Mind Clone

With no chance to even contemplate what I might tell Rylla about our shared interest in alien visitors to Earth, it was easiest to allow her to take the initiative. I was struggling to regain control of my mind and quiet the infites that I had just received from Nora and it was all I could do just to walk from the parking garage into the baggage pickup area of the airport.

Swirling in my thoughts, I now had the outlines of a startling revelation from Nora's infites: not long ago, a start had been made on an audacious project at Observer Base. The soon-to-be-born daughter of Georgy and Izhiun was being turned into a mind clone of Rylla in order to provide a telepathic link between Eternity and Earth. This seemed to be part of a largely-improvised plan that would allow Rylla to eventually write the Secret History of Humanity.

I wanted to consult with Zeta about the meaning of the term "mind clone" which was new to me, but that would have to wait.

Inside the airport, Zeta immediately recognized Rylla coming towards us, a tall girl with a brightly colored swim bag over her shoulder. When we got close, Rylla said, "Hi gram-pa," and handed me the bag.

I told her, "Rylla, this is almost your grandmother; please call her Zeta."

Zeta and Rylla hugged and walked off hand-in-hand towards the parking garage, with me tagging along behind. In five minutes they covered 20 subjects while my mind was still off in Noraland.

Topic 1: Zeta quickly explained to Rylla that she (Zeta) is the clone sister of Rylla's grandmother. Rylla was already familiar with the idea that her actual grandmother was no longer on Earth and had been "replaced" by Zeta.

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Topic 2: Zeta explained that human cloning was a common practice on other planets.

Topic 3: Zeta admitted that she had not been born on another planet, but rather a little settlement within the Hierion Domain.

Topic 4: They briefly discussed hierions. Zeta told Rylla: "Yes, Georgy White had found evidence of hierions on Earth."

Having cleared the air of immediately relevant extraterrestrial matters, the other 16 topics were the typical topics for a woman and her grand-daughter to discuss. I can't be blamed if my thoughts drifted off into further exploration of Nora's memories of events at Observer Base, things that she had experienced during her half dozen visits there during the past year.

The discovery of a new form of matter, hierions with negative mass, should have been major news around the world. But that amazing discovery had been hidden and covered up by Maria Green. Rylla was one of the few people on Earth who was aware of the cover-up, but all physical evidence of hierions had been quickly removed from our world by Maria. I was well informed about that past discovery of hierions on Earth because of the infites I had received from Nora, but I was uncertain about the facts: should I trust Nora and the rather confusing jumble of memories that I had found in her infites?

Approaching our parked car, I decided that I would try to drive. Zeta briefly argued the point, "You seem a bit distracted."

I conceded that point, but not the argument. "I've got a lot on my mind, but I want to drive, otherwise you'll take us to that frilly restaurant downtown that I don't like."

Rylla laughed, "Frilly? My first day in the States and you'd take me to a frilly restaurant? I've been dreaming of giant steaks and racks of ribs."

We got into the car and I congratulated the girl, "You have good taste. I know just the place for dinner. We'll put some meat on your bones."

Zeta advised Rylla, "Ignore his crazy ramblings. He knows that you are a vegetarian."

I told Rylla, "Yes, you would be wise to take all of my statements with a grain of salt. I'm an old man and my poor brain has been through a lot... it does not function normally anymore."

Zeta added, "Sorry to say, Rylla, we are both damaged goods. My brain was damaged when my Phari endosymbiont got reprogrammed."

Just then, a young couple was walking past us. They looked at Zeta, puzzled by her comment about brain damage. The three of us got into the car.

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Rylla complained, "I know the feeling." For a few seconds she fell silent, collecting her thoughts. Apparently she had read about the Phari on my blog, so Rylla was taking in stride everything that Zeta said. Rylla had gotten into the back seat and was now speaking at my shoulder, "About a year ago, a woman, Maria Green (who I now know to be some sort of alien agent) erased some of my memories. It is horrifying to live, to go through your days, knowing that part of your mind is gone. However, I did recover at least some of my stolen memories and that is what led me here."

I suggested, "If we put our crippled minds together then it is possible that between the three of us we might be able to figure out what is going on. We three seem to have been thrown together at this place and time for some purpose."

For about five minutes I was dealing with traffic and navigating some unfamiliar roadways. As someone who grew up in a rural area, I despise driving in cities. Zeta held up her listener's end of a conversation in which Rylla described in some detail her previous encounters with Maria Green. Listening to Rylla triggered in me a "replay" of some of Nora's memories of Maria. I thought it best not to mention Nora, but I had to ask about my son, "When do you expect your father to notice that you are missing?"

