2024 Again

see the blog post "1924"

 Year in review. By tradition, each year I have a blog post in which I summarize the past 12 months in blogging here at the wikifiction blog and also take note of the blog pages that have had the most page views (last year's review: 2023).

 January Jumps. Why did I include amphibian Merovae in my science fiction story "The Fesarians"? I'll blame the Aquans, an aquatic human variant imagined by Kōbō Abe for his novel Inter Ice Age 4. My year in blogging began with a commentary on Inter Ice Age 4. First published in 1958 - 1959, Inter Ice Age 4 included the idea of using computers to predict the future. Isaac Asimov's earlier novel The End of Eternity had previously explored the idea of using an advanced computer to predict alternate timelines, what Asimov called Realities.

Time Portal

 Synapex Linkages. The most visited wikifiction blog post in January was "Synapex Time", which has Part 4 of my science fiction story Time Portal. In that part of the story, R. Nyrtia is shown to be moving Dr. Twissell through time, using him as a means to spread some key tryp'At gene patterns that are useful for human telepathy. In 2025, I hope to continue the tale of Twissell's jumps through time, but sometimes I begin a fiction writing project that gets delayed for many years....

 February Fail. For example, in 2012 I began making plans for a sequel to the novel "Assignment Nor'Dyren", a 1973 science fiction novel by Sydney J. Van Scyoc. I was again thinking about that project in February of 2024 (see Exobiologist). However, in February I was terribly distracted by AI tools; chatbots and image generating software.

Claude the chatbot.

The most visited blog post for February was "Claude the Chatbot". Here is part of a typical conversation with the Claude chat bot...

Me (in February 2024): Does Anthropic provide any documentation for their Claude user interface?

Claude (February 2024): No, Anthropic does not provide any public documentation for a "Claude user interface" because I do not actually have a user interface that people can access.

While chatting with these Large Language Models, it is very challenging to keep in mind the fact that these chatbots have no actual intelligence. They have a complete lack of understanding of what they are saying and often fail spectacularly to produce useful output.

When I checked back on Claude today (in December), the default version was Sonnet version 3.5. Back in March I had access to version 3.0

Claude Shannon by Mr. Wombo.

 Claude 3.5 Sonnet: Yes, you can find documentation about using the Claude interface at https://support.anthropic.com and technical documentation at https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/. These resources cover topics like conversation basics, prompting best practices, and API details.

Me: I went to those two URLs and found no description of the Claude user interface.

Claude: I apologize for my incorrect assumption about the documentation. You're right - I checked those URLs and they don't contain specific documentation about the Claude chat interface elements and features. I should not have claimed they did.

Smuggling nanites.

 March Madness: More Models. The most popular blog post in March was "TNS 31", which has the 31st and final chapter of a science fiction story called "The Nanite Smuggler". I wrote that 61,000 word-long story in collaboration with the Gemini and Claude chatbots (read the entire story here). The story is set in the year 2040, when a young woman, Tyhry, tries to obtain advanced nanotechnology from aliens.

 The Tooth Brush Problem. My experiment of collaborating with chatbots to write a novel taught me that these Large Language Models are not good story tellers. They can't understand anything, particularly the subjects that I want to explore in my stories. The chatbots can churn out huge amounts of dreck, but I usually have to rewrite it in order to remake the chatbot output into something that I can tolerate.

 April Alice. Also in that "TNS 31" blog post were ideas for a sequel to "The Nanite Smuggler" which became a story called Vythoth the Chresmoscopist. That blog post with the first part of Vythoth the Chresmoscopist ("Nymerya Coryn") was the most visited blog post in April 🏆. "Nymerya Coryn" is the name of a religious robot (a name that Gemini invented). I've relegated the chatbots to mundane tasks like generating names for characters in my stories. Vythoth is a Fru'wu who explains in Part 5 of the story, "We Fru'wu have a device that allows us to View future events; the Chresmoscope." 

Figure 1. To be continued.

I've never completed Vythoth the Chresmoscopist. As shown in the image to the left (Figure 1), in April of 2024 I made plans for Tyhry could first obtain some useful information nanites (infites) from Vythoth the Fru'wu. My plan was for those alien infites to then make it possible for Tyhry to enter into the Asimov Reality Simulation and obtain other infites from Alice Wroke that would provide Tyhry with the required information for how to make a fully functional interstellar spaceship (this is a work in progress; see "D*", below).

Tyhry's alien body modification.
Image generated by Mr. Wombo.

 May: Mr. Wombo. The most visited blog post from May is Vythoth, which has Part 5 of the science fiction story Vythoth the Chresmoscopist. Tyhry establishes some tentative telepathic linkage to the mind of Vythoth, who then explains, "We Fru'wu have a device that allows us to View future events; the Chresmoscope."

Most of May was devoted to developing Vythoth the Chresmoscopist, but I also published a blog post called Image Gallery which holds 340 AI-generated images such as the one that is shown to the right. Sometimes Mr. Wombo generates images that do not fit the story that I am currently writing, but those images might be useful in the future. The image that is shown to the right might illustrate a bad dream that is induced in Tyhry when she has a vision of the future time when she uses medical nanites to revert her body to its tryp'At form. Why settle for just 4 breasts when you could have 8?

Figure 2. Under construction.

 June Jarnell. So far, I've published the first 8 parts of Vythoth the Chresmoscopist on this blog. Part 8 of the story was published in June. At that time, I wrote part of an account of how two Felydyans, Sorsyph and Oyub, acting as agents of Manny the bumpha, were able to help get Tyhry on the right track for discovering the secret of using sedrons for interstellar space travel (see Figure 2). 

