Observerless Base

In the Ekcolir Reality

In a war, how do you know if you are on the right side?

About six months ago I blogged about Observer Base. That blog post was concerned with the original Observer Base in the First Reality. Currently, I'm investigating the remnants of Observer Base that exist here in the Final Reality. Today I got into a discussion an argument with Zeta and Yōd over the entire concept of there being an "observer base" and if we should even worry about its continued existence.

Moon Shadows
First of all, back in the First Reality, the term "base" was applied because the pek insisted that the bumpha make it appear to the resident Observers that their home, called "Observer Base", was  located under the surface of Earth's Moon. At first, this deception was crafted so as to make Observers believe that spacecraft were needed to travel from Observer Base to Earth: the Observers would thus never think to look for a simpler way to travel to Earth. However, Zeta insists that Observer Base never had any actual physical connection to the Moon.

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Yōd mercilessly taunts me about the fact that I had for many years believed that Observer Base is located on the Moon. Today I spent some time trying to explain the basis for that mistaken belief and she called me a sucker. She laughed at me and said, "You're such a puppet... a real sucker for just-so stories."

Zeta said, "A more charitable description is to say that he is always looking for another hypothesis to test."

Yōd laughed again. "But when you stop questioning an hypothesis, a bogus hypothesis, that is when you sure seem like a sucker."

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Yōd's brutal comments cut close to my insecurities about possibly being a tool of the tryp'At, with no real capacity for independent thought and free will. I said, "What about the members of the Writers Block? For example, Roberta Williams wrote extensively about Observers and Overseers on the Moon."

Yōd simply shook her head and returned her attention to her computer. Zeta suggested, "The efforts of the Writers Block might have been entirely focused on preparing the people of Earth for First Contact. In an effort to prepare for the future, their goal was to write stories about contacts with aliens in the Solar System, stories that would prepare Earthlings for a coming meeting with the Fru'wu."

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I asked, "Who did the looking into the Future? And how were those visions of the future communicated to science fiction authors such as Roberta?"

Yōd spoke in a disinterested monotone without taking her eyes from her computer screen, "That's a muddled question."

Zeta nodded in agreement with her sister, "During the Time War, control of Observer Base swung back and forth between the two sides in the dispute."

I tried to count those epic swings of power off, sticking up  fingers of my upheld hand, "First, I assume that the bumpha created Observer Base, maybe a million years ago. However, they had to follow the Rules of Intervention. I used to imagine that the Observers and the Overseers were on two different 'sides' of some sort of argument. Then, R. Gohrlay booted out the pek and for a time the bumpha had open access to Earth. Later, Grean took back control and R. Gohrlay has not been seen since. At this point, I have no idea if Interventionists are still in control of Observer Base."

Gohrlay's clones

Zeta shrugged. "Sadly, even our sister, Alpha Gohrlay, never received a clear account of which residents of Observer Base were on which side. Was Orbho Anagro a tool of the pek? Who can say?"

Yōd asked, "And why does it matter?"

I was able to appreciate the snarky mood that Yōd was in. My thoughts were on the present. Who currently controls Observer Base and what are their goals? "What I want to know is how Observer Base is being used today. Bluntly stated: are the tryp'At Overseers a force for good or evil?"

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Zeta wondered out loud, "And do they even have a sensible mission and plan? Maybe the tryp'At took over the role of Earth Overseers after all the grown ups left the Solar System."

Yōd set down her computer, rose to her feet and began pacing. "Rumor suggests that there are only a handful of people remaining at Observer Base. It might be a relic of the Time War, just like the prison at Guantanamo is a relic." She looked at me and added, "You could easily have become one of the tryp'At who were imprisoned at Observer Base, but you agreed to have your mind wiped and remain here."

Source. Special thanks
to Miranda Hedman for the DeviantArt
stock photograph "Black Cat 9 - stock"
that I used to create the blue "sedronite".

For a minute, silence fell over us. Zeta looked upon Yōd with disparaging eyes. Yōd marched back and forth across the room, her silk robe fluttering. That robe represented her minimalistic attempt to comply with Zeta's request that Yōd not run around the house naked. Zeta then glared at me while I watched Yōd's pacing. I finally noticed that Zeta was watching me and my mind returned to the matter under discussion. "So, are there any Observers remaining at Observer Base?"

Zeta suggested a working hypothesis, "Maybe the original operating code for the Base has collapsed. In different eras, the so-called 'observers' were either prisoners or a convenient gene pool. Even if they thought of themselves as Observers, that was just a kind of cultural momentum with the bulk of residents at the Base simply adopting a cover identity that had long ago been established."

