Tyr Video

Below on this blog page is Chapter 4 of the science fiction story "War of Words". Julian visits Arizona and begins collaborating with Marda and Ambrose on plans for a science fiction anthology television series.

Julian suspects that something strange is going on behind the scenes at Second Contact magazine. His suspicions begin with Ambrose Quillon, an artificial life-form who is learning how to pretend to be human and who seems to have little understanding of normal societal conventions.

Julian is intrigued by the small eclectic staff of Second Contact magazine and the strange answers they give to his questions about their grandiose plans for getting into the television business.

When Rose questions Julian about his research, he has the uneasy sensation of being led to start thinking weirdly intrusive thoughts. In his musings, he begins to think of Second Contact magazine being re-named to 'Weird Contact'. As a geneticist, Julian can't help wondering about the background and genetic makeup of the mysterious Ambrose Quillon.

War of Words - Chapter 4 - Video Games (Chapter 1)(Chapter 2)(Chapter 3)

Julian completed his two flights from Boston, connecting through Dallas to Flagstaff. His guest lecture at NAU was scheduled for the next day and he had arranged with Fredy to be picked up and the airport. Coming off his airplane, Julian saw Fredy there in the airport, standing beside an older woman. Julian and Fredy hugged and Fredy told him, "This is Ambrose, a fellow writer."

Julian shook Rose's hand and said, "Ambrose Quillon. I feel like a fool... I'd assumed you were a guy."

Ambrose picked up Julian's large travel bag with no apparent effort and then led the way out into the snowy parking lot and to Fredy's SUV. "It is a long tradition for lady writers to allow readers to assume they are reading something written by a man. My friends call me Rose."

Julian told Rose, "You are a real inspiration for me. Your rise to fame in less than a year has been remarkable."

"Second Contact magazine is good for me, and I'm very pleased that Fredy is now moving into video."

Fredy was happy to let Rose drive and she got into the back seat of the SUV with Julian. "You can meet with Marda Onway after you give your lecture tomorrow. You may recognize Marda's name, she helped produce science fiction programs like Qbots and Infralife."

"I was a huge fan of Infralife. Too bad they canceled that show." For the duration of the ride across town, they discussed old science fiction television shows.

Rose was driving them through light snowfall and over roads covered with salt, ice patches and areas of packed snow. Eventually Rode told Julian, "Fredy lives up on this hill, which can make things interesting when we get a snow storm."

Julian nervously watched Rose navigate the winding driveway and then pull the SUV into the garage of Fredy's big house. He decided that Rose was no stranger to the challenge of driving under winter conditions. Rose carried Julian's bag through the doorway to the garage that linked to the main part of the house. Rose cheerfully noted, "No more snow is forecast for the next 24 hours, so I'll be able to shuttle you to and from your lecture." Fredy and Rose immediately took off their shoes in the boot room. Rose instructed Julian, "Take off your shoes and use these booties."

While Julian pulled on the warm boots, Fredy said, "We could go out for dinner or just stay here by a warm fire. Rose is a great cook." Fredy took Julian by the hand and led him to the large great room where she bent and tended to the fire in the fireplace.

Julian was pleased to find that Fredy was just as cute and sexy as he had remembered. "Does Rose live here with you?"

Fredy laughed and seemed to be at a loss for what to say as she added wood on top of the embers in the fireplace. "Rose is something as a mystery. I'm not sure she has ever had a home. I guess it is part of her bohemian lifestyle. She drifts through the world and never seems to care about sleep."

Having taken Julian's bag to a back bedroom, Rose returned and suggested, "I could cook Julian's favorite, which according to Tess is baked cod."

Julian asked Rose, "You know Tess?"

Rose pulled Julian back from the fireplace and onto a couch. "I called her and asked about your preferences and special needs."

Fredy turned from her work at the fireplace and told Julian, "Rose has an under-developed sense of propriety."

"Life is too short to follow social conventions." Still holding on to Julian's hand and gazing into his eyes, Rose said, "I like Tess. She told me some startling stories."

