A Short Story Poem by Kaz Kawasaki

I sit on a stone, as I stare into the sun. The red dust settles at my feet as I strike my best “thinking man” pose. Here, in the vacuum of space, I can finally be silent. I can scream my thoughts to the eternities, and still be satisfied with the noise, or lack there of. And I meditate, with my eyes open. My chest heaves the invisible air and my skin hugs the cessant breeze. Half a century ago, this would not have been possible. To face the sun while the blue marble of earth passes by. Today, it is only possible for me. All others chose death, I chose to live... which is a fate worse than death. Soon I must return home, I will hear the same people, eat the same food and watch the same sun. But right now, now is perfection. Because when you live for eternity, you learn to live in the moment in full appreciation.
My future started with a broken leg. I was 19, old enough to decide my future, young enough to not know any better. I had been working out, quite vigorously. In those day, I was full of patriotic vigor. The mission I had chose to accept, was the be the best soldier; smarter, wiser, faster and stronger than anyone I might face. I spent late nights making myself better, I gave everything I had to the moment. I was going to make a name for myself. I was going to make my own name, rather than my father, or the company he started. And it all started when I joined the military.
It began as a threat, my failing grades and immature behavior had broken the back of my parents. I couldn’t go to college, and I didn’t want to go. But working where I was at, I was never going to find the life I wanted. $8.50 an hour doesn’t pay for a family, a sports car, and early retirement. Within a month, I had signed onto the Air Force, and I was going to be a linguist.
Basic training was tough, but it taught me how to take a hit. Technical school was even tougher, but it taught me who I was. It was during this time that I broke my leg, trying to be all I could, and failing. Those two months were the worst two months of my life, sitting in my dorm room, not being able to train; weekends indoors, weekdays with only class to break the boredom. I was angry, because my body had failed me, and I had failed my body. I wanted to be unbreakable. I wanted to be made out of steel and bullets. I wanted to know that I would never break down, I would always be strong for my fellow soldiers, and I would always be able to perform my duty to the best of abilities. Armed with this desire, I went to BioStrong.
BioStrong could be compared to the Terminator’s “Cybernet”. Then a fledgling company, BioStrong was a research and development company who provided replacement limbs to vets looking to rejoin the fight. They had just joined the race for the first stand-alone robot, but they were new to the game. Funded by multi-billionaire Toby Troy, they could make it for a while, testing new products and replacing limbs of battered soldiers. But the cost-benefit of the robot race was draining, to say the least. With no new breakthrough in the last month, many felt it was safe to say that BioStrong’s days were numbered. That was, until my idea.
The idea itself was not hard to pitch. It would begin with skeletal reconstruction. My bones would be replaced with metal counterparts. While I walked and talked as the standing advertisement of BioStrong’s accomplishments, they would use the time and new investor interest to booster their research programs. Little by little, they would replace all the parts in me. After each “upgrade”, I would be able to go out into the world, advertise their new technology, and the cycle would begin again. Before long, they would have a completely standing robot. They could develop and already standing model from the best model on Earth; the human body. BioStrong would win the race, and I would win my own war.
Replacing my skeleton was easy, There were a multitude of surgeries, but by the time they were done, I was able to walk and talk like normal, with the confidence of know that I would never break a bone again. Next came the muscles. A complex system of electrostatic microfibers, they replaced every muscle in my body. My strength soon knew no bounds. Within a day, I went from benchpressing 150 to 500 pounds without a sweat. My skin was replaced with metallic CloseMail that looked and felt just as natural but 100 times more durable. I was battlefield invincible, and the Air Force made note of that.
Soon I was in the battlefield. BioStrong followed with their team of doctors and scientists. So did the media. The world watched as I stumbled with a bullet to the head, stood back up, and fired back. IED’s were no different. I could step on a landmine, land 10 feet away, stand back up, and not show a difference. Not only was I a battlefield lord, I was a medical savior; shielding my troops from grenade blasts or stray bullets. I can’t tell you how many letters I received from families thanking me for their son or daughter’s life. And yet, the transformation wasn’t yet complete
Between tours, My heart was replaced by a reactor pumping electricity. Soon, I needed no lungs, no stomach. Within 30 years, My brain was the only original organ within my body. Ten years later, they solved that problem. They had a brain for me, functioning, logical, and semi-sphere of Spock-like perfection. I only accepted the left lobe, for the right half of my brain contains the imagination, and I still wanted that. They argued with me, pleading for me to make their job easier, to become the entire dream, but I refused. If there was one thing that I wasn’t going to lose, it would be my sanity. They grudgingly agreed.
With the final installment of my brain, I had now become invincible, and a shining example. Many others followed me, their upgrades installed after the confirmed success of my testing. Soon, BioStrong had the ability to make their own robots. Unfortunately, BioStrong was a company, and like all companies, they have their price. Soon, BioStrong robots and androids were all over the world; fighting wars with no front lines. My contract with the government ran out, and since there was a robot who was “half a brain” smarter than me to take my place, I was offered no re-enlistment. That was fine though, I wanted to fight on my own side. And I started with BioStrong.
I had to move quickly, BioStrong was working on weaponry that could pierce my skin. My attack was swift, and soon, their headquarters burned in a cold night, the company president was dead, and I had disappeared as fast as I had come. I then tasked myself with removing BioStrong’s work. All over the world I eliminated robots and androids. Their logic could not match my original imagination. They attacked my situation methodically, and I rebutted it with a style all my own. Our battles were sights to be seen as I destroyed my enemies underwater, in the air, on mountains and even on the moon. I carefully trimmed the sides evenly so as not to give one side or the other the upper hand. I made upgrades on my own, and a loyal assistant installed them when couldn’t do it myself.5 years later, my work had been done. I unmasked myself and decided to once again rejoin the military. I was welcomed back with open arms, though I knew it was only because I was the last of my kind.
Every now and then I would have to go and regulate some mad scientist who wanted to reproduce my product, but it never succeeded. I was smarter than any scientist could naturally be, and stronger than any machine would ever become. I became Superman, but I only wore fatigues.
Of course, my efforts alone cannot stop mankind from destruction. As I sit here in the sand, earth stands in diplomatic trench warfare. Nuclear weapons belong to everyone. It only takes one madman to launch one and the world becomes a boiling radioactive bog. I could stop the mankind from destroying itself, I could create machines that would disarm the missiles in the air. It would almost be worth it. But I look into the future. Every generation is the same, no matter how different they may seem. History repeats, no matter how many times we’re taught the lesson; whether it’s an ignorant dictator trying to rule the continents, or a Joker who want s to watch the world burn. We will come to this crisis again. Unless the world finds a common enemy; something inhuman. I look at my hands, could I be evil? Would it be so evil if I helped others discover the good in themselves and choose to fight together?