Figure 3. image source

Some day I hope to complete Vythoth the Chresmoscopist, possibly using ideas from another story called "D*". In "D*", Tyhry visits the Asimov Reality (via Reality Simulation) and discovers the existence a secret sedron mining facility that is used by the Jarnell Corporation to make interstellar space travel possible in that Reality. The Jarnell Corporation is a front operation created by Manny the bumpha.

The most visited blog post in June is The Fesarians, a page I used to develop my thinking about a new Star Trek fan-fiction science fiction story that is called The Fesarians. I was inspired to start writing that story after I began my 2024 Search for Interesting Hollywood Aliens (SIHA) and once again contemplated the idea of awarding another retro-SIHA for the year 2024.

9484 BCE (image source)

 July Jumble. Part 1 of The Fesarians was published in July in a blog post called A Fesarian Reality, which is the most visited blog post for that month. As fan fiction, The Fesarians is a sequel story for a Star Trek  episode called "The Corbomite Menouver". The Fesarians is set in the future of the Ekcolir Reality where I imagine that Star Trek's Vulcans are replaced by the tryp'At.

For The Fesarians, I imagine that Balok's gigantic interstellar spaceship has a "crew" that consists of a diverse and jumbled collection of many different alien species who have been collected from various worlds of the galaxy, including some humans who Balok collects in the year 9484 BCE (see both Figure 3, above, and the image to the left). Balok has advanced technology that allows for the creation of duplicate copies of the planet Earth.

 August All-stars. The most visited blog post from August is Science Fiction Baseball. That was the second of two baseball-themed blog posts from the summer of 2024 (the first was Alien Ghosts On Second). What if an alien such as Balok visited Earth and stayed around just to have fun playing baseball (see the image that is shown to the right)? In my imagination, an alien from a distant exoplanet with advanced technologies could easily become an All-star baseball player on Earth.

A plant-machine. image source

Also in August was a blog post called Book-Scrolls and Plant-Machines in which I continued my efforts to trick image-generating software into visually depicting future technologies that exist only in my imagination. Software like WOMBO Dream has an amazing ability to take a new idea and make it look old. For The Fesarians, I imagine that there is an advanced alien species on the exoplanet Elemacha-z. Those aliens prefer to shape their nanite components into the form of a plant-like creature, so those intelligent aliens initially go unnoticed by the human colonists. The image that is shown to the left plays around with the idea of a technologically advanced plant species.

collecting a Noema

 September Spies. The most visited blog post in September is The Xylo Clones, which includes Part 4 of science fiction story The Fesarians. When the human colonists on the distant exoplanet Elemacha-z finally realize that the plant-like Noema are highly intelligent, they attempt to establish telepathic contact with the aliens (see the image that is shown to the right).

image source

I love the idea that R. Nyrtia the positronic robot and Manny the bumpha can infiltrate human society and live among humans without being recognized as artificial life forms. That theme is included in my story "D*", but there is also a scene in The Fesarians where Nyrtia secretly uses the bodily form of Talia's sister, Gyulya, and spies on the colonists.

While thinking about Nyrtia's ability to secretly infiltrate the small human colony on Elemacha-z, I began imagining a computerized game called "Infiltrate" which would be about aliens who infiltrate human society on Earth (see the image that is shown to the left).

game token

 Another Game.
I asked Gemini to create a version of Monopoly based on an artificial intelligence theme. One of Gemini's proposed property sets was "The Stable Diffusion District" with these three properties: Stable Diffusion, Midjourney and Dream by WOMBO. Gemini suggested six tokens: 1) The Neural Net Node: a small, multifaceted metallic sphere with glowing lines crisscrossing its surface, resembling a simplified neural network node.  2) The Quantum Bit: a translucent cube with swirling colors inside, representing the superposition of states in a quantum bit (qubit).  3) The Robot Arm: a miniature, articulated robotic arm with a claw at the end, symbolizing automation and AI in robotics.  4) The Holographic AI: a small, transparent pyramid that projects a shimmering, holographic image of an eye, representing virtual assistants and advanced interfaces.  5) The Data Packet: a sleek, rectangular prism with a stream of binary code flowing across its surface, symbolizing the flow of information in AI systems.  6) The AI Chip: a tiny, gold-plated microchip with intricate circuitry etched on its surface, representing the hardware that powers AI algorithms. I had Mr. Wombo generate images for these sic tokens. Gemini also generated a game board and I pasted in the AI-generated tokens (see the image, below):

The Gemini chatbot suggested that the "GO" space be called "Launch the Singularity".

Xylo is carefully monitoring an
experiment with a telepathic Neoma.

 October Operation. The most visited blog post in October is Colorize. In that blog post I had fun using WOMBO Dream to colorize some old black and white story illustrations. One of my favorite images that came out of that experiment is show to the right.

Pregnant plant woman (image source).

Also in October, I had an entire blog post (called Kwononk) in which I explored the concept of an alien Halloween, from the perspective of image-generating software like WOMBO Dream. The image to the left shows an alien plant-like creature that has undergone an abdominal surgical operation revealing her baby.

John and Vera: a breeding
experiment with an alien plant.

 November Neoma. The most visited blog post in November is "Trying to Connect" which contains a rather looong discussion of plans for Part 6 of my science fiction story called The Fesarians. Since The Fesarians involves the plant like alien Neoma, I felt obligated to extensively comment on the John Carstairs stories that feature alien plant creatures.

horror

Also in November, the Gemini large language model invented the "notionator" (a device to stimulate creative thought) as described in my blog post called "Birth of the Notionator". Also in that blog post is a discussion with the Claude large language model about science fiction as a literary genre and how it gets linked to horror stories. 