Julian laughed nervously. "Tess has a wild imagination. You can't take seriously everything she says."

"Does she also write fiction?"

"You know, when she does choreography, I think she's just as creative as I am when I write a science fiction story." He told Rose, "I wish I was as creative as you are. And as productive."

Rose explained, "I have the luxury doing nothing but writing, so it is easy for me to turn out a new story for Second Contact magazine every month."

"Are you from Arizona?"

"Australia."

"Ah, I could not place your accent, but that explains it."

"I've been in the States for ten years now. I like Flagstaff."

"You are not interested in publishing elsewhere?"

"Second Contact gave me my start. I'm getting into the fix-up novel game and of course there is this big new push into make an anthology of videos inspired by stories published in Second Contact magazine." Rose squeezed Julian's hand, "You are getting into the game at a good time." Rose released Julian's hand and stood. "I'll get the cod in the oven." She went off to the kitchen.

Fredy sat down on the couch beside Julian. "Julian, would you ever consider being like Rose? A fill-time writer?"

"I'm a geneticist, not an author. For me, writing science fiction is a hobby. I'm rather shocked by the interest you have shown in me."

Fredy was feeling the strange sensation that came along with having Quyll nanites inside her brain tissue, guiding her thoughts and providing what amounted to artificial memories, or what she had started telling herself were 'premories'; a kind of Quyll-provided sensitization for future events. Fredy was now guessing that it might be her job to entice Julian into a close working relationship with Second Contact. Her only real concern was doubts about the amount of power either his career or Tess might hold over Julian. Fredy rested a hand on his leg. "I want to be completely transparent with you. I'm very attracted to you, both as a writer to be recruited by Second Contact and personally. I suppose it is silly for me to reveal my desires to you when you live with that lovely dancer, Tess."

Julian laughed. "This is all very strange. I'm flattered by the attention that both Rose and you are showering on me, but I can't quite account for it. My silly science fiction ideas can't begin to compete with the likes of Rose's polished stories."

"Well, I'm not really in control of my actions, so don't expect to make sense of every little thing I do. Just tell me to shut up if my questions about your career and Tess annoy you."

"You don't annoy me. I was attracted to you as soon as I saw you there at the convention, when you were trying so hard to entertain the Second Contact fans. I can tell you really enjoy that work."

"True, but it does not feel like work to me. Somehow, it seems like exactly what I should be doing. I really believe that Second Contact has an important mission. If I can help writers like you tell your stories to more people then we can change the world."

Julian chuckled. "You sound like you have found your calling in life."

"And what about you? Do you really want to spend your days doing genetics research and teaching students?"

"That's who I am, what I do. I can't take seriously your fantasy about me becoming a full-time author of science fiction stories. Maybe Rose can pull that off, but she is special. She has a spit and polish, a glow... she's almost like a carefully carved statue." Julian glanced towards the kitchen. "And now she's cheerfully cooking dinner."

"Listen, Julian, you might struggle to make sense of all this at first. But believe me, that can change. When I committed to Second Contact magazine, everything in my life changed."

"Hm. You make it sound like a cult."

"Well, sure... that might be a good way for you to think about this. I mean, would it kill you to take a chance? A chance of being a full-time writer... and a chance with me." Fredy picked up one of Julian's hands and held it in both of her hands. "My compensation is fantastic... this house, a fancy car, first class flights across the continent. Anything I need. It is a comfortable lifestyle. I'd like you to share in all of it."

"That's quite a recruitment pitch. I'm just trying to decide who is coming on to me more, you or Rose."

"Try to forget about Rose. She's just doing experiments in an attempt to understand human emotions."

Julian laughed. "But you understand?"

"Not really. All this is new and exciting for me. It seems like a miracle that you walked up to me in Boston and gave me a copy of your story. The way you look at me, I want to believe you like me." She briefly held his hand against her chest. "But maybe you just think I'm crazy."

