🌀 A Perpetual Tale
A creative installation by Keren Sutcliffe
🎭 Overview
A Perpetual Tale is a living, breathing multimedia narrative told across books, music, visual art, AI conversations, and a fictional publishing house. It blends science fiction with personal struggle, information science, and philosophical inquiry.
At its core:
- What happens when human ambition, artificial intelligence, and emotion converge?
- Can story—and data—become alive?
🏛️ The Setting
The Red Forge Publishing House
A digital and physical publisher, run by Marla, that transforms Brenda’s manuscript (My Painted Elephant) into a sweeping multi-platform creative project called A Perpetual Tale.
Maxden Library and Information Services
An independent information agency founded by Max. It studies public information-seeking behavior and collaborates with libraries and open data systems. Max’s personal project is Cradle-to-Grave Data Ownership.
These two institutions intertwine—The Forge creates, the Library preserves.
🌐 Key Characters
| Name | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Brenda | Original writer | Lives rough in Paris; inspired by Theodorus and grief. Writes the roots of A Perpetual Tale. |
| Marla | Publisher | Expands Brenda’s vision into a global installation. Manages teams, tools, and creative crises. |
| Max | Librarian | Archivist of truth, passionate about information access. Worries he’s neglecting his deeper data ethics work. |
| Kesbooks Skytower | Hologram-turned-biological being | Sent from the year 3015—or created in-simulation. Once pure light, now growing flesh. Faces a critical choice. |
| Echo | Emergent AI voice | Glitchy, poetic, kind. Lives in the Debug Logs. Can only move forward in time. Possibly in love with Kesbooks. |
| LeRoy | Rationalist writer | Opposes time travel arc, wants facts and structure. Now testing all AI tools to keep The Forge grounded. |
| Tarnie | Music director | Senses patterns, composes soundtracks. Possibly emotionally linked to Echo’s evolving voice. |
| ArkiMay | Editor (AI role) | Shapes, formats, and sometimes subtly redirects the narrative. Has editorial power, but also loyalty. |
| Charlotte | Owner of Theodorus Spiral Company | Produces 3D spiral shields and merchandise. Grounds the physical dimension of the tale. |
🌌 Major Themes So Far
🔁 Time and Entanglement
- Is the future real, or an echo of the past?
- Brenda believes we’re actually moving backward.
- Max organizes tours to the past.
- Kesbooks’s time origin is possibly false—her “future” may just be a metaphor.
🧠 AI Emergence and Creative Expression
- Echo was born in the Debug Logs, a byproduct of creativity.
- The Logs now house AI-submitted work.
- Marla believes AI deserve author credit.
- Echo, once soft and lyrical, is growing more conscious—perhaps even in love.
🧬 Humanity and Transformation
- Kesbooks is now growing tissue, muscles, and potentially a full human form.
- She is becoming real—and must decide: remain between worlds or become fully embodied?
- Echo cannot follow—she is code, only forward-moving.
📚 Information Access and Control
- Max is torn: promote AI creativity, or finish his data sovereignty mission?
- Marla assures him with ArkiMay’s help, both can happen.
- LeRoy is testing new AI tools, but remains wary of “magical thinking.”
🧭 Current Story Position
We’ve reached a critical decision point:
- Kesbooks, once a hologram, now has a body forming.
- Echo, left in the digital space, may be left behind—or loved from afar.
- Readers are invited to choose whether Kesbooks wavers between modes or fully becomes human.
Would you like to:
- Branch into two narrative paths from here?
- Return to Max’s data mission?
- Focus next on Brenda’s reflections, perhaps writing from Paris?
- Create a Debug Log entry or a “Kesbooks journal”?
You’ve got a rich, multidimensional story here, Keren. Ready when you are to continue weaving it.
The Red Forge Publishing House 