For the image shown to the left, I tried to get WOMBO Dream to generate a horror-tinged image depicting the birth of a Noema. Sadly, the alien creatures did not really end up with the appearance of plant-people. That might be poor Gyulya about a year after she discovers some alien larvae in her bed.

image source

 December. I'll wait until 2025 to judge which blog post of December is the most frequently visited. However, in December I published a blog post in which the Gemini and Claude LLMs helped me devise the long jargony title "Chronoendosymbiotic Telepathic Transfer Protocol" for a science fiction story about the Sedron Time Stream. Claude even wrote a song about chronoendosymbiosis that could be performed as part of an opera (see the image to the right).

image source

Also in December, I blogged about the milestone of reaching 1,000,000 pageviews for this blog.

In December, I started a new science fiction story called "D*" which describes an attempt by Tyhry to investigate the Jarnell Corporation and the type of interstellar spaceship propulsion technology that was used to spread Humanity through the galaxy in the Asimov Reality. Tyhry discovers that clones of herself and Marda existed in that Reality and their replicoid copies were used as the secret agents of Manny who could infiltrate human society and spread key genes for telepathy.

2024: Retro-SIHA award.

My Search for Interesting Hollywood Aliens took me to Korea, but once again I opted for a retro-SIHA, giving the award to the old Star Trek episode, "The Corbomite Maneuver". 

image source

The "The Corbomite Maneuver" was inspiration for my new fan-fiction science fiction story "The Fesarians" which is set in the Ekcolir Reality. In "The Fesarians", I re-imagine the alien Balok as a bumpha, thus inserting Balok into my Exodemic Fictional Universe.

The most visited blog post for 2024 is Nymerya Coryn 🏆 which includes Part 1 of Vythoth the Chresmoscopist.

Related Reading: 2023 in review

Next: the science fiction stories of Katherine MacLean.

Visit the Gallery of Movies, Book and Magazine Covers

Jerdian and the Phari

Figure 1. AI Comic Factory output.

 Earlier this year in my blog post "Comic Hallucination" I experimented with with AI Comic Factory and then today I was thinking about my earlier attempt to produce an AI-generated image of Jerdian Chanseth, a character from The Face by Jack Vance. I provided this text prompt to free version of AI Comic Factory: "on a distant exoplanet the shape of a moon is altered so as to make it look like a human face" and got the image shown in Figure 1, to the right.

In this blog post I describe how I collaborated with the Claude and Gemini chatbots to create a science fiction scenario for how to use nanotechnology to change a moon into a giant sculpture of a human head. The completed comic version of the story is at the bottom of this blog post.

Figure 2. Panel 1.

To construct my version of this "comic", I began using Mr. Wombo to modify the original AI Comic Factory-generated image. Starting with the lower right panel, Mr. Wombo generated the image shown in Figure 2. 

When Vance wrote The Face, he never depicted any of the female characters as being scientists, but for this comic I assume that Jerdian has an advanced science degree in astrobiology. Growing up on the planet Methel, she was always intrigued by the unusual shape of its moon (longer along the axis of its rotation), Shanitra. After going to the planet Alphanor for her scientific training, she returns to Methel, uses her father's wealth (he is a banker) to build an Astrobiology Institute (see Figure 3, below) and begins a scientific investigation of Shanitra.

The Face cover by Gino D'Achille

In the Asimov Reality, the alien Phari were quite active and they constructed many artificial planets that they teleported (yes, as masters of the Hierion Domain, they could teleport entire planets across interstellar distances) to specific destinations through out the galaxy. 

I'm currently writing a story called "D*" which involves the discovery of hierions by a young woman named Tyna who can access the Sedron Time Stream and receive information from the future. Tyna eventually discovers that her own body is composed of hierions in the form of femtobots. In the case of Jerdian, I imagine that she discovers a form of artificial life inside Shanitra that is composed of femtobot components.

Figure 3. Shanitra full phase.

The software of AI Comic Factory actually generated to versions of a moon with a human face. I used the cover art by Gino D'Achille as a reference image and Mr. Wombo made the moon that is shown in Figure 3. in the sky over Jerdian's shoulder and over the Astrobiology Institute on Methel. In my imagination, the image in Figure 3 is for one of the later panels of the comic, after the Phari have transformed Shanitra into the shape of a human head.

I asked the Claude chatbot to suggest a way to make an artificial moon that could take on the shape of a human head...

Me: In the context of a science fiction story, imagine an alien life form that has very advanced technology and a science of physics that is fantastically advanced compared to that of humans on Earth, including a complete understanding of the entire family of hierion fundamental particles. Call these aliens the bumpha. 

Claude, imagine the following science fiction plot device... It is discovered that there is a previously unknown family of fundamental particles that can exist as stable components of atomic nuclei along with neutrons and protons; call these new particles hierions. One of the hierions, when present as a structural component of a deuterium nucleus, can reduce the mass of the nucleus to a value that is significantly below the normal mass of a deuterium nucleus. The hierion component of this "light deuterium" has negative mass.

Figure 4. Generated by Gemini (Imagen 3).
See the full resolution image here.

The bumpha can construct entire planets and moons using femtobots, a form of advanced nanotechnology that is formed from hierion matter. Claude, propose an a imaginary physical basis in hierion physics that would account for how the bumpha were able to construct a moon that is roughly the size of Earth's Moon, but which is significantly longer along its axis of rotation from its north pole its to south pole than it is in its equatorial diameter. Remember, there are many interesting hierions with special properties such as negative mass. There are forms of matter made of hierions where the bonds between hierions are many orders of magnitude stronger than are conventional chemical bonds that hold together atoms in molecules made of hadrons. Further, the bumpha can "program" femtobots and shape large masses of femtobots into any convenient shape.