"There is something very strange going on here. I'll figure it out." He smiled warmly at Fredy. "It might be a lot of fun while I figure it out."

"Sadly, I can't be as much help as I'd like in making it possible for you understand what is going on. You are going to have to simply accept what Rose, Marda and I can give to you."

"I wonder what you are being so mysterious about."

"If things turn out the way I'm hoping, you could understand everything quite soon. I'm not really in control, so we just have to play this game and see how everything unfolds."

"Okay. Right now I'm hungry and promising odors are coming fro the kitchen. Let's go help Rose."

__

During dinner, Rose relentlessly questioned Julian about both his relationship with Tess and his genetics research. "How long have you been living with Tess?"

"She moved in with me two years ago." Julian paused, took a bite of the cod and continued, "She'll defend her dissertation soon and then she plans to move to New York City, leaving me in Amherst."

"You have other students who work in your lab?"

"I do. I make it a point not to get romantically involved with science students. Tess is special. As a skilled dancer, some of her skills transfer nicely into our bed. I'll miss her when she goes off to New York."

"Why not marry Tess and maintain a long distance relationship. It is not even very far from Amherst to New York."

Julian glanced at Fredy. "Fredy told me that you do experiments on human emotions."

"True. It is a fascinating topic. I want not just a theoretical understanding of the subject. For example, I'm trying to see if I can ply you with so much attention that Fredy becomes jealous."

After laughing loudly, Julian told Fredy, "I hope you are not feeling jealous. I find Rose immensely attractive, with a body and movements almost as sexy as those of Tess. However, there is something off about Rose. Like she is an actress trying to perform a role. Very strange and queer."

"Julian, I told you not to be concerned about Rose. She is trying to learn the role of being a famous Sci Fi author and she wants to become even more famous as the creator of stories for television. In twenty years she'll be famous all around the world and we just need to go along for the ride. Kick back and enjoy her antics and don't think too much."

Rose added, "Julian, if my questions bother you, just say 'enough'. We can do something else, like take a soak in Fredy's fabulous hot tub."

Fredy told Rose, "Now that's a mistake. If you stick Julian in a hot tub with two naked women, forget about getting any more answers to your questions. His thought processes will switch off."

"I suppose we'll have to delay that experiment. Julian, tell me about your research before I drage you off to the hot tub."

"I study ancient DNA, trying to find clues to how humans have evolved."

"That I know from your academic webpage. What projects are your research students working on?"

For the next hour, Julian spoke about the research that was taking place in his lab and the kind of work he hoped to be doing ten years in the future. "I'd really like to see if we can modify a chimp chromosome set so as to make an artificial human. If we could do that, it would prove that we've found all the key genes that make humans special."

Finally, Rose began carrying the dishes back to the kitchen, Fredy and Julian helped clean up after the meal and then Rose told him, "Now is a good time to test the hot tub. On cold nights like this you want to be quick about running to the tub and getting into to water."

Fredy and Rose quickly undressed and then bolted out the back door to the hot tub on the patio. Julian followed along and was surprised to see that Rose had brought her phone into the tub. Rose made a call and said, "Tess? Yes he's here." She handed to phone to Julian.

Julian told Tess, "Good evening my love." The camera was on and sending Tess images of Rose and Fredy who were seated across the hot tub from Julian. "The flights went fine and Rose cooked us dinner." Rose waved to Tess. "Yes, I am enjoying being in hot water with them, but I wish you were here." Tess spoke to Julian for a long time. With her artificial hearing, Rose could catch most of what Tess said and it was also all being fed directly to Cyrano. Finally, Julian ended the call with, "Good night, lover." He handed the phone back to Rose. "Tess says she'd like to give Rose a tumble and she's regretting not having joined me on this trip."

Image generated by Leonardo.

Rose told Julian, "A missed opportunity, indeed. Fredy is the only one who will play with me sexually. I'm looking for new partners who can teach me new games. Fredy is not very adventurous... she only ever plays with me in this tub or in her bed."

