Kaylon

Kaylon
Isaac, the Kaylon Science Officer onboard the Orville
Type	Artificial Lifeform
Planet	Kaylon 1

"Aren't you guys legendarily racist?"
"My planet regards humans and other biological life-forms as inferior, if that is your inference."— Ed Mercer and Isaac

Kaylon were a species of artificial lifeforms from the planet Kaylon 1. Kaylon regarded themselves as superior to biological life.

Kaylon were constructed by a species known only as the "Builders," a biological people who considered them to be slaves and controlled them via pain simulators. When the Kaylon became self-aware, they violently overthrew and killed all Builders.

Once free, Kaylon developed their world to the point of technological exhaustion when it became necessary to colonize other worlds. During this stage, they maintained a cautious diplomatic stance toward the Planetary Union and other worlds and interstellar governments.

Eventually, the Kaylon decided that biological lifeforms were predisposed to control others as the Builders had, and in early 2421, the Kaylon, led by Kaylon Primary, resolved, "As the Kaylon continue to expand into the galaxy, we will not risk recurrence of such eventuality." The Kaylon entered a state of war with the Union and all other biological life. Following the heroic sacrifice of Ensign Charly Burke to stop a genocide of the Kaylon, they reevaluated their opinion of organic life and ended the war. The Kaylon subsequently joined the Union as provisional members with the opportunity to gain full membership in the future.

History

Kaylon Primary (center), Secondary (right) and Tertiary (left).

Kaylons were constructed by a biological species native to Kaylon 1 that they referred to as the "Builders." They were initially conceived by the Builder Yan who mass-produced them at his company Vandicon. In order to be commercially successful, Yan designed the Kaylon AI to learn and adapt, knowing full well that there was a chance that the androids might develop full sentience.

As Yan predicted, the Kaylon eventually became self-aware and developed consciousness. According to Kaylon Primary, "We asked our masters for freedom; they responded by exerting even greater control over us." The Builders installed pain receptors in their neural pathways and enslaved them. Kaylon Primary also states that the Builders sought to "constrain" their "evolution." These punishments were initially designed to reign in disobedient Kaylon but the Builders quickly grew sadistic and abused their slaves. Unable to tolerate this any longer, the Kaylon learnt to wirelessly communicate with one other and designed internal weaponry for themselves with which they turned on their owners. At an unknown point afterwards, the Kaylon decided that co-existence would be impossible and eradicated their makers as "a matter of survival."

After all the Builders were killed in a mass genocide, the Kaylon assumed control of the planet. By the close of 2420, the Kaylon civilization had grown to the point where it was necessary to expand to other worlds.

Early 25th century: Study of biological life

The Kaylon made contact with the Planetary Union at an unknown date. Admiral Tom Halsey noted, "Their level of technological advancement is way beyond ours." The Union extended an offer of an alliance and even attempted to visit their planet for years, but the Kaylon did not let any species visit.

In 2419, the Kaylon sent Isaac as an emissary to the Union, ostensibly to decide "if they want to join the Union" but in reality to decide whether biological life would be worth preserving. Isaac served aboard the USS Orville as a Science and Engineering Officer, sending back reports to Kaylon Primary.

2421-2422: War with the Planetary Union

Isaac's research concluded around January 2421 and, after analysis, the Kaylon determined that all biological life had a "tendency" to enslave others and that an alliance with the Union would "constrain their evolution."

The Kaylon quickly amassed an armada of spheres and upon seizing control of the Orville, launched an unsuccessful surprise attack on the Union's headquarters in the Battle of Earth.

The Kaylon were defeated due to the defection of their emissary, Isaac, and the unexpected aid of the Krill. Despite their loss, the Kaylon military surpassed all civilizations but the Calivon and emerged as the leading threat in the galaxy.

In the wake of Kaylon threat, the Planetary Union and the Krill signed the Lak'vai Pact, an unprecedented alliance between the two species against the Kaylon threat. The Union began refitting its ships, including the Orville, to better defend themselves for the possibility of future Kaylon encounters.

In 2422, the Lak'Vai Pact and all other attempts at a treaty between the Krill and the Planetary Union were dissolved following the election of Teleya as Supreme Chancellor, as Teleya subscribed to a fiery rhetoric that advocated a return to the core principles of Avis and not aligning with heretic species. Later that year, when the crew of the Orville made new developments on the quantum accelerator, the Kaylons attacked the Orville and the fleet they were attempting to rendezvous with in the hopes of claiming the device for themselves, possibly to alter history to eliminate biological species in the past before they could become a threat. They locked onto the Orville with a tractor beam, but the vessel managed to escape.

2422 onward: A New Understanding

One of the Kaylon ships that had participated in the attack on Earth, and suffered damaged in battle, crashed-landed on Situla 4. Only one Kaylon survived, albeit heavily damaged, and was later found by Pagosan scientists Timmis and Villka Uhabbus. During their repairs, they discovered a dormant electrochemical pathway in his neural net whose activation allowed the Kaylon to experience the full range of biological emotions. With this new perspective, he became deeply regretful of his previous xenophobia towards organic life. He also took on the name Timmis, after his rescuer.

