-Imprisonment-

Ken paced his small room in an endless loop, he kept himself active because he did not wish to lose muscle mass during his incarceration. It had been many years of him repeating his same lonely routine. The society that condemned him to this fate is one who is aware of his immortal status and has sentenced him with an appropriately long amount of time. His options rest in the small room were limited, but he made do. Day in and day out Ken paced his tiny room, slowly increasing the amount of exercises daily as he grew more restless.

The race that inflicted this fate upon him is a long living, influential, and immensely proud race. The ones that put him away five hundred and seventeen years ago will be alive upon his release in another three hundred human years, yet very much out of their respective roles and nearing their death. On this day was the first time Ken had contact with anyone in any manner since he was first locked up, making these years the loneliest in his life. His crime demanded privacy and quarantine. When the door opened to his cell Ken had honestly forgotten where the door was located as it blended in perfectly with the smooth concrete walls of his cell.

Ken could not help the look that came across his face as a tall gentleman made his way into the room. This race towered over humans easily, some of their shortest match human’s tallest average though. The relative terms Ken would use to describe this race would be based off their averages and not based against anything human. Ken’s visitor was dressed very well and held out a lanky hand to him as two others rushed two chairs and a small table into the small room. Ken watched as the man sat down in one of the chairs after his formality was ignore by Ken. Ken reached out to the other chair and ran his fingers over the smooth wood, he had forgotten what wood had felt like. His only surroundings have been smooth concrete, or his bedding.

He sat down slowly and carefully in the high-backed chair; his visitor was patient while Ken settled. When the visitor spoke, Ken jumped out of his chair. The sound did not scare him, but rather he had simply forgotten what voices sounded like outside of his head. Ken could not understand a single word the man said for the first five minutes that he spoke with him. Ken knew the language of which his visitor spoke, it is as if his brain did not know how to process thoughts that are not his own anymore. He was relearning how to process the noises around him into coherent thought.

“I want to hear your story.” Was the first thing Ken’s visitor said that Ken was able to process, he had said much more than that by this point, but he was sure he lightly repeated pleasantries until Ken responded.

“I think I may be willing to help you.” Was the next complete thought Ken understood, this time Ken was able to form a reply.

“Help me with what?” Ken quickly gained his coherency back at this point since he got a grasp of his situation.

“Doctor Ken Attari I’d like to introduce myself.” The man stuck his hand back out to Ken as he had done before. Ken stared rudely at his hand with the two opposable thumbs and two long identical middle fingers extending from a flat palm, he has only seen his hands for so long he forgot the details of all the others. After a long pause, to which his visitor was graciously patient for, Ken extended his own hand and gave a proper handshake via the Ankonin customs.

“My name is Loy-Kane Morrow and I am a newly appointed Judge to the supreme board of our providence.” He paused to gauge Ken’s level of comprehension; Ken used this time to express his thoughts on what he understood.

“Congratulations on such an accomplishment for one so youthful in appearance, you must be proud.” Ken’s sincerity certainly took his visitor by surprise, like he expected this to be a positive interaction, he did not expect support for a government that sealed him away.

“You are gracious, I was hoping for a positive meeting, I see that was in good faith.” Loy-Kane spoke with strong interest, he wanted to keep the traction going.

“I simply appreciate the company. I am at terms with my punishment, I’m well past halfway at this point.” It was clear that Ken had no idea how long he had been imprisoned so far, the pity Loy-Kane felt for Ken’s situation was well masked, but very much present. Empathy was not something many of his fellow men possess.

“You encroach your tenth Ankton year.” Loy-Kane elaborated.

“Season?” Ken asked quickly.

“The Rise of Harach.” Loy-Kaine studies Ken’s reaction but could find no emotion in his words or actions that reveal a negative outlook. Loy-Kane started to wonder if Ken would even accept his offer to help.

“Around three hundred years to go.” Ken did not mean to speak aloud, but his filter was thin between thoughts and speech.  

“Ah yes, I have heard your human measurements of time are much shorter. The difference in time it takes our planets to orbit our suns.” Loy-Kane took a deep breath before he continued. “Ken, I want to petition to end your sentence on the grounds of absurdly drawn out sentence for breaking a law I fundamentally do not agree with and wish to change. I believe that change starts with us.” He was sure in his speech as he waited with bated breath for Ken’s reaction.

“I committed murder under the statutes of your advance society. I will serve my time.” Ken was openly confused as to why he was being approached in this manner.

“I would like to hear your story; I have read the transcripts of your trial and have been obsessed with your bold display of compassion towards one you loved so dearly. I do not feel as if you need to suffer more. Convince me otherwise and I will leave you to your remaining three hundred years as you said.” Loy-Kane was confident that this would get him to start opening to him, or he would know for sure Ken did not want his help.