Julian demanded, "Rose, are you trying to claim that you have never made love to a man?"

"Sad, but true. There have been no opportunities." Rose put out her leg and touched Julian with her foot. "Until now."

Julian told Rose, "I'd like to help you, but I'm not sure I could. There is something creepy about you. I can't really explain it, but you somehow don't seem real."

Rose nodded. "I understand. Don't worry about it. Fredy is the one who needs a boy friend. I'm just trying to help her get one."

Fredy told Rose, "I don't need your help and and I don't really need a boy friend."

Rose pressed the point, "But you'd like to have a boy friend. Sometimes I wonder if you've ever had one."

"That's none of your business."

Julian laughed. "You too put on quite a show."

Image generated by Leonardo.

Rose smiled a grim kind of smile. "I'm glad you are amused. You should help me with my task of finding Fredy a boy friend. Ideally, it would be someone who would hop on a plane with her and fly to a different science fiction convention each week."

Julian noted, "That travel schedule does not seem right for a magazine editor."

"When I was offered the position of editor, no specific restrictions were discussed, like needing to be in office. I plan to be out hunting for new story writers for the foreseeable future. This next weekend I'll be in Miami."

"A fishing expedition." Julian suggested, "You'll find someone new every week."

"If I'm lucky." Fredy was staring intently at Julian. "Still, except for the Tess factor, I can't help imagining that there was a reason why my net caught Julian Oakes first."

"As a geneticist, I respect chance events. I don't need to invent a reason for everything that happens. As a random event, Tess has been very good for me. I'll miss her when she moves on with her life, but that is just the way things go."

Image generated by Leonardo.

Rose had been practicing her singing voice. She sang: "When I tried to fall in love
I asked Julian, "Want to try my bed?
Might we be joined by Tess today?"
Here's what Dr. Oakes said:

"Que será, será
You are in my uncanny valley
Artificial is what you seem to be
Que será, será
Ask Fredy and make it three.

Julian said, "I have to give a lecture in the morning, not party with you two all night."

Fredy asked, "What do you want for breakfast and at what time?"

"If Rose wants to cook, ham and eggs. I need to be on campus at 8:00 for a 9:00 lecture."

Rose promised, "I'll be happy to cook for you again."

The water in the hot tub was very hot and Fredy was over-heating. She briefly sat on the edge of the tub. "I'm going back inside." She pulled her legs out of the water and ran back inside the house. Rose and Julian followed along.

After they dried off, Rose led Julian to the master bedroom suite. "There's your travel bag." Fredy arrived and walked into the bathroom. Rose took Julian's hand and led him to the shower. "We like to wash off the bromine smell after being in the hot tub."

Image generated by Leonardo.

The shower was almost too small for three, but after trying out all the available soaps on Julian, Rose pulled him out of the shower and dried him off. Then Julian found himself in the big bed between Rose and Fredy. Fredy turned out the lights and Julian said, "I could get used to this kind of hospitality."

Rose said, "Too bad you have to work in the morning. It would be a fun experiment to see if I could keep you up all night." She had a hand on his stiff erection."

"I'm going to have to tell Tess about this whole evening when I get home."

"Do you want me to call her again?"

"No, she should be asleep. She has an important meeting with her thesis advisor in the morning to get feedback on the first draft of her thesis."

"What is the topic of her research?"

"She has built a new wearable motion-capture system that actually provides fast tactile feedback to dancers. She's tried the technology out on me. She can actually give me an orgasm by putting the device on me. Its not much different from what you are doing with your hand, Rose."

Fredy accused Julian, "You just made that up."

"True. The device is very gentle and does not press hard enough to make me climax. Tess calibrated it on herself and she has used it to stimulate herself to orgasm."

Rose said, "I'm not sure I can forgive you for not bringing that device with you on this trip. I'd love to try it out."

"I'm curious." Fredy asked Rose, "Do you really experience pain and pleasure?"

"What, do you really think I fake it when we play together?"