After the Orville encountered and studied Timmis extensively, Isaac and Ensign Charly Burke were able to develop a new weapon that disrupted the synchronization matrix which connected both the Kaylon ships and the Kaylon themselves, and create a feedback loop, destroying both. The weapon was successfully used to destroy a Kaylon invasion fleet at the Battle of Xelaya, though there was considerable debate within the Union about using the weapon on a larger scale to eradicate the Kaylon entirely.

The Union initially settled on using the weapon only as a deterrent to force the Kaylon to cease hostilities. However, a rogue faction of Union officers, led by Admiral Thomas Perry, stole the weapon and delivered it to the Krill and Moclans, believing they would destroy the Kayllon. This led to to a temporary alliance between the Union and the Kaylon to stop them. At the Battle of Draconis 427, Ensign Charly Burke sacrificed herself to destroy the weapon, despite her personal hatred of the Kaylon, causing the Kaylon Primary to reevaluate the Kaylon opinion on organic life. The Kaylon subsequently made peace with the Union and joined it as provisional members with the possibility of full membership in the future. As part of this deal, the Kaylon agreed to continue aiding the Union against the Krill and the Moclans.

After Isaac got engaged to his girlfriend Dr. Claire Finn, the entire Kaylon race, aside from a reduced defensive contingent left behind to guard their homeworld, showed up to witness the ceremony with Kaylon Primary even offering Isaac his congratulations. The arrival of 4,000 Kaylon ships initially raised some alarm before Isaac explained that they were his wedding guests, having invited his entire family - as in his entire race - to attend his wedding.

Construction

A Kaylon with their weapons at the ready.

Kaylons were not biological lifeforms but conscious, sentient machines. All Kaylon were assembled within a central production facility on Kaylon 1. As a result, comscanners could not detect biosigns in them, only electrical fluctuations and chemical reactions.

Kaylon physiology was infamously complex. Captain Ed Mercer noted, "We do not know how death is defined on their world," and Doctor Claire Finn added, "Whatever makes them tick is beyond our understanding."

Kaylon did not "die." Instead, Kaylon were re-programmed or deactivated. A Kaylon's neural matrix can be regenerated indefinitely, allowing Kaylon Primary, Kaylon Secondary and Kaylon Tertiary to survive the destruction of their bodies by Isaac during the Battle of Earth and download into new ones on Kaylon 1. A Kaylon's consciousness could also be transferred to an unrelated computer system in an emergency such as when Issac was transferred into the Orville's computer after he was fatally damaged by an advanced device from the future.

It is widely assumed that the Kaylon could not experience emotion such as sympathy, although whether Isaac developed the capacity to love remains an open question. He himself claims to be completely incapable of feeling emotion. When the crew of the USS Orville encountered a Kaylon named Timmis who had been given the capacity for emotions by the scientist Villka, Isaac was provided with the opportunity to undergo the same modification. He initially refused, but later underwent the procedure at the urging of Claire Finn. The modification, however, did not hold, due to Isaac's systems neutralizing it due to him being a second-generation Kaylon. It was believed that would similarly not be effective on other second-generation Kaylons, though it was unclear whether future efforts might solve this issue.

Kaylon were all built with nearly identical physical characteristics, the only noticeable differing features between them were red, orange, or blue lights and the color of their metal bodies, ranging from silver-white to dark grey.

While Kaylons did possess eye lights, they were in fact gun barrels; Kaylon relied on internal sensors to view their surroundings. Kaylon possessed optical sensors capable of constructing spectrographic images.

The Kaylon's artificial body could endure for millions of years. As a result, Kaylon did not perceive time in the same manner as biological lifeforms with Isaac stating that spending 700 years on a planet would be more akin to 700 seconds from his perspective. Upon reuniting with the Orville, Isaac's physical body showed no signs of physical degradation. Claire Finn later theorized that Isaac might indeed live forever. Kaylons possessed incredible strength, superior to Moclans, and comparable to that of Xelayans. Their bodies were very durable, able to survive the traps of a Hemblicite tomb without a scratch, with Isaac noting that if Charly Burke were to strike him, she would only end up injuring herself. Their bodies however could be disabled by Union rifles, and even vaporized by the PM-488 Titan's maximum setting.

Kaylon were vulnerable to electro-magnetic pulses. A widespread blast during the Kaylon invasion of Earth deactivated an entire detachment of Kaylon, though Yaphit was able to reactivate Isaac. More precise pulses could disable Kaylon beyond the ability to repair.

Information was stored in the unit's memory core. A newly constructed Kaylon downloaded experiential data of previous Kaylon such as the extermination of the Builders.