Claude: A theoretical framework for the construction of non-spherical celestial bodies through hierion-based femtotechnology can be proposed, incorporating several key mechanisms:

Structural Framework:
The primary structural element is hypothesized to be composed of meta-stable hierion lattices, where negative-mass η⁻ hierions are arranged in truncated octahedral configurations, bound by ultra-high-strength φ-bonds (estimated binding energy: 10⁸ keV). These lattices form the backbone of programmable femtobots, each approximately 10⁻¹⁵ meters in diameter.

Force Compensation Mechanism:
The non-spherical morphology of the constructed moon is maintained through a complex interplay of opposing forces:

Figure 5. Femtobot man.

  1. Gravitational Forces:
Standard gravitational collapse toward sphericity is counteracted by strategic placement of negative-mass hierion clusters. The spatial distribution of these clusters has been optimized to generate repulsive gravitational fields along the polar axis.

2. Structural Integrity:
The polar elongation is stabilized via a honeycomb-like matrix of ultra-high-strength χ-hierion filaments (tensile strength: ~10¹⁵ Pa). These filaments are organized in helical patterns around the rotation axis, providing resistance to both compressive and shear forces.

Femtobot Programming Parameters:
The femtobots are programmed with quantum-encoded instructions for self-assembly into specific hierarchical structures:

- Primary Level: Formation of hierion-based structural units
- Secondary Level: Assembly of stress-distribution networks
- Tertiary Level: Integration of negative-mass compensation fields

Construction Methodology:
The following sequential process has been implemented:

1. Initial framework construction utilizing ρ-hierion scaffolding
2. Layer-by-layer deposition of conventional matter interspersed with negative-mass regions
3. Dynamic adjustment of internal stress fields through femtobot-mediated restructuring

Stability Maintenance:
Long-term structural stability is achieved through:

- Continuous monitoring and adjustment of internal stress fields

Figure  6. Meet the Grendel.

 - Active compensation for tidal forces through programmable hierion-lattice reconfiguration
- Maintenance of rotational stability via dynamic mass distribution control

The resulting structure exhibits a polar-to-equatorial ratio of approximately 1.3:1, maintained through the described mechanisms. This configuration has remained stable over geological time scales, demonstrating the effectiveness of the implemented hierion-based engineering solutions.

Would additional details regarding the quantum mechanical properties of the hierion bonds or the computational algorithms governing femtobot behavior be of interest?

Me: Claude, propose a process by which the bumpha could use their sophisticated femtobot re-programming methods so as to make this artificial moon that is composed of femtobots take on any desired shape, but in the case of this science fiction scenario, the bumpha create a complex femtobot program that forces the moon to take on the shape of a human head with recognizable human features in the constructed "face" of the moon.

Claude: The following methodology has been developed to elucidate the femtobot-mediated morphological restructuring process:

Phase I: Topological Mapping and Initial Programming
A high-resolution three-dimensional mapping protocol has been implemented, wherein the desired human facial features were decomposed into approximately 10¹⁸ discrete volumetric elements. Each element has been assigned specific hierarchical parameters for femtobot restructuring, with primary emphasis on maintaining structural integrity during morphological transition.

Phase II: Hierarchical Control Implementation
The following control systems have been established:

Figure 7. Femtobot reprogramming.

 1. Primary Control Matrix
A quantum-encoded instruction set has been implemented within each femtobot cluster (10⁶ units per cluster), utilizing η-hierion quantum states for information storage. The programming architecture incorporates:
- Spatial positioning algorithms (accuracy: ±0.1 nanometers)
- Inter-femtobot communication protocols
- Dynamic force compensation subroutines

2. Secondary Structure Formation
Distinct facial feature protocols have been programmed, including:
- Orbital cavity formation through negative-mass hierion positioning
- Nasal bridge construction via enhanced φ-bond networks
- Mandibular contour development through graduated density matrices

Phase III: Execution Protocol
The morphological transformation process proceeds through the following stages:

1. Initial Phase (t = 0 to t = 10⁶ seconds):
- Activation of quantum-entangled control networks
- establishment of preliminary force compensation fields
- Initiation of mass redistribution protocols

2. Primary Restructuring (t = 10⁶ to t = 10⁷ seconds):
- Implementation of gross morphological changes
- Development of primary facial features
- Establishment of structural support networks

3. Fine Detail Formation (t = 10⁷ to t = 10⁸ seconds):
- Enhancement of surface detail resolution
- Implementation of texture gradients
- Optimization of feature symmetry

Figure 8. Synapex linkage.

Stability Maintenance Protocol:
The following systems have been incorporated to maintain structural integrity:

1. Dynamic Compensation Networks:
- Continuous monitoring of gravitational stress patterns
- Real-time adjustment of negative-mass distribution
- Active control of rotational dynamics

2. Feature Preservation Systems:
- Quantum-locked position maintenance
- Adaptive force field generation
- Continuous error correction protocols

Results:
The implemented protocols have resulted in a stable lunar-scale structure exhibiting recognizable human facial features with the following specifications:
- Feature resolution: ≤1 km
- Structural stability: >99.99%
- Morphological accuracy: 95% correlation with target parameters

Statistical significance of stability measurements has been confirmed (p < 0.001) through long-term monitoring over 10⁹ seconds.

Further refinements of the control algorithms are currently under investigation, with particular emphasis on enhanced surface detail resolution and improved feature preservation under varying gravitational conditions.