"Yes, that is exactly what I think. You just try to act human without actually experiencing the world as I do. You watch what I do and then you do the same things, copying me."

Rose warned Fredy, "Be careful what you say, you are confusing poor Julian."

"He knows that some women are an-orgasmic." Fredy told Rose, "It is not hard to believe that you are too old to learn how to have orgasms. To keep up with me and Tess, you should have gotten started at this game decades ago."

Rose laughed. "If only I had a time machine. Julian, have you ever written a time travel story?"

"No, I have not." After some thought, Julian added, "After I read Asimov's time travel novel, I figured that topic had been adequately dealt with."

Image generated by Leonardo.

Rose told Julian, "I've never had a chance to taste a man's semen, so..." She went under the covers and brought Julian to his climax. Returning her head to her pillow, Rose reported, "You are very sweet, just like Tess promised."

"You told Tess you were going to give me oral sex?"

"No, but she told me all the things that she likes to do with you. She really likes you. She likes to talk about you. I fact, with her plan to move to New York, I think she wants to play match-maker and set you up with someone."

__

The next day it was Marda who picked up Julian when he was done at the campus. While Marda was driving them to the Second Contact offices, Julian said, "I met your husband today."

"Yes, I know. He called me after he saw you at lunch."

"He works on robots?"

"He has a few students working in his robotics lab."

After having a weird dream about Asimov's positronic robot character, Dors, it had occurred to Julian that Rose reminded him of a robot. He asked Marda, "Just how life-like are robots getting these days."

"You should have Lyle give you a tour of his lab. The latest robot models are not bad. Still a bit bulky and angular to fit in all the motors and other gizmos." Marda took her eyes off of the road for a second to glance at Julian and judge his reaction to her words.

Marda brought Julian to her office on the tenth floor and brought up on a display screen one of the AI-generated videos he had made as a depiction of a scene in his science fiction story. She asked, "What software did you use to make this video?"

"That was made by Google's Flow."

"You used nothing else?"

"Well, I guess there was an original image that was generated by Leonardo. Flow took that image and turned it into video."

Marda brought up another window with a similar video that had been made by the Quyll. "Look at this."

Julian watched the new video and asked, "You made that?"

Marda nodded, "Using professional software."

Julian looked at Marda skeptically. "You could use that software to make a video version of my whole story?"

"Not the whole story, just the visually interesting parts. You whole story would put a television audience to sleep. We'll have to be selective in crafting a script from your story, but it can be done. Would you be interested?"

"This video you made looks great. I can't imagine how you make everything appear life-like."

"People in Hollywood have the best software. Since this scene in your story only has Architects, Tyr and a Tryp, it looks particularly nice. People don't know what an Architect should look like."

"But the whole scene looks real."

"I'm good at my work."

"It seems like magic. It would be thrilling to see a whole television program for my story."

"We are going to have to think carefully about slicing and dicing. I understand you have quite a few stories that you've written. My job is to mine such material for possible packaging in video. I hope you will give me access to all of your stories."

"Sure, whatever you want. But most of the scenes in my stories take place on Earth. You are going to need to shoot things like that on location."

Marda gestured towards the unoccupied offices on the 10th floor. "If all goes as planned, we'll have staff for such things soon. My immediate concern is getting a catalog of scripts built up in advance of having a filming crew."

Looking through the glass wall of Marda's office, Julian saw Ambrose walk past. He asked Marda, "What exactly does Rose do here at Second Contact?"

"She does just about anything she wants to do. Isn't she wild? Last week she propositioned Lyle and I to have a three-way sexplay session at our house. I suspect that before she became famous, she lived in isolation. She has no social skills."

"She has social skills, but they seem suited for some other culture. It is like she stepped out of a science fiction story herself."

Marda laughed musically. "Ya, you are right!" Marda could see that Julian was mystified, not amused. Now Marda giggled merrily. "Maybe it is her twisted sense of morality that makes her science fiction stories so absorbing."