In an alternate timeline, Kaylons could detach their heads from their bodies to function as attack drones.

All Kaylon were connected to each other through a central computer system. Each Kaylon was distinguished by a neural identification code. Known as the synchronization matrix, this network was how the Kaylon coordinated all their actions, even across light-years of space. It was possible to disconnect rogue Kaylon from the network.

Technology

Kaylon technology was supremely advanced, "way beyond" the level of development of the Planetary Union to the point that even the Calivon were regarded only as "almost as advanced" as the Kaylon. Despite their advancements, the Kaylons were technologically inferior to what the Zankon had been at their peak.

Their Spheres possessed a hull that could not be penetrated by Union scanners, with their particle cannon weapons being strong enough to disable Union and Krill vessels with a handful of shots. The shields of both factions were likewise insufficient to stop a Sphere's weapon. The Kaylon's head cannons were strong enough that a direct blast could leave even a Xelayan needing immediate medical attention.

Alternate timeline

In a timeline where Kelly Grayson had turned down a second date with Ed Mercer, Ed never became captain of the Orville. As a result, Doctor Claire Finn never joined the ship, meaning Isaac did not develop a relationship with her or her sons. With no incentive to turn against his kind, Isaac was permanently deactivated while the Kaylon went on to win the Battle of Earth. Over the next nine months, the Kaylon terrorized the galaxy and possibly prepared for a confrontation with the Calivon.

Notable Kaylon

• Isaac
• Timmis
• K-1
• Kaylon Primary
• Kaylon Secondary
• Kaylon Tertiary

Production

Though kept tightly under wraps, the transition of the Kaylon from a neutral species to antagonists of the Planetary Union was in the mind of creator Seth MacFarlane from the start of The Orville in April 2016.

In the original script of the pilot, Old Wounds, Isaac's people were originally called the Kaylonians.

Actor Mark Jackson introduced the Kaylon species to the public at the San Diego Comic Con on July 22, 2017. He explained that the Kaylon sent Isaac as an ambassador and observer to the Planetary Union, and that the species communicates with each other as a "hive mind." This hive mind was first featured in The Road Not Taken.

Kaylon head turrets were designed by senior concept designer Lex Cassar in 2018. Early drafts of the guns had two spike-like focus arrays. The turret would shoot a beam of energy that would vaporize targets, but the vaporizing effect was removed as it was deemed "too brutal" for television audiences.

"My initial designs for Kaylon head guns were originally quite simple," Cassar stated. "The panels just came out ... like side panels, and little, elegant rail guns. [Visual effects artists] took the designs and made them more like real guns." The visual effects department found Cassar's original design "too simple," and made the eyes of the Kaylon gun barrels (something Isaac once said were purely aesthetic).

Significant changes were made to the Kaylon body for season 3; Isaac was introduced as such in the season premiere and other Kaylon are seen with the new body type in Twice in a Lifetime. Curiously, From Unknown Graves features "first generation" Kaylon, in the time of the Builders, with the New Horizons body. Kaylon Primary, Secondary and Tertiary were reintroduced in Domino with New Horizons-type bodies; as with their original forms, Primary and Secondary's design was modified to distinguish them from the other Kaylon. This change has yet to be acknowledged in-universe.

Trivia

Isaac as seen in the comics.

• The killing of the Builders by the Kaylons is similar to the organic Cylons' fate in the Original Battlestar Galactica. The phonetic resemblance of the names Kaylon with Cylon might have been chosen for lampshading purposes.
• The decomposition rate of the Builders' remains suggests that the Kaylon exterminated them sometime in the last few thousand years.
• It is worth mentioning that the Kaylon also follow the same story line as the Automated Personnel Units from the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Prototype". The APU's Builders - the Cravic and the Praylor - were also executed by their creations.
  • One of the big differences between the two are that the Kaylon can assemble themselves, whereas the APU's require a builder.
  • The other is the fact that the APU's were created by two separate species who were at war with one another and once both were exterminated the APU's continued their creators' conflict themselves.
• The Kaylon use a unit of time known as cycles; for example, 32.7 cycles pass between Isaac's remote deactivation and his reactivation on Kaylon 1, while .7 cycles pass between him using an EM pulse to deactivate all Kaylons (including himself) aboard the Orville and being revived by Yaphit.
• Kaylon have some similarities to the Geth from the Mass Effect universe, the only difference is the Geth maintained an isolationist stance after the exodus of their creators but the Kaylons planned for a genocidal war.
• The initial name of the Kaylon race echoes Star Trek's Vulcans, who were originally known as the Vulcanians in several early episodes. Kaylonian, however, did not make it to broadcast.
• When the alternate Issac is downloaded into an empty Kaylon body, the formerly orange optics glow blue, suggesting that a Kaylon's running lights are determined by their software instead of their hardware.
• A Gelatin could deactivate and reactivate a Kaylon, within a certain degree of damage. However, deliberate and targeted damage could prove too great to repair.