Hello and Welcome to “Zinc Talk”.

“All hope abandon, ye who enter here” – The Devine Comedy by Dante Alighieri
“Cogito, ergo sum” – René Descartes

My name is Aubrey and I created Zinc.

Zinc started out as a short character description for a writing class. I soon realized that the task at hand was but a mental root sticking above the surface of the literary trail on which I strode. I stubbed my toe on this root and became so entangled in it that I have yet to extract myself and move on to other ideas. In fact, somewhat reminiscent of Dr. Victor Frankenstein, I have become a victim of my own creation.

Once an artificial life is cast in any manifestation, be it electrical, chemical or word, it’s creator becomes obligated to it’s continued development. This responsibility not only lasts while it is in the juvenile stage but for it’s entire existence.. As it begins to mature into an adolescent of its species, it both demands continued support and concurrent independence. Even in adulthood, it’s progenitor is never fully released from its responsibility, even though it may have been adopted and abused by the public at large. Such is the fate of the roles in long running soap operas, space trilogies and rock stars among others.

As humans age from birth to about twenty years, they rapidly develop neural connections within their brain. This is a readily observable phenomena and some continued growth and repair of the neural cells and connecting synapses continues into old age. It is the early stage of fast deployment of mental infrastructure that supports long term intellect, that is, the consciousness and sub-consciousness (is it truly a binary entity?) of the human being.

Similarly, the ways that an “artificial life form” is assembled and hurled onto an unsuspecting public determines it’s ultimate viability. Yet this is where the analogy breaks down. In human development a mature being becomes less dependent on its forebearer. While no less self determining, the non biological literary descendant instead returns to haunt, to demand more from its creator. More traits, more history, higher language skills, more relationships, and ultimately, more love from it’s real life parent.
Call it an obsession, an obligation, or a monstrosity, the perpetual demands on the creative writer are real and cannot be ignored. Thus, a writer’s oeuvre becomes cluttered with sequels, prequels, and clarifying short stories based on the original work. To wit, Arthur Conan Doyle attempted to end the series involving Sherlock Holmes in “The adventure of the Final Problem” only to restore the famed detective sometime later in the story “The Hounds of the Baskervilles”.

So creating a character such as Zinc is a commitment to a relationship that never ages out, never retires in the mind of the writer. It is a labor of love or if not, it is better to not have written at all.

Thank you for your attention during this brief Zinc Talk.

I am Aubrey, single parent of Zinc, and now I must go and tend to my burden.