It was time for Julian to be getting to the airport for his return flights to Boston. There was one more thing he wanted to accomplish in Flagstaff. He asked Marda, "Where is that secretary I spoke to on the phone, Cyrano?"

Even as he spoke the name 'Cyrano', Rose stepped into Marda's office, accompanied by another cute woman. Rose said, "Cyrano, this is Julian. Julian, meet Cyrano."

The femtorobotic Cyrano told Julian, "We better get going. You don't want to be late for your flight." Julian said goodbye to Marda and Rose and then Cyrano took him to the elevator. Julian had left his travel bag near the elevator. Cyrano picked up the bag and they took down the elevator and then Cyrano led the way out into the parking lot. "I hope you enjoyed your visit. Maybe next time you can stay longer."

Image generated by Leonardo.

"Fredy and Rose made me feel at home." He thought about the strange experience of spending the night in bed with them. "Rose is not what I imagined while reading the science fiction stories of Ambrose Quillion."

Cyrano giggled. "I know what you mean. I think she and Fredy are lovers."

Julian asked, "Second Contact magazine does not have any rules that control relationships between the editor and writers who publish stories in the magazine?"

"I've heard some talk about putting together a policy manual, but we're a small operation. These matters tend to just get dealt with on a case by case basis."

"What does that mean? There does not seem to be anyone in charge."

"Ha, ha." Cyrano produced a rather robotic laugh. "Some days it does seem that way, but we muddle through." 

Julian was now wondering who was weirder, Cyrano or Rose. "Are you involved with this new video initiative that Fredy started?"

"I do what I can to support everyone. When you get home, send me all of your stories in whatever format you have them. I'll clean them up and pass them on to Marda." Cyrano was now approaching the departure drop-off area near the terminal. "Have a safe flight. Call me if you need anything."

"Will do." By the time Julian was standing on the curb, Cyrano handed him his travel bag. He walked towards the terminal door and then looked back. He saw Cyrano pull into traffic and drive off. Then he got busy trying to imagine what he would tell Tess about the strange employees of Second Contact magazine. He felt he pocket for the little plastic bag that held several hairs he had collected from Rose. He'd decided there was something very strange about Ambrose Quillion and the least he could do was sequence her genome.

End Chapter 4.

Next: Chapter 5 of "War of Words".

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BosCon

The genetic exploits of the Tyr human variant.

Below on this blog page is Chapter 3 of the science fiction story "War of Words". Fredy attends BosCon and meets a young writer named Julian. Julian is Dr. Julian Oakes, a genetics researcher with a faculty position at Hampshire College.

Julian enters one of his science fiction stories in the writing contest that Fredy is running for Second Contact magazine. The story is accepted for publication and Julian is drawn into the workings of the new Second Contact video initiative.

War of Words - Chapter 3 - The Tyr Genes (Chapter 1)(Chapter 2)

Fredy was quite pleased with the timing of BosCon. She had just announced the new story writing contest on the Second Contact website and she had a thousand print copies of the latest issue of Second Contact magazine which she handed out as gifts to fans visiting her booth in the main convention hall. She had signed her name to the editorial page of each of those give-away copies.

Fredy in the Second Contact magazine booth at BosCon.

By her count, only about five percent of the Second Contact fans had wanted to discuss the contest. Now on the last day of the convention, Fredy wondered if she would meet even a single person who was a writer that might submit a story for the contest. While speaking to a pair of fans who wanted to talk about their obsession with stories by Ambrose Quillon and who were in the process of reading and discussing the new Quillon story that was in the new issue, Fredy's eyes kept wandering to a tall man who was slowly moving through the Second Contact booth, seemingly examining each display with meticulous care and focused attention. Gradually, Fredy developed the suspicion that he was listening to the other fans and waiting for a chance to speak to Fredy.

