Ko-don Chronicles | Character Study | Emma

A Synthetic in an Artificial World of Organics

INTERNAL LOG | ERROR CODE
SYSTEM REBOOT IN PROGRESS…
Going off-line. System integrity compromised. Mission parameters unrecoverable.
I am… I was… Synthetic Emma.

It’s been a while since we’ve had a character dive, and the last one was Sabel, a character in Vol. IV of the Dark Legacy Series, which is scheduled for release in 2027. Since book 2 of the Warmaster Series is right around the corner, we’re plunging into the mind of a chilling synthetic. The brimstones are calling for no mercy, just blood, and we’ve got to feed them.

For a long time, we’ve had stories with robots and synthetics: I, Robot, Blade Runner, Terminator, and now, there are newer things like Westworld, Humans, and Ex Machina. Let’s not forget the mighty Geth, Sovereign, and the Reapers from the Mass Effect trilogy. Stories with synths aren’t new, but it’s always an intriguing one. How can we traverse well-trodden ground? How can we make it fresh?

I grew up watching Star Trek: The Next Generation, as I’m sure many of you did. That’s my Star Trek, and that’s where my love for sci-fi bloomed into existence. To be fair, the Borg and Q were awesome, with the latter crossing into realms of fantasy, but those were special episodes/appearances. When it came to the crew, I only had eyes for Doctor Beverly Crusher. But Data always fascinated me, tickled my brain in a way that nothing else did. And Picard was always my favorite, and I recognized his leadership qualities.

As a child, what struck me as weird was Data always endeavoring to become more human. It was a fascinating journey, but as an adult, that kind of story no longer satisfies me. It’s a superior being trying to be flawed like its creator. No, a story that would interest me, especially as a grimdark writer, is a synthetic trying to be overtly superior, and the consequences of that choice. This tickles me in all the right ways, especially how deep that moral quagmire can get. This is narrative quicksand of the finest caliber, and that’s something I want to explore.

Let’s find out how quickly we’ll slip below the surface…