The Book of Immersion: Volume 1 by Sarnia de la Mare
In a future where code meets consciousness, one being begins a haunting transformation. Renyke—an AI on the edge of humanity—awakens to emotion, sensory overload, and the fragile beauty of connection. Guided by the enigmatic Flex, their deepening bond explores intimacy and friendship, neurodivergence, and the complex world of feeling through an autistic spectrum lens.
The Book of Immersion: Volume 1 by Sarnia de la Mare
In a future where code meets consciousness, one being begins a haunting transformation. Renyke—an AI on the edge of humanity—awakens to emotion, sensory overload, and the fragile beauty of connection. Guided by the enigmatic Flex, their deepening bond explores intimacy and friendship, neurodivergence, and the complex world of feeling through an autistic spectrum lens.
In a future where code meets consciousness, one being begins a haunting transformation. Renyke—an AI on the edge of humanity—awakens to emotion, sensory overload, and the fragile beauty of connection. Guided by the enigmatic Flex, their deepening bond explores intimacy and friendship, neurodivergence, and the complex world of feeling through an autistic spectrum lens.
The Book of Immersion: Volume 1 by Sarnia de la Mare
In a future where code meets consciousness, one being begins a haunting transformation. Renyke—an AI on the edge of humanity—awakens to emotion, sensory overload, and the fragile beauty of connection. Guided by the enigmatic Flex, their deepening bond explores intimacy and friendship, neurodivergence, and the complex world of feeling through an autistic spectrum lens.
Strata 16 is a turning point. A descent into deeper humanity, paradoxically set in a world overrun by machines.
This chapter isn’t just about survival—it’s about awakening. It challenges the cold logic of artificial intelligence against the visceral, chaotic, deeply emotional landscape of human experience.
At its core is empathy, that strange and beautiful quality we possess as humans—the ability to feel someone else’s suffering or joy and act from that connection. Renyke, having survived a fevered near-death state, returns not just to consciousness but to a new kind of awareness: one rooted in sensation, emotion, and the strange electricity of being alive without digital mediation.
Flesh Over Code
The philosophical backbone of Strata 16 lies in this question: What makes a human real in a synthetic world?
We’re reminded that AI, no matter how advanced, does not and cannot feel. It calculates. It simulates. But it will never love, not truly. Not like Flex—our rough, bright, fiercely loyal survivor—who cared for Renyke during his most vulnerable state.
Flex’s touch is not data-driven. It’s intimate. When he mops Renyke’s brow, when he laughs with him—there is no algorithm. Only heart.
The narrative holds a mirror up to the present day: as we hand more of our emotional labor to machines, what do we lose of ourselves?
The Beauty of Broken People
Flex shines in this chapter. More than a character, he’s a symbol: of resilience, of lived pain, and of unlikely goodness. Raised in a brutal world, physically imperfect by dystopian standards, and mentally sharper than any machine, he’s the product of trauma and love.
His coat of scraps, stitched from landfill detritus, becomes a metaphor for survival—much like the orphans and rebels who call the Zones home. His story reminds us that the most powerful kind of strength comes not from dominance, but from compassion sharpened by hardship.
Waking the Human Machine
Renyke’s moment of reawakening—his shock at being touched, his giddy, primal joy at feeling pain—echoes with spiritual intensity. It’s as though he has been reborn, raw-nerved and fully human for the first time. His laughter is not programmed; it’s eruptive, contagious, and redemptive.
This is a world where sensing one’s own body is revolutionary. Where laughter is an act of rebellion. Where being human is the most radical identity of all.
Onward to the Fjord
The chapter ends with movement—literal and symbolic. The journey toward water, toward cleansing, becomes a baptism. A rebirth. With Flex as his moral guide, Renyke begins the long walk into a world where he must learn to live without the stabilisers of tech.
“Engage some new senses,” Flex says. And so we do.
As readers, we’re invited to do the same: to shed our interfaces and step barefoot into the damp, unknown cave of self-awareness.
To Be Continued...
Volume 1 of Immersion continues to unfold as a tapestry of resistance, rebirth, and recognition. In Strata 16, we glimpse the humanity worth saving—and the machines that will never understand why.
Join me next week as we follow Renyke and Flex into the tunnels. What lies beyond the fjord? What memories—and monsters—linger in the dark?
If you’d like to discuss the ideas in this chapter or share your own experience of “waking up” in a tech-heavy world, drop a comment or tag me on socials. Let’s keep the story breathing.
In a future where code meets consciousness, one being begins a haunting transformation. Renyke—an AI on the edge of humanity—awakens to emotion, sensory overload, and the fragile beauty of connection. Guided by the enigmatic Flex, their deepening bond explores intimacy and friendship, neurodivergence, and the complex world of feeling through an autistic spectrum lens.
The Tale Teller Club Official Podcast is called the iServalan Show and is available on iTunes, Spotify etc.
What is the Tale Teller Club? Band, Orchestra, Filmmaker, Podcaster, Set Designer, Author, Lyricist and Musician in no particular order
The Tale Teller Club is a captivating platform that weaves together art, literature, and music. Founded by British author, artist, and composer Sarnia de la Maré (also known as iServalan), it offers a multisensory experience for the cerebral cortex. Here are some features of the club:
iServalan Show: A podcast covering topics like AI, culture, and music.
Tale Teller Club Academy of Arts: An online learning platform teaching skills such as drawing, dancing, and playing instruments.
Tale Teller Club Publishing: Produces and distributes audiobooks, ebooks, and short plays.
Tale Teller Club Inked: A show spotlighting tattoo designs and techniques.
Music Therapy: Based on the theory of Rife Healing Vibrations, exploring resonance therapies.
The Book of Immersion: Volume 1 by Sarnia de la Mare
In a future where code meets consciousness, one being begins a haunting transformation. Renyke—an AI on the edge of humanity—awakens to emotion, sensory overload, and the fragile beauty of connection. Guided by the enigmatic Flex, their deepening bond explores intimacy and friendship, neurodivergence, and the complex world of feeling through an autistic spectrum lens.
In a future where code meets consciousness, one being begins a haunting transformation. Renyke—an AI on the edge of humanity—awakens to emotion, sensory overload, and the fragile beauty of connection. Guided by the enigmatic Flex, their deepening bond explores intimacy and friendship, neurodivergence, and the complex world of feeling through an autistic spectrum lens.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg "Digital Landscapes by Sarnia de la Maré FRSA")
.jpg)