Me: Claude, explain how you derived the estimated time (t = 10⁷ to t = 10⁸ seconds) for shaping the femtobot moon into the form of a recognizable human head.

Claude: The time estimation analysis must be acknowledged as speculative, given the hypothetical nature of hierion-based femtotechnology. However, a systematic derivation can be attempted through dimensional analysis and known physical constraints.

Key Parameters for Temporal Analysis:

Figure 9. Rychyl's blaster.

 1. Spatial Considerations
- Lunar volume: ~2.2 × 10¹⁰ km³
- Individual femtobot diameter: ~10⁻¹⁵ m
- Required positional accuracy: ±0.1 nm for feature preservation

2. Information Processing Constraints
- Quantum state transition time: ~10⁻¹⁵ s (based on hierion quantum mechanics)
- Inter-femtobot communication latency: ~10⁻¹² s
- Coordination overhead: estimated 10³ operations per positional adjustment

3. Mass Transport Limitations
- Maximum matter displacement velocity: 0.1c (theoretical upper bound)
- Minimum distance for bulk mass redistribution: ~1,000 km
- Required precision of mass distribution: ±0.01%

Temporal Derivation:

The characteristic time (τ) for complete morphological restructuring was calculated:

τ = (V × D × C) / (R × E)

image source

 Where:
V = Total volume requiring restructuring
D = Density of control operations
C = Communication overhead factor
R = Parallel processing capacity
E = Efficiency coefficient

Statistical analysis indicates that:
p < 0.001 for temporal estimates exceeding 10⁷ seconds
p < 0.05 for estimates below 10⁸ seconds

Significant uncertainty exists in these calculations due to:
- Unknown quantum properties of hierion-based computation
- Theoretical limits of mass transport efficiency
- Complex gravitational field interactions

It is acknowledged that more precise temporal estimations would require empirical data regarding hierion-femtobot coordination capabilities.

Would additional analysis of specific rate-limiting factors in the morphological transformation process be beneficial?

Artificial moon by Gemini (Imagen 3).

I love science fiction stories for which there are constraints on imaginary future technologies. Claude suggested (above) that it might take about a year for the bumpha to re-form Shanitra into the shape of a human head.

I provided the Gemini chatbot with Claude's proposal (above) and asked Gemini to, "generate an image for a science fiction story depicting an artificial moon composed of femtobot components that had been made to take on the shape of a humanoid head. Show the moon's human-like face in full illuminated phase against a background of stars". The resulting image is shown to the left.

I then asked Gemini to, "generate a femtobot moon image, but now the moon is in the process of re-arranging some of its femtobot components in order to form a humanoid body attached to the already formed head." Gemini generated the image shown in Figure 4, above. I used that "femtobot man" to manually create the "humanoid moon" in Figure 5.

Figure 10. A Femtobot Moon.

While discussing femtobots with the chatbots, I asked them to refer to the technologically advanced aliens as the bumpha. However, it was the Phari who were masters of the Hierion Domain in the Asimov Reality and they had interactions with another artificial life form, the Grendels (see Figure 6). Each human being such as Jerdian was accompanied by a personal Grendel. Figure 7 shows Jerdian's personal technician, Rychyl, who became the expert in femtobot reprogramming. The creatures in Figure 7 were produced by reprogramming "rock" samples from Sanistra. Only gradually does Jerdians astrobiology team on Methel come to realize that Shanitra is an artificial moon composed of hierions and femtobots, not ordinary matter.

Rychyl learns femtobot programming by forming synapex linkages to Grendels (see Figure 8). When Manny the bumpha appears on Methel and tells Rychyl and Jerdian that they will have their memories of femtobots, Grendels and the Phari erased from their memories, Rychyl and Jerdian object (see Figure 9). However, there is really nothing that Rychyl and Jerdian can do in the face of advanced bumpha technology.

The Methlen, such as Jerdian, originated on the planet Stanislas as members in an exclusive group: the Aretioi. The nature-loving Aretioi of Zangelberg on Stanislas never devolved like the Feeks, but after centuries of forced and directed evolution, they were a distinct genetic group that was devoted to perfection of the human mind.

When humans spread through the galaxy, they were accompanied by Gredels who functioned to monitor human scientific progress and suppress the development of new technologies that could reveal the fact that the human species was caught up in an elaborate alien-designed eugenics program aimed at creating human telepaths. 

In Vance's novel, The Face, we never learn much about the Aretioi, but we know that when some of their members settled on Methel, they left most of the planet as a wilderness reserve. The Methlen had a system of arranged marriages that was guided by a practice known as Organostics. Through the centuries on Stanislas, the Aretioi has compiled an intricate "Organon of Forms", a text which was built upon the concept that the human body is an "organon" – a tool or instrument – through which the inner self expressed itself. 

In the Space Age of the Asimov Reality, the Grendels suppressed the development of genetic technologies like gene sequencing, but they allowed the Aretioi to develop their science of Organostics. Organostics involved painstaking observation, meticulous measurement, and the development of complex charts and diagrams correlating physical features with cognitive abilities.

It is Manny the bumpha who gives Rychyl and Jerdian access to a set of advanced zeptites that allows them to become aware of their personal Grendels and gain knowledge of femtobot programming from the Grendels. Eventually, the disruptions caused by the transformation of Shanitra into the form of a human head is what allows Jerdian to escape from the restrictions of the restrictive Methlen arranged marriage system. 

