The Last Blade Runner

"August Kaleva Vanhalahti. Commander of the L.A.P.D Rep-Detect division."

He's a Blade Runner. There's not much to say to him. Well, that isn't totally true. The task of being a Blade Runner falls to the skinjobs these days. August stands as the last of the human Blade Runner breed. Such a taste in work calls to mind images of a fresh-faced adult with a deathwish, to pit himself against a machine that could crush him like a grape. But August is a romanticist. A mind yearning for years before the blackout, before the death of Eldon Tyrell. Vanhalahti hated being a sergeant on the L.A.P.D., dealing with the same shit day in and day out. Everything being drab and predictable. It held no intrigue to him anymore. So, he pushed to become a Blade Runner. But he had to fight tooth and nail to get that role. Replicants were the ones to retire their own kind at that point. But he wanted that role of sleuthing that his predecessors had. The humans that brought down the artificial forms of life... and here he stands now. The last of the (active) human Blade Runners.

Flesh and blood of natural origin versus the synthetic alternative. Yet it boils down to be a grisly concept. While August holds ample amounts of pride over his job, and with all that romanticism of a bygone era of humanity fighting against a wayward menace... he still cannot help but ponder over what he ultimately followed in life. Is it all worth it?

"We all have the seed in us to be poetic. That shit just doesn't have to be the conventional 'pen and paper' variety though."

August had a less than standard upbringing. An overprotective mother, an alcoholic cop for a father. It made for one hell of a combo for an upbringing. And with those stubborn Finnish roots his father had, he was a man who wouldn't give up the liquor for anything in the world. Even if it meant harming his family. August however was not brought down by this. In fact, he joined the police force the moment he came of age to learn what exactly drove his father to his consistent alcoholism. But that focus died. Five years of working as a beat cop downtown became tedious work, and that became a distant memory. But August was a man now. He spoke with his father about affairs in the department, and what things were like then. August saw his father leaving the booze behind more and more as his son continued his work. It seemed to be odd in August's mind, but he permitted it. Life seemed... better, for the Vanhalahti family. But old blood dies hard. The elderly Mister Vanhalahti, the stubborn Finn that is old as sin, made a few enemies during his time. But it took only one case as a detective for Augusts' father to make a mortal enemy. And that enemy costed mister and missus Vanhalahti their lives. August knew of no other way to deal with this situation... all he knew was to throw himself into work.

"I could scrub as hard as I want, but that blood is too dry to wash away."

What is the personality like, of a man who kills for a living? Brings a few other things to mind. Is "retiring" really killing? After all, it is just some false consciousness that exists. So it can't be killing. It's just that... "retiring". But what has it done to August? Few can say. You stick around in the L.A.P.D for ten years, and everything starts to blend in. Your coworkers can't really distinguish too much with you besides your mood. But a few can keep their eyes open. At best, many would say for him to be "a cold fish". Seems fitting. You let human emotions get in the way, it's bound to happen. You deafen your senses to whatever would try to compromise your integrity. But there's a soft side beneath that hard heart... every man has to have one somewhere.

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"Joi... that great invention of an A.I. that Wallace Corporation whipped up. Almost makes the blood of their replicants on my hands worth it."

It is bittersweet for August to find love in Joi. After all, she was barely different from the consciousness of the replicants he retired. And every one of the units sold was nearly identical. A mentality all the same to pander to a wide array of customers. But... he still found a spot in his heart for the artificial intelligence. The mellow personality, the soft voice, and her very aesthetics. Yet, she was to his design. No cookie-cutter elements, just his own taste. That seemed to make it all the better. And yet the echo of being in love with a girl who bore no tangible form would leave his heart still hollow and his bed cold. Yet August still gave her all of the loving affection he could muster.

1. August's Apartment (Piano In An Empty Room)
2. Desolation Path
3. Memories of Green
4. Tears In Rain
5. Blade Runner Blues
6. Rachel's Dream
7. Joi
8. Don't Call Me Chief (Tales of the Future)
9 Damask Rose
10. Longing
11. One Alone
12. 2049
13. Mesa

Ａｌｌ ｔｈｅ ｃｏｕｒａｇｅ ｉｎ ｔｈｅ ｗｏｒｌｄ ｃａｎｎｏｔ ａｌｔｅｒ ｆａｃｔ