Rylla eased back into her seat and said, "Don't worry about dad." Rylla sounded like she was worried. Rylla explained,  "I left him a detailed account of why I ran off and I called him during my layover in LA. He thinks I'm on summer vacation with you." She mused, "At first he was upset to hear that I had left home without warning, but then his whole attitude suddenly changed. It was spooky, actually."

I could well imagine that Nora was there in Perth, editing the mind of my son, putting nanites into his brain that could edit his emotions, preventing him from being upset about Rylla's sudden departure.

Zeta asked, "You've never told him the real reason for your visit here?"

"No." Rylla now leaned forward again, putting her mouth close to my ear, "A couple weeks ago I mentioned to him that I had found your blog. He laughed and asked me if I was developing an interest in science fiction."

I wondered, "Are you interested in science fiction?"

Rylla replied, "No, not really. My literary tastes tend towards historical novels and mysteries."

After listening to Rylla's brief account of her travails, I had the feeling that she was deeply intrigued by the mystery of Georgy, her discovery of hierions and the ruthless way that Maria Green had subtracted that discovery from Earth's historical timeline. Rylla was intrigued by the mysterious Maria, but she was investigating the mystery in a calm and level-headed way. I glanced at Zeta, "Well, we are right in the middle of a mystery, alright. The mystery of Rylla and why she was allowed to witness a heavy-handed cover-up of a major scientific discovery. There is something very special about you, Rylla."

"Yes, I'm a bit worried that I might be visited again by Maria. What could prevent her from showing up and altering my memories a second time?" Rylla emitted a nervous giggle. "That's one of the reasons I ran away from Australia... putting distance between me and Maria."

Zeta said, "The three of us are now in this together. I must warn you, Rylla, it might not have been wise for you to come here. There's a danger that we could lead Maria to you."

Soon we had reached the restaurant and we proceeded to have a nice dinner. All three of us were mired in a shared and growing paranoia, all fantasizing that we could avoid the attention of Maria Green. Whispering like conspirators, we crafted a plan by which we would disappear on a family vacation. After dinner, we returned to the airport. While I drove, Zeta sent a text message to a friend in Flagstaff.

I dropped off Zeta and Rylla at a car rental depot and took all of our phones back home. It was late by the time when I got home. I rounded up the cats, put them in carriers and left our phones in the house. I'd walked down to the end of the long driveway by the time Zeta and Rylla arrived in the rental car, then we headed off on our vacation. Our first vacation destination was going to be the Grand Canyon.

Apparently Rylla did not get much sleep on her long flight from Australia, so she sunk down in the back seat and seemed to be asleep. Zeta and I talked quietly about the scenic spots we might visit during the coming weeks. As we approached Flagstaff, Rylla noticed the glowing sky and sat up. We passed an exit with some retail stores and Rylla said, "I'd like to get a new phone."

Zeta told Rylla, "We know a tech nerd who works at the university here. We'll stop by his home and pick up three new phones. They have been hacked so as to cripple all the features that can be used for tracking the location of a phone."

I asked Zeta, "Do you really think we can become invisible?"

Caught up in the spirit of dropping off the grid, Rylla said, "I arranged with my dad to communicate anonymously through an online geoscience discussion forum, so I won't need to call him. He expects me to be posting photos of the geological features that I observe here in the States."

Rylla the budding scientist.

Zeta told Rylla, "The forces that we are up against have access to technologies that you can't imagine. However, there are now enforced restrictions on how those advanced technologies can be deployed and used on Earth. We can try to keep ourselves hidden, but we need to be prepared for the possibility that we will be discovered at any moment. That's the reality of our situation."

Rylla said, "If I see Maria again, I'm going to punch her in the nose. Who are these alien interlopers to monkey with my memories?" There were hints of sparks and burning fire in Rylla's voice.

I suggested, "Maria may have been trying to protect you."

"Ya, right." Rylla was skeptical. "Protect me from what?"

I explained, "If you know too much about alien visitors to Earth you might get sent off and exiled to outer space."

Rylla laughed.

"Don't laugh. That's what happened to my friend Ivory Fersoni."

Zeta told me, "Take the next exit."

An hour later we had our new phones and had checked-in to a motel that allowed our cats. Zeta and I had our own room and Rylla the room next door. Once more alone with Zeta and out of hearing distance of Rylla, I was able to tell Zeta what I had been learning from Nora's infites. I did my best to describe the idea of a mind clone.

Zeta asked in disbelief, "There's a clone of Rylla at Observer Base?"