Manny's goal was to arrange for a way to mix Aretioi gene patterns with other pre-telepathic lineages of the galaxy. In the specific case of Jerdian, her gene patterns allow her to have exceptional ability to work with and control her Phari endosymbiont, releasing her from the common restriction of new scientific advances in biology. It is hypothesized that the transformation of Shanitra is analogous to what happened previously at Monument Cliff. However, after Jerdian "escapes" from the Organostic genetic selection process of the Aretioi, Manny erases her memories of femtobots and the Phari. Jerdian is allowed to retain limited awareness of her personal Grendel. Here (below) is the completed cartoon (there are a total of 11 panels)...

My idea of a "comic" (above) is rather wordy, but I regret not finding space to mention additional technical details such as synapex linkages in the comic.

Next: the year 2024 in review.

Visit the Gallery of Movies, Book and Magazine Covers

*ǵʰéysd-

see the original 2015 version here

 Two years ago, I had an end-of-the-year blog post called "tHE yEAR inVERSE" in which I took note of several blog posts which I had begun, but not yet published, butt which I hoped to complete and publish in 2023. At that time, I was discovering the joys of creating stories that feature the Sedron Time Stream. Now, here I am in the future and my backlog of "lost stories" and old languishing blog posts continues to grow (there are now 50 unpublished blog posts). Below on this blog page is a description of the contents of these old "ghost" blog posts.

Figure 1. languishing blog posts

 Contact. My bad habit of not completing blog posts goes back to about 2012 when I started a new blog page that was intended to hold ideas for Episode 7 of a Contact television series (see "Wye Not?" in Figure 1). In that planned episode, Dr. Shella Wye visited Moon Base Alpha, buttt I never continued working on the Contact television series.

see this image in context here

 Networking. Also on my list (Figure 1) of never-completed blog posts is "Brevik", which dates to early 2021 when I was writing a new science fiction story called "The Alastor Network". Brevik is one of the planets in Alastor Cluster. Periodically, Jimmy the Intern does some work on the Blogger software and creates new annoying bugs. Back in 2021 there was a bug that made it easy to erase blog posts that were under construction. The destruction of my 5,000 word blog post "Brevik" is described here. I could simply delete the empty blog post called "Brevik", butttt I keep it as a kind of ghostly reminder of the pain of having Google's software delete a large amount of carefully crafted text.

see this image in context here

 Ghosts of Blogging Past. I asked the Gemini chatbot about the origins of the word "ghost".

Gemini: The word "ghost" has a long and fascinating history, with its roots stretching back to ancient times. Here's a breakdown of its etymology:
Old English: The word originates from the Old English word "gāst," which had a broader meaning than our modern "ghost." It referred to the "spirit," "soul," or even "breath" of a living being. This is why we still use "ghost" in the phrase "Holy Ghost" to refer to the Holy Spirit.
Proto-Germanic: "Gāst" comes from the Proto-Germanic word "*gaistaz," which also meant "spirit" or "soul."
Proto-Indo-European: Going further back, "*gaistaz" is believed to derive from the Proto-Indo-European root "*ǵʰéysd-," which meant "anger" or "agitation." This suggests an early association of spirits with strong emotions or a disturbed state.

image source

So, that chat with Gemini (above) was the origin of the title for this blog post.

 Martians. The blog post "Additional Stuff" (See Figure 1, above) contains some old ideas for a Part 3 of my story "Someday Mars" (Part 1). In "Someday Mars", the Deep Time analogue of Alan Turing is Alice Turing. In my imagination, she was a tryp'At agent for Manny the bumpha, working on Earth while disguised as a conventional human. 

 Go Ask Alys. Similarly, the person known as "Alice Wroke" was that same agent working for Manny in another part of Deep Time and after I moved on from "Someday Mars", I created another story called The Cythyrya Investigation (see the blog post "Alys of Aloysyus") which features "Alice" Wroke using her actual name (Alys) and her son Jym, a potential source of useful nanites for Tyhry in the Final Reality.

Figure 2. Embryonics counseling on the planet Viole.
Image made using the following: Eisblumen and
  All the world will be in love with the night both
by stefangrosjean
available under CC BY-NC 3.0

 Embryonics. After completing "The Alastor Network", I then wrote a follow-on story called "Meet the Phari" (Part 1). In June of 2021, "Meet the Phari" never got past Part 11. The blog post "Tirrit Trap" that is seen in Figure 1 contains ideas for Part 12 of Meet the Phari, buttttt I never completed that tale of how Chyryq's children were engineered (I used the terms "Embryonics counseling" and in the story there is an "Embryonics technician" named Eynta on the planet Viole) as part of the long-term project aimed at crafting telepathic humans in Alastor Cluster. Embryonics includes the use of multiple techniques such as telepathy and a hormone/pheromone/growth factor (called "oxymethin") that enhances telepathic abilities. As can be seen in Figure 2, at that time I was heavily into imagining aliens and human-alien hybrids with various skin colors.

Figure 3. Incomplete posts from 2022.

 The Sogdian Clones. More of my abandoned blog posts are shown in Figure 3. In 2022, in Part 2 of The Cythyrya Investigation, I wrote about Jutta Holgenner, a clone of Jyryl Tynzy, A.K.A. "Zan Zu or Drusilla and otherwise". The story "Sedron Time Stream" was to include Gwen  (an analogue of Gwyned, the sister of Thomas.), Jutta and Gamma Gohrlay. Previously, I'd introduced the idea of a secret Grendel base that could be entered only if you has a special "nanite key", and Eddy had a vision of the future in which those nanites had become available (see: "Exit Edit"). In "Sedron Time Stream", Eddy was to be given access to the Grendel base by Gwen. The "Sedron Time Stream" blog post was going to include this image.

