This document is part of the Ocean Girl Archive — Last update: 2008-05-21 — sourcemeta

Source:1
Author:Martin Requart
Published:2000-10-21
Archived:2008-05-20

Kal

Kal is the son of a family of pioneers who accompanied Neri’s father on his mission to Earth long before. Before the starcraft that carried the Ocean People crashed into the Pacific Ocean, Kal’s parents layed him into some kind of bio tank to protect him from the landing impact and to keep him alive in the years to come. ’Cause the survivors of the crash assumed that the rest of the crew was killed during the landing impact, Kal, who survived in the bio tank, slept and grew unnoticed during the decades. Until the day when a tropical storm uncovers a maintenance hatch that leads into the long-buried starcraft. Inside the ship, Neri is able to open the tank and to wake the, now adult, alien man… Physically, Kal is an adult male human between 18 to 20, but intellectually, he’s still the six years old alien child he was as he started his journey from the Ocean Planet long ago. Neri, Jason and Brett realize soon that Kal’s intellectual innocence could lead into problems. They decide to better keep him away from the outside world, to let him live on the island, where he will remain unnoticed until the time has come to show him the world behind Neri’s island. But soon they discover that Kal’s naive curiosity is stronger than reason. It is just a question of time until Kal follows Neri to ORCA and makes contact with other people. Neri, Jason and Brett decide to make the best out of the situation. It turns out that the major problem is that Kal is totally unaware of emotions, during the years in the bio tank he never had the chance to experience them. He’s unable to distinguish between good or bad, between right or wrong. But Kal starts to learn. And with the time, he also has to learn the powerful feelings of jealousy and envy. Kal cannot understand that Neri spends more time with Jason than with him, and every new day he sees them together his hate for Jason grows stonger and stronger. Inexperienced in controlling his emotions, the situation escalates and Kal runs away. Just into the arms of Dr. Jospeh Hellegren who already noticed the alien visitor. And so Kal becomes Hellegren’s prisoner. Hellegren realizes that Kal could be of great use for him. It’s easy for the highly qualified psychologist Hellegren to brainwash the totally shocked and bewildered adult alien child. So it’s just a question of time until Kal believes that Hellegren is the only friend left on his side. Sure there’s no question that Hellegren will use Kal’s new-found trust in him against his enemies. Kal returnes to his “friends” where he is welcomed with open arms. And as the moment is there, Kal betrays his friends by submitting the location of the powerful Synchronium pieces to Hellegren, the pieces the Doctor was searching for for so long… Now as Hellegren has what he wants, Kal soon discovers that he is not the friend he pretented to be. But for this insight it is now too late. Kal realizes who his real friends are and in the end he even risks his life for them and for the entire universe. Neri is able to forgive him but as he leaves the Earth back to the Ocean Planet, some undefinable, strange mix of feelings remains. Some lack of understanding. Some forgiveness. Some gratitude. And some long-lost silence. “It has been good in your world.” Then he disappears in the skies.