We spent the next 20 minutes discussing the idea of a "mind clone", but Zeta had never heard of such a thing before. Zeta finally said, "But if this mind clone story is true, it could explain why Rylla suddenly showed up here in Arizona. You might be the one person on Earth who can activate Rylla's access to the Bimanoid Interface and allow her to form a telepathic link to the mind clone."

In the morning when we gathered for a late breakfast, Rylla seemed to be drooping. She admitted to being up until past dawn reading through my blog entries, particularly those about Ivory. Rylla asked, "Ivory was not really human was she?"

I shrugged. "There are uncertainties about exactly who should be categorized as human. Ivory was a special human variant with some Asterothrope gene combinations from the far future of a previous Reality."

Zeta added, "And as such, she could not be allowed to remain on Earth."

Rylla asked nervously, "What about me?"

I replied, "We might never know for sure, but there are some experiments we can perform." I could sense that Rylla had some weak, subconscious telepathic ability. What I did not know was if the methods taught to me by Ivory could give Rylla better access to the Bimanoid Interface. Also not known to me at that time was the fact that Rylla herself carries a large number of Asterothrope gene combinations.

Zeta complained, "The poor girl has not been here for an entire day and you already want to start experimenting on her brain!"

Rylla seemed interested and unafraid. She'd read about my own use of nicotine to boost my brain's ability to use the Bimanoid Interface. "You mean experiments with drugs like nicotine?"

"Yes."

Zeta muttered, "If your dad knew that we were planning to dose you with mind-altering drugs... well, I don't know. Would he come and hunt us down? Call the police down on us?"

Rylla laughed, "Don't worry about dad. He's glad to have me out of his hair. All he can think about is his new girlfriend."

I suggested, "Maybe you should be pleased that he's finally able to move on and get past the loss of your mom."

"Ya, I am happy about that. It is funny. It was only about a year ago that I finally felt like mom was really gone. That was just about the time when Nora moved in with us. So I have to admit that she has been good for me, too."

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I knew that Yōd had been making use of the body of Rylla's mother until one year previously. Yōd had teleported off of Earth and disappeared into the AR Simulator, breaking Rylla's telepathic link to her mother. I asked Rylla, "How long have you and your father known Nora?"

"She worked in dad's lab for quite a while before I knew her. It was a student in the lab, Georgy, who introduced me to Nora. Working together to analyze a rock sample, Georgy and Nora had found evidence for negative mass matter from an ancient artifact, but Maria covered up that evidence. Georgy died in a horrible accident."

I asked, "Did you ever discuss Maria with Nora?"

"I tried, but it was strange. It is as if Nora had no memory of Maria or of Georgy. I recently regained access to my blocked memories of the events that took place back about a year ago, but not Nora. Sometimes she acts like a zombie." Rylla took a last bight of her apple. "Maybe her brain was damaged by Maria."

What could I say? I was not going to tell Rylla that she had been tricked by Nora. It seemed easiest to allow Rylla to continue thinking that Nora was just another defenseless human who had been abused by Maria.

Having finished breakfast, we loaded up the cats and traveled through the gray day with light snow flurries, driving from Flagstaff to the rim of the Grand Canyon. After we checked into the lodge, Rylla was merciless, forcing Zeta and I to walk many miles along the trails at the edge of the Canyon. Finally, Rylla was completely worn out. She collapsed in the late afternoon and did not emerge from her room until the middle of the next morning after finally catching up on sleep.

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by Edmund Emshwiller
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Zeta did not want any experimenting done on Rylla's brain while we were in a particularly dangerous place like the rim of the Canyon. Zeta and I were tired of the cold and the snow, so we made plans to head south. Thinking of "south" made me think of Australia and Nora. I told Zeta, "I'm quite certain now that Nora is a completely artificial lifeform. Made of femtobot components. We're running around, trying to hide, but I would not be surprised if Nora implanted tracking nanites in us."

Zeta nodded, "We have no good reason to believe that we are not being tracked, but we should still keep up the act of pretending that we are hiding ...successfully hiding... just to put Rylla at ease."

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"I agree. I can sense that Rylla is still furious at Maria for altering her memories." I had been searching through the infites from both Yōd and Nora for clues about Maria and her mysterious role as an Interventionist agent on Earth. I could sense that Nora had memories going back thousands of years. "Almost certainly Maria is still on Earth and quite capable of locating us."

Zeta nodded. "Well, try not to mention any of that to Rylla. The poor kid needs some calm and stability. My prescription for all of us is a week on the beach." Part 2 of the story

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