“What I am to understand is that you hold sympathy for my story? I had no defense; I was not even sure my story was recorded. I am clearly guilty, so I find no reason to think of such nuances. I’m not within my races society, I will obey the law of the land I practice on.” Ken spoke with a smooth tone that had no traces of his disassociation from before.

“I’m sorry to say it was not recorded, I only have my suspicions. I am here to hear your story now, and I strongly believe I am right in my theories I think we could learn something from Humans after all.” Loy-Kane spoke boldly and openly with Ken, most of his fellow Ankton looked down upon Human’s, the few they have encountered. Their government understood Ken to be an altered being though and was not technically classified as Human.

“If you really are here to listen, I’ll tell you about Masse. She is all I have thought about since my imprisonment, I think I will always think about her.” Ken said, he enjoyed bringing life back into his dear friend’s name, as she was long gone, as were many who Ken has cared about over the countless years he has existed.

“I would very much like that, thank you Doctor.” Loy-Kane relaxed and leaned back in his seat for the first time.

“I travel anywhere and everywhere, it’s not a calling it is simply my thing. Sometimes in my countless years I come across someone who soul wanders like mine. Masse was one of a kind, legitimately never met another of her race in all my years. She was smart, long living, and heroic. I had found someone to share a good number of lasting memories with, and that we did. She traveled with me for countless years, even met my parents.” Ken quieted as he got lost in his memories.

“How did she get sick?” Loy-Kane asked to edge Ken back into the present.

“That was the heroics in her, we got a call as we had it set up for almost an entire segment to call us in for mercenary work. There was an underdeveloped planet stricken with an unknown plague that we got a call to, Traje in Segment 67-02691.” Again, Ken trailed off as he remembered how happy he was when he got that call. “She was older at this point, her extended lifespan was even coming to an end at this point, never once did she ever want to go home. She loved our life more than even me.” Ken thought fondly upon the countless memories he refused to forget.

“I’ve heard of that planet, no survivors. The Traje plague wiped their blooming civilization off the map despite colonized space.” The young judge studied Ken deeply as he watched the emotions come across Ken’s face.

“Well I’m immune to everything per the deal of immortality, we took every precaution for Masse as we could despite the extremely low likelihood of the virus jumping species. Still, it got her by our third year there. She was no where near as strong as she once was, and her body succumbed to it.” Ken put his head in his hands, but he continued to talk. “I couldn’t help the civilization alone, I saved who I could and brought them here, under full quarantine you accepted us into your hospital.”

Loy-Kane nodded. “We wanted a sample of the plague but had no one to safely deliver us a sample for research, until you arrived. Then they were placed in their cryo chambers, where they were kept alive and awake while we researched a cure. You were head of the research after passing our boards, this took you years, you fought to take care of your friend in every capacity. Why kill her then?” The judge has his suspicions of the man in front of him, but he needed to hear it from his own mouth. These hopes were there solely from Loy-Kane’s own compassion knowing at him since he was a child, in a society that does not comprehend it.

“The virus proved to be incurable for her, even if we could have found one by now, she would have lived almost a completely third lifetime in that room, just to be cured and die in just a few more years. Unable to interact with anyone personally or leave the room for all that time. She wanted to pass as it had far been her time, even I could accept that as I am blessed, we had two lifetimes together. She had no family and maybe no home or fellow man. She had me, and no freedom.” Standing up Ken was restless because he was not used to staying still.

“Why did you enter the chamber and endanger—” Ken was not normally rude, but he cut Loy-Kane off before he could finish the thought Ken knew was going to be laid out.

“I used another pressured room to enter hers, nothing escaped into the outside world, I’ve had no contact with your world in an insane amount of time peacefully, I am to assume no harm befell your civilization.” Ken said passionately, the door to the cell swung open but the judge stopped any intervention by his guards. Loy-Kane shook his head.

“There was no after effect of your actions.” Loy-Kane elaborated.

“I held her for the first time in almost 8 or your Ankon years, that’s about four hundred of mine. I comforted her while the gas slipped her into peace. Now I am here, but those years I could not ease her suffering was my true prison. This is just a task in comparison to before, the trade to fulfill the final wish of my best friend.” Ken stated, he had calmed again and returned to his seat.

“I agree with your compassion Doctor and I do not think you should be punished further. I have been advocating for reforms in our research development and I think overturning your case will be a strong way to send the message of compassionate care to our subjects.  I really hate to sound political, but it is the only way to approach something and have it changed in this world.” Loy-Kane placed some folders in front of Ken and remained there as Ken read through each page of the reports in front of him.

“You say immortality is a cruel gift to the unwell in your control in your speech to the council to be granted an audience with me.” Ken said.

“Yes, that is what you wrote on the notepad before you locked yourself in the room with Masse. It’s the foundation of the changes I am trying to implicate here, at least give the subject a chance to chose after a time.” The Judge stuck out his hand again in a friendly manner. “What do you say? Do you think you can help me use Masse and a way to make sure no one has to suffer as she did anymore?”

KEN III