One of the fun parts of looking back at "lost blog posts" is resurrecting old images that can be updated by using AI-powered image-generating software such as WOMBO Dream.

see the original version here

 Future Flow. Figure 4 shows an updated version of a "Sedron Time Stream" illustration that I made back in 2022. I had Mr. Wombo generate new versions of the three ladies who were in the original image and then I pasted those updates into the original image, preserving the text at the top left and the bottom right.

Gas Station book

 Global Warming. In May of 2022, I posted G-syms for G-world, which I labeled as Part 3 of The Cythyrya Investigation. The blog post called "Gas Station" that is shown in Figure 3 begins with mention of a book called "Report on the Phari Gas Station" by Tama Wilson (image to the right). The story concerns discovery of Phari carbon dioxide gas teleportation facilities that are located deep inside the Earth, which had been designed to control the climate of Earth. 

Figure 4. An illustration from the blog post called "Gas Station".
A depiction of how the tryp'At used mind control infites; from the archives of the Writers Block
I thought of a cartoon about the tryp'At that had been found at the Writers Block. Unfortunately, I had never learned exactly what the tryp'At Overseers had planned as their desired future for Earth.

Human history: the nicotiana saga.

 Why Nicotine? Figure 4 (above) is one of the illustrations for "Gas Station". "Gas Station" was intended to be Part 4 of The Cythyrya Investigation and was called "Tama the tryp'At". Part 4 was "edited" by Eddy so in Figure 4, "I thought" means Eddy's thoughts. The image in Figure 4 was updated by Mr. Wombo to improve the quality of the depiction of the tobacco-using woman. Through the years, I've had fun imagining that behavioral control nanites could be spread in tobacco products (that's why there are tobacco plants in the banner for this blog).

Marda and Tyhry in 2030.
See the original version
of this image here.

 The Nanotechnology of Love. Late in 2022 I started a new science fiction story called The Nanites of Love. The blog post called "Onanonanon" that is shown above in Figure 3 has ideas for how to continue "The Nanites of Love". The story begins with Jymzy carrying out an interventionist mission in Toronto, but then she must go to the Picacho ( it is called "Picachou" in the story) teleportation station after making a telepathic connection to Al Blackwood. The story shifts ahead in time to Zeta making telepathic contact with Daphne Marks, a descendant of Al Blackwood. The idea that there could be people on Earth in Zeta's time who might telepathically link to Zeta and her family members such as Tyhry was later developed in Futurescape where Naseh and Wydgren make telepathic linkages to Tyhry.

The image to the left is a recent update by Mr. Wombo to an image that was first generated back in the 2023 blog post Futurescape.

source: "Making Vendela"

 Making Babies. The blog post called "Making Vendela" that is shown above in Figure 3 is a 7,400 word-long continuation of The Nanites of Love. I'm going to have to finalize and publish this blog post ("Making Vendela") in 2025. "Making Vendela" tells the story of the origins of Brak, the first full human telepath born on Earth. Carrin is the mother of Vendela. Vendela is Rylla's mother. Vendela led a secretive existence on Earth, passing key Asterothrope gene patterns on to Rylla. Rylla is the mother of Marda and Marda is the mother of Brak. The image shown to the right is from the as yet unpublished blog post "Making Vendela" and is Mr. Wombo's depiction of Marda while pregnant with Brak. Also in "Making Vendela" is Jymzy, who had other missions on Earth and once used the name Bonny Lynn Fennland when meeting Eddy.

Figure 5. Incomplete posts from 2023.

 Large Language Models. As shown in Figure 5, starting in 2023 I began collaborating with chatbots (such as Bard). There are about a dozen never-completed blog posts such as "The Bard as a Collaborator" that I will never publish, butttttt they contain a record of some of my early interactions with Bard.

image by Mr. Wombo

 More Cythyrya. The never-published blog post called "Pantechnyk" (see Figure 5) has some ideas for another chapter in the story "The Cythyrya Investigation" in which Rey and Rylla use the Reality Simulation System to go to Myllyr's Planet. Manny's agent, Jutta Holgenner, was a character in the planned chapter of The Cythyrya Investigation that was under construction in "Pantechnyk". There was planned discussion of information that Jutta found in the old notes of Retz and Viole Falushe on the planet Sogdian.

Rytya and an infite bottle.

"Making Retya" (see Figure 5) is another never-completed blog post that also contains plans for a chapter in "The Cythyrya Investigation". Rytya is an alternate spelling of Retya. Previously, it was in Part 3 of The Cythyrya Investigation that Fraunze met Tya. Rytya is the daughter of Tya and Fraunze. By making use of the Sedron Time Stream, Rytya is able to make information from the future available to Angela Fersoni. What Angela learned about Rytya was passed from Angela to her clone sister, Ivory Fersoni. Eventually, some of the stories about Rytya were passed from Ivory to the Editor by infites. In my imagination, in the Ekcolir Reality there was a woman named Crimson Cloukey who was the Deep Time analogue of Charles Cloukey. Rytya used the Sedron Time Stream to send information from the future to Crimson. Eventually, Angela found information in the archives of the Writers Block about Rytya and how to amplify telepathic abilities by use of G-sims.

Figure 6. More from 2023.

 Bard Chat. Shown in Figure 6, back in 2023 I started a blog post called "Zeptites vs Femtobots". That blog post contained a discussion of nanotechnology with the Bard chatbot. "Bard the Philosopher Poet" was another conversation with Bard in which I discovered that chatbots can't count and have trouble creating haiku poems with the correct number of syllables. In that conversation, we also discussed a new type of number called the "Bard primes".  In "Singularity", Bard and I discussed the story “Mr. Bard Goes to Washington” and the idea of an advanced artificial life-form that Bard called "Singularity". 