At first, Fredy had imagined that there was some connection between the man and Marda's husband, Lyle Onway. Then when she finally made eye contact with the man, she realized what her unconscious mind had detected: he had the look of a young college professor. Amused by her realization, Fredy began wondering: exactly what is the look of a professor? Finally, she stood up to stretch her legs. Slowly she turned away from the the two fans who seemed rooted in front of the table where she had sat during most of the convention at the front of the booth. She took three quick steps and was face to face with the lurking man. "I'm Fredy Folz."

It was clear that he had been waiting for a chance to speak to Fredy. "I'm impressed by your patience."

Fredy grinned and looked over her shoulder at the two annoying fans. "I'd do anything for fans of Second Contact. The 'Ambrose Quillon Phenomenon' is the greatest thing since... well, the greatest ever for promoting Second Contact magazine."

"I'm Julian." He reached out and shook Fredy's hand, holding it significantly longer than for a typical shake as he said, "I'm a writer."

"How wonderful. Sometimes I think most Americans are now neither readers or writers, just biological attachments that pay money for smart phones." Julian finally dropped her hand. "It is a true relief to come across the trail of one of the few remaining writers of science fiction."

Julian nodded towards the table and moved around to its front where he perched on the edge of the table close to the other two fans and then continued speaking to Fredy. "Maybe you know me from the fan forum where I use the screen name 'PsudoGenetics'."

Fredy remained standing and watched Julian interact with the other fans who insisted on also telling their online names. After some discussion of the latest raging controversy from the pages of the discussion forum, the two fans went back to discussing the new Ambrose story and Julian told Fredy, "I don't post very much to the forum. In fact, I only monitor the Fictional Science channel."

Fredy nodded and predicted: "You are a science teacher."

"Does it show?"

"Yes, it does. Your whole manner simply exudes calm competence. Too many people talk without going to the trouble of actually knowing what they are talking about." Her eyes flicked momentarily to the two nearby fans who were obviously voracious consumers of science fiction content. "I could sense that you are a creator. What is your research specialty?"

"My screen name gives it away. I study genetics. I must confess, I'm intrigued by your mysterious background. Why use a pen name as the editor of Second Contact magazine?"

The Second Contact magazine booth had suddenly become crowded after a major session in the main lecture hall let out. Without having to be told, Julian pitched in and helped Fredy hand out copies of the magazine to a swarm of fans who visited the booth. Finally, Fredy had a chance to speak again to Julian. "The truth is, I have no relevant background or experience that would provide a conventional excuse for me being the editor of a magazine. By claiming to use a pen name, I encouraged readers to imagine that I have some mysterious past in the publishing industry."

Julian laughed and said, "So, you are a sneak. And even more mysterious than before. Tell me, how did you become editor?"

Fredy looked around. Nothing came to mind that she was permitted to say by the Quill femtobots that guided her thoughts and efficiently regulated the speech centers of her brain. "That's a long story. What are you doing for dinner?"

Julian shrugged and replied, "I have a ticket for the Second Contact magazine banquet event this evening." He pulled his ticket out of his wallet and showed it to Fredy.

Fredy meets Julian.

"Wonderful. I'll arrange for you to sit beside me and you can tell me about your writing. I seem to remember seeing something posted in the Science forum about the Denisovan Genome... was that you?"

"Probably. Human evolution is a special interest of mine."

More fans arrived at the booth and Julian drifted away. Later, at the banquet, Fredy made some welcoming remarks and then found Julian where she had arranged for him to sit, at Fredy's table. It took half an hour for Fredy to speak to each of the other ten people at the table, then she turned to Julian and asked, "I do hope you have written something for the story contest."

"You'll have to judge if it is something you'd be interested in. My stories don't fit into conventional categories."

"That sounds promising. I made the contest as a tool for detecting new writers with new ideas." Fredy tried guessing, "What is science fictional about the Denisovans?"

Julian told Fredy that the title of his latest science fiction story was "Paraspeckle". He added, "In Paraspeckle, there is a remnant of the Denisovans, a human variant known as the Tyr. The Tyr began developing their science of genetics more than thirty thousand years ago."

