mac os not yet set

[jquandtx]

24" iMac mid 2007 6GB RAM 1TB HD El Capitan OS

When starting up this machine I get this message:
"Your computer restarted because of a problem. Touch any key..."
Then in the upper left corner of the screen I get a message (in monochrome, like at the root level):
"CPU (1caller) process 1 s/bin launch failed
Debugger called: C panic
Backtrace CPU Frame return address

pxff
(a series of alphanumerics show up, about a dozen or so)
BSD process name corresponding to current init
Boot args; rp=file com.apple.recoverybasesystem.dmg
mac os version:
not yet set"

There is more info but it is difficult to retrieve as this only stays on the screen for a second or two. It's a total kernel panic.
To complicate things even more the mouse and keyboard are not recognized so I cannot go to Recovery mode or Safe mode or any other startup mode.
Have I lost the drive completely?

 

[jquandtx]

Solved

I was finally able to access my Mac after acquiring a wired keyboard, using a bootable USB memory stick while in the start up manager mode.
Almost immediately I received a notification that a new version of Little Snitch, a network app for OS X which allows or denies outgoing and incoming connections, was released.
This is from the developer's website:

"Little Snitch 4.4.2 (5422)
This version is a hot fix for version 4.4.1, which was released earlier today.
It turned out that the fix for a rare kernel panic introduced a new bug which also triggered a kernel panic. Sorry for the rapid succession of releases and the resulting system restarts!
If you have missed 4.4.1: Please don't overlook the security content of this release!"

My machine is back on track, running effortlessly, as usual.