Leaving Kelvanta
Pyr'kin and the Typewriter AI – a story about curiosity, machines — and a planet beneath the ice.
🐧
Hi there,
I don’t like to publish fast — or through agents.
For me, publishing is a direct, unmasked and open interaction with people — whether they stay or just pass by.
So — welcome to Kelvanta.
Prologue
[Kelvanta, Ottowani System – Timezone Zen10634]
Pyr’kin and his friends from the Eir’Gul species live in the Ottowani system, in the Jades-GS-z14-0 galaxy (known as Terra I to Earth scientists). Their home planet is Kelvanta — a small, icy world with deep blue waters, untouched by the warmth of their distant sun, Ruzaikon. Pyr’kin, an engineer and physicist, works in Esker-9, the largest city on Kelvanta. It is the planet’s most advanced settlement.
The Eir’Gul there live in small ice-houses, each with a special heating system. The system creates a warm air bubble in the center of the room, without melting the icy walls. Some government buildings — used by the planetary administration — are lined inside with dried, colored seaweed that can last for hundreds of zens (what Earth calls years).
Pyr’kin is the lead engineer at Driften-1, the main meteorological station on the planet. He lives in a small flat not far from the research center. His job is to observe the planet’s geostatic data — to keep the population safe and to help guide future development. Right now, he and his team are building their first major exploration ship: the Myllari-I. It will be able to travel underwater, on top of the ocean, and across the frozen plains - and is built close to a small fishery region.
About 1.500 Eir’Gul live in Esker-9. They look a bit like Earth penguins — just taller, with softer-colored feathers and shorter beaks. They can swim, but not as well as penguins do. In the coldest winters, they wear coats and soft hats. Their feet are well adapted to the cold. They usually live about 300 zens - up to 350 zens.
Pyr’kin is an introvert, warmhearted and highly engaged in his work. He’s ranked number three among all meteorologists on Kelvanta. Only two are ahead of him: Yska and Oy’ron.
Yska is his colleague — very smart, a bit strange, and probably the most intelligent Eir’Gul he knows. She leads Driften-5. She once hoped to head Driften-61, the newest research station with the most advanced equipment.
But because she has a special talent for understanding computing and AI systems, she had to stay at Driften-5 to develop those tools further. Sometimes he cares a little bit more about her than he should do… she’s just a colleague, for now… (she surely doesn’t know, he believes…)
Instead of her, Oy’ron got the job at Driften-61. He’s a strong swimmer and walker — two skills that are important on expeditions. And expeditions are a big part of the work at Driften-61. His physical skills help more than anyone first expected.
Pyr’kin himself is happy at Driften-1. His manager — like Pyr’kin — doesn’t fully trust the new AI systems. They are waiting as long as possible before allowing one into their station.
But nobody knows how long that will last.
And time moves fast.
💠
👉 This is the first part of this book — designed for readers, teachers, and students who want to explore language, AI, and storytelling in English and German.
The story will be published scene by scene — three scenes as a compact start this weekend, from Friday to Sunday.
Each post contains one to three short scenes, accompanied by a small Language Companion with vocabulary, grammar notes, and reflection questions (English–German, B1–B2). Scenes 1–2 will be combined into one Companion chapter.
This makes the story suitable not only for readers, but also for students, teachers, and anyone curious about language and AI.
For my subscribers:
Reach out to me via email to get the German version from me as a native German author, too.
🐧
📖 Szene 1 – A Shiny New Assistant
[Scene: A small governmental office. Brown curtains. Dim light. Pyr’kin is sitting behind his desk, sorting papers. The old computer hums quietly. The door opens]
Project Leader:
Morning, Pyr’kin. Hope I’m not interrupting. Got a moment?
Pyr’kin:
(sighs quietly)
Of course. Just… catching up on the reports. What’s going on?
Project Leader:
Good news – or… well, let’s just call it news.
Starting today, you’ll have support from an AI agent.
Text-based. Simple stuff. Helps with forms, templates, and phrasing.
Pyr’kin:
(leans back slowly)
An AI? You mean one of those bots that freezes if you say “hello” the wrong way?
Project Leader:
(laughs)
Not quite that bad. It’s basic. An older system. But it might save you time. It’s already installed on your computer — just type in the box.
Pyr’kin:
(skeptical)
So now I’m working with a robot.
What’s next? A Pyr’kin-shaped hologram doing the interviews or the research?
Will be interesting to see it outside on the waterfront…
(waits)
Project Leader:
Pyr’kin. Trust me — no one’s replacing you. You’re still the best we have. But it’s time we test some new tools. You’ve always been curious, haven’t you?
Pyr’kin:
(hesitates, half a smile)
Maybe. But curiosity doesn’t fill out forms.
Let’s see if your smart little box can handle my style of chaos.
❄️
Pyr’kin’s Post-It #1: On Words and Warmth
[taped under the desk lamp, slightly wrinkled]
“They told me the AI was here to help Eir’Gul.”
Nodded…
— then paused.
“What do they mean by Eir’Gul?
Do they mean individuals — or do they mean Eir’gulanity*?”
Eir’gulanity is something else.
Not just logic or progress.
It’s what stays when no one’s watching.
It sits with you when your tea gets cold.
It sees when you’re tired and doesn’t correct your spelling.
It doesn’t shine or calculate — it waits,
in silence, in care, in blue-toned patience.
“I hope the AI learns that.
Otherwise, it won’t really know me.”
💠
*Note:
“Eir’gulanity” is Kelvanta´s quiet counterpart to the human concept of Menschlichkeit – warmth, integrity, care in the small moments. But shaped by ice, silence, and blue-toned patience.”
👉 Language companion available:
👉 Next: Scene 2
— when Pyr’kin tries to write a letter… and the machine refuses to cooperate.
© Anne Steinacker-Folkerts
The story of the Eir’Gul – “Exodus from Kelvanta” is the first book of a trilogy and was created and developed between 2023 and 2025 during my work with the GPT models of OpenAI.
The world of Kelvanta itself began with an idea of mine, a story-telling evening with a friends kids and my interaction with GPT-4o.
The trilogy focuses on language learning (English–German) and provides teaching and learning material for classroom use and self study at B1–B2 level.
This text may be used, shared, and printed for non-commercial educational purposes in classrooms and language learning environments, provided that proper attribution to the author is given and the text remains unchanged.
For commercial use, please contact me via email: ksodi@thevoid.email
53604 Bad Honnef, Germany