"Put a big enough engine on it, and even a brick will fly."
- Kayle is a brain in a box. Kayle is a living jet turbine. Kayle is a salamander done up in liquid chrome and machined metal. Kayle is all these things, and more. Maybe less. He certainly doesn't care.
- Kayle is certain about his past, but he doesn't talk about it unless someone asks.
- Kayle isn't violent, unless you count his cursing when frustrated. Kalye can't get intoxicated through traditional methods, even though he certainly wants to. Kayle can fly under his own power, and left quite the impressive scorchmark on the Downwarp ceiling...
- Kayle has three of the usual five senses, and misses those he lost. He seems to have gained a few new senses, however: Radar, infrared, and a twinge he can't quite explain.
- Kayle remembers things that could have, did, or have yet to happen. Kayle also remembers meeting Death, and coming to terms with [him] about a twisted-up timeline mistake.
- Kayle wants to live.
Specifications:
Kayle's skeletal system is made of honeycombed aircraft aluminum and supports two low-velocity turbine engines built into his torso and a second pair of microturbines in his legs. The intakes for the turbines in his torso structure are set into the flesh just above collarbone level, and the low-velocity exhaust is directed out through vectored exhaust ports on his lower back. All four of these engines are capable of much higher speeds than they appear to be, but Kayle has never found a reason to go higher than a low idle. There is also a pair of high-output jet turbines built into the structure of Kayle's legs. The intakes are mounted on the front of his thighs, and the vectored exhaust mechanisms are attached to the backs of his calves. These are rarely used due to high fuel requirements, but do allow for crude flight or hovering if the situation warrants.
Replacing carbon-based muscle fiber in this build is a combination of high-torque servomotors and electrically-triggered myomer fibers, which provide for vastly increased strength without an appreciable gain in volume from the original organics.
Kayle's skin is a layer of biocomposite stainless steel that has been laminated over the top of his internal systems and maintains a state of high-polish on it's own, as well as serving as a high-resolution pressure and temperature sensor. This unique metal displays all the same physical traits as a carbon-based dermal layer, such as flexibility and elasticity, but due to it's predominantly metallic nature it has vastly improved puncture-, tear-, and cut-resistance. Sections can be peeled back easily and painlessly for maintence.
Visual:
Kayle looks for all the world like an oversized, chromed-up salamander standing on it's hind legs. "Danger" decals by the turbine intakes on either calf serve to add a touch of color to what would otherwise be a featureless quicksilver skin, while his upper intakes have been capped with side-lit translucent aquamarine hemispheres. A strange blue glow seems to have taken up residence in his exhaust ports and his exhaust is a comfortably warm, rather than flesh-searing.
Rising up Kayle's back, originating from and wrapping around the base of his primary exausts, is an array of glowing circuttrace that flickers like and resembles a gasoline flame. There's no readily apparent reason why this glowing tracework even exists, but Kayle knows it's there. He might even go into detail if you ask.
Cobalt blue optic sensors in Kayle's head serve as eyes, complete with delicate chromeflesh lids, and a set of matte black circles just behind his optics serve as radar and sound pickups. Kayle is always emitting the vague white-noise of two idling turbine engines, which he finds rather soothing, and "speaks" by modulating frequency patterns in his exhaust.
["Before"] image, courtesy of [NeoGeen].
Opinions:
- Indi and an apparently telekinetic skunk helped him get in touch with the instantiator systems, AND they helped him find and build a home! They both deserve more praise than one person can give, even if Kayle can't remember the skunk's name.
- Indi also helped Kayle get over his timeline entanglement and incidentally introduced him to what it's like to be a Gridshaman, helped install and test an external neural port, and has something to do with the bucket seats in Kayle's cube.
- Torque donated a set of heat-negating fittings for Kayle's engines, which also happen to be the source of that blue glow in his exhausts, helped out with a bit of minor repairs to his left arm, has provided various other small enhancements and upgrades, AND is working on a Secret Project. People this nice don't just grow on trees! Well, if you've got really nice trees maybe...
- "Frostbyte? He hit on me, and I'm not even equipped for any gender that I know of! He's a nice guy, but he's either desperate or crazy. Kinda cute, though..."
- shinsei served to introduce Kayle to the wide world of digital drugs, something which he's eternally thankful for, and is a co-conspirator...
- "Death really isn't so bad. [He]'s just another guy with a job to do. Puzzlebox drives [him] nuts, though. Nobody here really stays dead."
- He's met Nighzmarquls and has gotten over his initial fear. Now it's more of a low-grade worry. He also received a sheet of metallic fabric from the plural, which is apparently a one-use time-rewrite mechanism of some kind. It's kept in a safe place.
- There was a run-in with a gendergun-toting Echo and a random-number generator, and now Kayle doesn't know what to think.
Feedback:
- Copied from other character pages here. Feel free to leave comments, impressions, questions, or scrap below this point.
- "We wish to consume this one, it is beautiful! We love it, we must hear its sapience scream and shatter so its cries can warm us" - Nighzmarquls
- " What a ride..." -- Clockwork, after hitching a ride on the Unwilling Kayle-ette.