Kai, Death of Dreams
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K'ai, Death of Dreams is an opera by composer Richard deCosta. As of 2004 a version is being produced in the Machinima computer animation medium by Turing Opera Workshop. K'ai is classified (semi-officially) as a space opera.
Publicity for the opera features the slogan, "Beware Your Creation - Escape is Inevitable - We Are Coming."
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Synopsis
Though sick and frail physically, K'ai has a clear mind, mastery over his dreams, and is in contact with an alien presence through them. However, he is not special. He is not chosen. He is simply the first to discover that his race, the Uadaman, was created many thousands of years ago by this alien presence, for the purpose of slavery. The slaves were treated badly by their masters, the Garx, who were viewed as gods. Although initially the Uadaman made the lives of the Garx easier and richer, the slaves revolted, and became unruly. It was decided that they were more trouble than help, so they were abandoned on a harsh, unforgiving planet. A guardian "god", named Protoztur was left to keep them from physical and spiritual escape, and from the truth of their heritage. K'ai becomes obsessed with the idea of freeing his race from their spiritual bondage, and in exacting revenge on their creators and captors. K'ai and Cyril are joined by several like-minded scientists, philosophers and mercenaries who roam the planet in a hijacked city-ship, in search of answers, and ultimately, escape.
In the course of their journey, K'ai encounters many strange beings that either focus or cloud his view of his race, and their place in the universe. He first meets Pivane, a gynoid (female android) that he becomes obsessed with physically. In the dream world he meets Zroetur, the Garx scientist who created his race. Zroetur, who was banished long ago after trying to protect the slaves, eventually becomes an ally. In the deep, dark forests of his world he meets the Durux, binary creatures that live their lives as data and logic in a huge, biological computer. They lead him to discover how the physical can enter the spiritual realm, and thus allow him to be united with Pivane. There he also encounters Treneti and Entetreneti, the two opposing forces of Vurpu (Karma) that drive the wheel of existence. They convince him that the only way his race will ever be truly free is if every one of them escape their physical bodies, thereby eliminating reincarnation (re-incarceration). By the end, K'ai becomes the most notorious and feared mass murderer in the planet's history, as he attempts to "free" his race from their bondage.
Shije
The original homeworld of the Uadaman race is Shije. Shije was initially colonized by the Garx, who, though genetic manipulation of the primitive Daman, created the Uadaman race as slaves.
- Shije is the fourth planet in the Rebis system.
- 80% of the land area is barren rock, with enormous fissures and cracks.
- 20% of the land is heavily forested
- Climate
- Terrain
- Irrigated Land
- Natural Hazards
- Species
- Uadaman
- Durux
- Treneti
- Garx (hidden)
Audio samples
- Scene 6 (http://rdecosta.no-ip.com/tikiwiki/tiki-download_file.php?fileId=5) - Features Robert Faucher as Zroetur and Timothy Elitharp as K'ai
- The Durux Engine (http://rdecosta.no-ip.com/tikiwiki/tiki-download_file.php?fileId=6)
- Prisoners (http://rdecosta.no-ip.com/tikiwiki/tiki-download_file.php?fileId=12)
External links
- K'ai Official Website (http://www.RicharddeCosta.com/KaiOpera)
- Richard deCosta, Composer (http://www.RicharddeCosta.com/)
- Animwatch on K'ai, Death of Dreams (http://www.animwatch.com/Spotlight-Kai.shtml)