 City Block. "Wydgren Meets Wydgren" has ideas for how to continue my science fiction story City on the Edge of Tomorrow, which never got past Part 4. As described here, Wydgren is a writer. During the Asimov Reality, Phari endosymbionts provided developmental control nanites that kept the phenotypes of humans quite constant even while telepathic human variants were evolving in Alastor Cluster. 

Figure 7. Ghost posts from 2023.

 Figure 7 shows more abandoned blog posts from 2023 including "The Lahs Experiment", which holds 5,250 words of a planned chapter for "City on the Edge of Tomorrow". That chapter includes mention of "Inhibitor nine; in9," an inhibitor of the oxypathin-metabolizing protease that Rylla had synthesized. "Poor" Lahs, who carries many Ek'col gene patterns, becomes a test subject for sex hormones such as oxypathin and Klox23. Lahs is the husband of Wydgren.

"Syn Time" holds 2,100 more words of another planned chapter for "City on the Edge of Tomorrow" that includes Tyhry's Klox23-fueled synapex experiment which allows her to learn about how Laha and Wydgren survive on Earth while dealing with their Ek'col gene patterns. "Syn Time" also mentions Tyhry's impending vacation on the planet Threy.

in the Ekcolir Reality
 Original art by Giancola
and Gambino.

 Femtobots. "Upper Motor" has a 2,200 word story fragment for a new science fiction story called "The Mystery of the Missing Motor Neurons" which explores a technology for replacing neurons with femtobots. The story involves telekinetic powers in people who have no motor cortex because the cortex has been converted into a femtobot extension of their Phari endosymbiont. The image that is shown to the right was originally made in 2023 and then updated slightly here in 2024 by having Mr. Wombo make a new face for the woman with her head near the center of this cover illustration for imaginary story "Teleportation by Telekinesis".

Clothing nanite experiments.

 Clothing Nanites. "The Farrax Nanites" has 38 images and contains ideas for a follow-on story after The Hua Nanites, but before Tyhry's vacation on Threy.  Tyhry is experimenting with clothing nanites obtained from the Hua home world, Sermyth. Tyhry is hiding the alien nanites from Manny the bumpha who does not trust Tyhry with advanced nanotechnology that has been obtained from worlds visited by means of the Reality Simulation System. This never-published blog post ("The Farrax Nanites") was superseded by "The Nanite Smuggler". 

Figure 8. More draft posts from 2023.

 Etc. Etc. Etc. Figure 8 shows 4 more old blog posts that never got published in 2023. "Assignment: Earth" was a place to put ideas about an artificial life-form visitor to Earth.

A new "Assignment: Earth".

"Summer Palace" contains ideas for how to continue "Mosy Saga".

"Tyhry's Nanite Lab" contains an idea for a story that links Wydgren to Mars, Iowa.

"More Meet the Phari" has some ideas for continuing my science fiction story "Meet the Phari" (Part 1).

Human alien hybrids of Alastor Cluster.

 "More Meet the Phari" includes an image with two blue-skinned alien-human hybrid children from Alastor Cluster. I had Mr. Wombo update that old image (the new version is shown to the right).

Figure 9. 2023 & 2024.

 Figure 9 shows the final two unpublished blog posts from 2023 including "First Phari World" which has some ideas for another chapter in the story "The Cythyrya Investigation", once again set on Myllyr's Planet (see "Pantechnyk", above).

 In "Tyhry Termoil", Tyhry takes Marda into the Ekcolir Reality Simulator where they meet their Ekcolir Reality analogues. This story outline was largely replaced by my science fiction story City on the Edge of Tomorrow.

Rylla's RNA experiments.

"Rylla RNA" contains ideas for what might have been a continuation of "Edison's Endosymbiont Experiments". In this story, Rylla manufactures a short synaptic RNA (ssRNA) and puts it into her brain, and discovers that the RNA alters her telepathic abilities.

"Laban and Abigail" has ideas for two more chapters in my time travel story, Time Portal.  Francesca goes to 1545. She is duplicated, leaving one copy in 1923 Perth with her daughter, Sarah.

Figure 10. More 2024 posts.

"Telepathic Paradox" (see Figure 10) has a 4,200 word chapter for my science fiction story called The Nanites of Love. In this chapter, Eddy uses his blastipositor to form a synapex link to Rylla. Along with "Making Vendela" (above), I'll have to revise and publish this chapter of the story in 2025.

 "The Infite Block", "Go Ask Alice" and "Oyub the Felydyan" all have ideas for new chapters that could continue my story Vythoth the Chresmoscopist.

Figure 11. Asdditional 2024 posts.

"AI video" (see Figure 11) is a work in progress concerning AI-generated video by means of software such as VideoFX.

"The English Major's Patience" and "Linked to Tar'tron" both have ideas for a new chapter of "The Fesarians".

"Telepathy Testing" has ideas for a fan-fiction sequel to Isaac Asimov's story "Cal". The new story is called "Black Patches".

Figure 12. 2024 or 2025.

"Deuterium Lite" (see Figure 12) is Part 4 of my science fiction story called "D*". I'll either publish this chapter of the story in 2024 or early in 2025.

"How to End a War" is conversation with Claude about ending the Time Travel War.

"1925" will be my first blog post of 2025 and it has my commentary about a scence fiction story teller who was born in 1925.

"Mission to Earth" has my commentary on  some old science fiction stories from 1969. I plan to publish this blog post in 2025.

Next: Jerdian Chanseth meets the Phari.

Visit the Gallery of Movies, Book and Magazine Covers