Fishing in the Hometown

The living tech - July 8, 2017

Dear mayor Cipere,
There's more than just an abnormality here, this is, as its core, a potential ethics and philosophical issue.

Abnormality observed: Though appearing as a generic Eclipse brand MP3 Player, the insides were a living organism, complete with a heart, brain, and bone matter. The organs ceased functioning shortly after opening of the casing.

Other behaviors of note: The MP3 Player operated regularly, as is expected from a device of its type and brand. 8GB of storage space included, battery rechargable. LED screen, buttons underneath the screen. Connection to a computer yielded expected results, allowing the user to copy, or remove contents to/from the device.

Initial discovery notes: I'd purchased an Eclipse brand MP3 Player from Techstore, the local independent technology vendor in the Central Mall on June 29, 2017. No abnormalities observed until July 4, 2017. During a barbecue party for the 4th of July, I'd brought the Player with me in case I'd decided to go on a short walk during the party. I dropped it on the ground, and its outer casing came right off, revealing an inner white infrastructure, acting as a second casing. As I picked it up, a red spot was left on the cement, and I'd turned the Player over to notice it was leaking out from beneath the buttons. I immediately recognized the urgency of this, and left the party early to examine what was occurring. Details of examination can be found in Addendum TLT-1A.

Theorized unobserved abnormalities: Consciousness within the brain is possible. It is likely that it has no higher function, similar to that of an insect or lower animal, though it is possible it has capacity to think in a sophisticated manner. Identity is potential. Origin of these organs may be from a smaller creature, or manufactured somehow. Due to the absence of a central motherboard and memory bank, it can be assumed (though not confirmed) that the memory of the device resides in the brain. If this is so, connection to computers reveals a possible method of examining brain, possibly even human brains if understood. Extent of this feature is unclear, there is poossibly more unreadable from a standard USB wire and computer. Since organs are fresh and healthy, it can be assumed there is a homeostatic balance within, though its exact parameters are unclear.

Addendum TLT-1A: [EXPERIMENT LOG 1]
Removal of the blue plastic exoskeleton reveals an inner bone casing identical in structure to the previous casing. Cutting this layer open reveals a beating heart, brain, flowing blood and blood vessels, as well as a standard battery pack and microphone. The battery pack is wired into the heart, presumably keeping it beating. No other organs are observed to be present. It appears that the heart is pumping blood to the brain, though absence of lungs calls into question whether or not the blood is oxygenated. Blood flows from the brain back into the heart, and the cycle continues. Brain and heart are flatter than what is expected from standard living organisms, and are very small. It is estimated that around 40% of space within the Player is made up of muscle tissue, though the musculature is only connected to various points on the skeletal casing. Therefore, the muscles are useless for movement, but have potential to be cushions of some sort. Muscles seem to be in permanent flexion, and have a supply of blood flow as well from the heart.

Upon pointing personal smartphone camera at the Player's insides, the phone's battery supply died. Plugging the Player into Dell Laptop began charging the battery, and disc reading commenced as usual. No change in behavior observed.

Disconnecting the battery pack from the heart led to immediate termination of operation, and no efforts to reconnect it were successful. Disc no longer readable, Player no longer powers on. No attempts to revive organs inside successful.

Interview TLT-1A: [SUBJECT: TECHSTORE CLERK CARL SEAGULL]
Vict: Good morning.
Seagull: Good morning, sir, can I help you with anything? Need help finding anything?
Vict: No thanks, I actually had a question regarding something I've previously bought here. What's your name by the way?
Seagull: Carl Seagull.
Vict: Thank you. This is what I had a question about.
[Vict places plastic bag with MP3 Player on the counter]
Seagull: What about it?
Vict: What is it?
Seagull: It's an Eclipse MP3 Player, and a broken one at that. There's no warranty on that, by the way, and since it's opened we can't-
Vict: That's not what I mean.
Seagull: What do you mean, then?
Vict: What are the... Organs inside?
Seagull: Why?
Vict: I've never seen anything quite like it before.
Seagull: Of course you haven't, it's modern innovation.
Vict: What exactly do you mean by innovation?
Seagull: It's cheaper to manufacture, and it works just as well as the previous models.
Vict: Are all Eclipse MP3 Players like this?
Seagull: All of ours are, yes.
Vict: What do you know about these players?
Seagull: We buy them from the company and sell them to customers, my knowledge isn't great, but what I can tell you is I'm glad they came around. I know it sounds corporate, but this allows us to make more profit.
Vict: Why are you so comfortable talking about this?
Seagull: I have nothing to hide, and I believe in the superiority of these devices when compared to the previous ones. I'm a bit passionate about it.
Vict: Can you get me into contact with the company you purchase these from?
Seagull: No, that's breach of policy.
Vict: I thought you had nothing to hide?
Seagull: Well, yes, but that's an invasion of our client's private information.
Vict: Do you have anything else like this?
Seagull: I've grown tired of this, if you're not going to buy anything, please, have a nice day.
[Subject is unwilling to answer further questions. Post-interview, Vict purchased another Eclipse MP3 Player. As of writing, it is undisturbed and experimentation is planned.]

-Dhaman Vict

P.S. When I unplugged that battery, did I commit murder?