. He tells me that from their conversation in the dream, that she is residing in Tanseltown, the Genoese quarter. We'll head down there to confirm or deny his statements."
The otter skipped to the next recording.
"Day five, remarkable, Subject 145B actually found his wife through Procedure 1150 Seleucid, my first patient to not only survive with a stable mind, but confirm the broadcasts.... How I see this experiment progress is just another chapter: What if I had the brain waves synchronize to share more than one consciousness? The implications on psychology are astronomic, but I must be careful, I know well what happens if I let a psychopath get his hands on my invention, or worse, let myself be a test subject. Any regular, sane person won't be able to handle my mind, my memories, nor my dreams.."
The otter was about to flip again, when the front door creaked open. He turned his head rapidly, heart pounding.
"H-Hello...? Is there someone there...?" he called.
The door swung shut, and a figure appeared in the mammoth living room. A voice chuckled softly.
"Day six, Subject 145B relinquished from experimentation, I had already reached my goal from that person, so he's of no further use to me, I turned down several of his attempts to bring me gifts, for helping him find his wife, but at least he's happy, and my appetite for discovery sated for a bit," the voice imitated the recording.
"U-Uncle Damion?" the otter replied in shock.
"Indeed, may I sit down by the fire with you Johnston?" he asked politely.
"Sure... How.. How did you get out of jail..?" Johnston's eyes widened.
Damion smiled.
"They forgot to replace the door to my cell and forgot that I was taught computer sciences and lock-picking by my father," Damion stifled a laugh.
Johnston chuckled.
"You truly are a sick freak, but, you're a sick freak in the most eccentric way possible."
Damion grinned.
"Oh?"
"You prefer to dabble in the strange, obscure schemes of science, but not the revolutionary."
"Not everyone has to be the next Nikolai Tesla or Steve Wozniak, Johnston, I please myself with knowing what questions I ask myself."
"Steve Wozniak?"
"Yes, Jobs is but a mere hype man, Wozniak, created Apple, not Jobs."
"That's quite, malicious of him..."
"Define."
"No one should take all the credit for cooperation, that's just ev-"
"Evil?"
"Yeah..."
Damion pounded his chest on Johnston's chest.
"We have EVOLVED past that kind of thinking Johnston!"
"W-What?" Johnston wondered with a stutter, getting knocked on his back, Damion stood on his belly.
"Why must the gift of sentience be bringing an undeniable prejudice in this swelling universe? The sharp lines of good versus evil reflect the sharp lines of a shoddy cartoon, such lines don't exist in natural settings! Black and white, Water and Fire, Good and Evil, Dark and Light!" All polar opposites divided by a blurred line of deceit. On one hand, I kill some old man, everyone wants the "bad guy" to go to jail for killing an old man, but it is later revealed the old man was an Ex-Nazi in disguise. Now we have a moral paradox. Am I justified for killing a man who committed wicked deeds in the past? Or is this still a murder out of spite and vengeance to an innocent old man who had a dark past and grew to be a better person around it? Please think about that, what's your answer?"
"The former?"
"Tells me a bit about yourself if you pick the first option. By picking the former, you have the mindset of an avenger, someone who has a gut instinct and wants to "bring justice" by inflicting the same degree of punishment onto wrongdoers for their crimes. I however pick neither, first of all, what business do I have stalking the poor man to find out he was an ex-Nazi in the first place? Never said that in the question, second, why would I NEED, to kill an ex-Nazi? As far as I know, nobody in my family had been killed in the holocaust, so why should I care if some old man used to be a Nazi?"
"True..."
"Johnston, we aren't a hive mind, we must have our own views of right and wrong, although the two can't live without each other. Solutions can't be made if there are no problems to solve. It's what creates a scientist like me. I have an idea, make a prediction, set control groups, toy with my variables and get it in print, see what happens. Will it grow? If not, will it decay? If not, it will surely, transform~" Damion put on a pair of shades and a fedora.