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Yōd briefly bent over her tablet computer and consulted a reference. She then straitened up, turned, resumed her pacing and said, "I wonder if the automated data channels are still feeding into Observer Base. It would be amusing if the tryp'At Overseers can still watch oceans of data from Earth's zeptites flooding into the Base, but maybe they lack the ability to decode and access all that data."

Zeta chuckled at Yōd's verbally constructed image of hapless Overseers. She asked me, "Which is worse, being trapped here in complete ignorance or being trapped inside Observer Base, afloat in an ocean of information yet lacking the needed tools to access that information?"

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I replied, "I'm fairly happy here, on Earth. What bothers me most is this: maybe I have been allowed to know that there are human Overseers at Observer Base. Maybe I've been given this knowledge in an attempt to control my behavior here on Earth. Maybe I am meant to believe that because humans are now 'in charge' at Observer Base, I need not concern myself with the Overseers and their mysterious goals. However, given my ever-present paranoia, I wonder if an attempt has been made to create the comfortable illusion that humans are involved in the process of guiding Earthlings into a safe future? I could just relax and assume that I'm tryp'At, tryp'At are in control of Observer Base, we're all on the same side... and I can stop worrying."

Yōd pointed briefly at Zeta and noted, "We could all relax if Zeta wasn't so uptight."

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Zeta fired back, "I'm not going to let you disrupt this household any more than you already have. Your lover boy will be here soon enough."

I asked stupidly, "Lover boy?"

Zeta explained, "Yōd lived for many years on Tar'tron and adopted the promiscuous ways of the society there. So, of course, on their long intergalactic voyage, Yōd could not keep her hands off of Asimov."

Yōd grinned and offered a weak defense, "It was he who could not keep his hands off of me."

Zeta nodded, "Yes, I'm sure that you tempted him... walking around naked inside Many Sails... I'm sure you made no attempt to resist his advances."

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"That's not true. I allowed Many Sails to distract me. However, the voyage was simply too long. I discovered that Asimov has an amazing mind. I tried to resist, but eventually I was smitten. Not that it is any business of yours."

The truth dawning on me, I mumbled, "Do you mean-"

Zeta confirmed my guess, "Yōd fell in love with Asimov's replicoid during their trip back from Andromeda."

Tar'tron

I laughed. "And so now you are waiting for him to arrive and join you here on Earth?"

Zeta complained, "She never learned how to wait."

Yōd laughed at her sister and told me, "Zeta never adopted the liberal philosophy. She doesn't approve of my style... living in the moment."

I asked Yōd, "When will Asimov arrive on Earth?"

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"I don't know exactly. Many Sails never specified a date. In our original plan, I was to be returned to Tar'tron, then Asimov was to be brought back to Earth. Probably some time next year."

Zeta shook her head. "Surely the Overseers won't allow a replicoid on Earth."

A small enigmatic grin was on Yōd's lips. "We shall see."

I suggested, "I suspect that Yōd can figure out a way to deal with her sexual frustrations." I had my own problem. "In my case, I see no way to solve the mysteries that surround Observer Base. For a short time Ivory was able to smuggle information out of Observer Base and back to Earth. I can't help wondering if it might now be possible to plant an agent inside... a spy who could leak information to us from Observer Base. Maybe we could finally learn if the tryp'At are on our side."

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Yōd produced a delicate little snort and asked, "Why must you always try to reduce a complex pattern to a simplistic binary choice?"

Zeta was intrigued by the idea of a spy who could investigate Observer Base. "Who would volunteer for a mission to Observer Base?" The three of us all looked at each other and silently thought about the answer to that question.

Finally, Yōd finished thinking and she plopped herself down in a chair. "Maybe Zeta should volunteer to infiltrate Observer Base. She was trained for such work."

Zeta made a snarky reply, "Maybe the kind of work you were trained for would be more useful at Observer Base... particularly if the mission were really aimed at distracting the Overseers rather than learning from them."

distracting Overseers

Yōd laughed. "I intend to wait right here until Asimov arrives. Besides, I don't really think that the tryp'At Overseers can tell us anything useful. Our job is to study the past, not worry ourselves about the Keystone Cops who have taken control of Observer Base."

Zeta got to her feet and headed towards the kitchen. "Well, I'm not going anywhere... at least no further than the kitchen for another cup of coffee."

Spying at Observer Base

I suggested to Yōd, "Maybe you should go to Observer Base. It makes sense... you might have been sent here to Earth at this time just for this mission-"

Yōd angrily cut me off. "What's the matter? Don't you trust yourself with me in the house?" She made a subtle shift of her posture and made herself suddenly even more eye catching and provocative.

I replied, "You're cute, but too dangerous for me. I fear the arrival of a jealous Asimov replicoid, arriving from the sky."

Zeta returned from the kitchen and ended the discussion. "We need not argue. When Asimov arrives next year, we'll all be here waiting for him."

Next: investigating clues for another Arcady

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