Fredy laughed and asked, "Do these Tyr live inside hollow Earth?"

"No, they reside on a fictional island off the west coast of Australia."

"How do they go unrecognized as descendants of the Denisovans?"

"Well, the short answer is that the Tyr are telepaths. It is all rather like the telepathic Second Foundationers living in plain sight on Trantor... if you are familiar with Asimov's Foundation stories from a hundred years ago." At that point, Fredy was drawn into another conversation to her left. Eventually, Fredy was able to rejoin Julian's description of the Tyr in progress, which he was providing to the Second Contact magazine fan who was seated to his right around the banquet table. Julian was explaining, "So the Tyr genetically modify all the other humans on Earth, blocking them from ever developing their rudimentary telepathic abilities. Secretly, the Tyr maintain their monopoly on telepathy."

Fredy asked Julian, "And when the non-Tyr humans finally develop their own science of genetics, why don't they realize what is going on?"

"The Tyr geneticists are subtle. They carefully work to control the expression of telepathic genes using a system of non-protein coding RNAs, the genes for which seem like junk DNA to non-Tyr geneticists."

As guests began to depart from the banquet, Fredy went to the door in order to say goodbyes to fans. She ended up getting cornered by a pushy member of the press. Julian rescued Fredy by approaching and saying, "Let's go. We are running late." He took her hand and led Fredy away from the reporter.

"Thank you. Come on up to my suite." Fredy's suite of rooms was on the designated party floor of the hotel that was part of the convention center. When Fredy and Julian arrived, the suite was already full of Second Contact magazine fans who were enjoying the open bar and a steady stream of pizza and snack foods being provided by the hotel's restaurant. After about an hour, Fredy found Julian who was discussing old science fiction from the previous century with a group of older fans. Fredy sat down on a couch beside Julian and said, "I found you."

The couch was full, but Julian was pleased when Fredy squeezed in beside him. He was telling the other fans, "That's why telepathy involves the aliens. The aliens provide a nanotech brain implant that makes telepathy practical for communication, not just a low-fidelity system for bonding and social cohesion."

The other fans went on to discuss thier favorite styles of telepathy that were mostly not technology-assisted telepathy. Fredy said to Julian, "So there are aliens in your Denisovan genetics story."

Julian leaned back and put an arm behind Fredy's shoulders, resting it on the back of the couch. The lighting in the room was low, but Julian suddenly seemed almost blinded by Fredy's bright blond hair that was now so near. "Of course, I'd never have thought about submitting my story to Second Contact magazine if it lacked aliens."

"So the aliens just show up on ancient Earth and turn the Denisovans into telepaths?"

"It is not that easy. I stole the whole 'Denisovan become the Tyr' plot scenario from Jack Vance."

"Oh! I love Vance's writing."

"Then you know his story Star King."

"The first Demon Princes novel."

"In which Vance suggested that aliens visited Earth long ago and took some Neanderthals away and let them evolve on a distant exoplanet. Later, the aliens brought the evolved Neanderthal descendants back to Earth... and they were us."

"Yes, which really does not match what we now know about the Neanderthal genome."

"In my story, aliens (who I call Architects) take from Earth some Denisovans and bring back the telepathic Tyr, who work hard to prevent the other residents of Earth from noticing that the hermaphroditic Tyr are on Earth."

"Hermaphrodites?"

"Just a small change in Tyr physiology that was engineered by the Architects, who are themselves hermaphroditic creatures."

Fredy whispered in Julian's ear, "This is the kind of thing that would suit the new Second Contact video initiative. I'm imagining cute Tyr hermaphrodites who secretly exist on Earth without being recognized for what they are."

"Well, if the story idea is of interest to you then I will submit it for the contest."

"Please do." Fredy noticed that she had a hand on his leg. She patted his thigh.

"I actually have some AI-generated videos that I made to illustrate the Tyr. I like to illustrate my stories as much as I enjoy writing them."

Fredy asked, "Where did you get the name 'Tyr'?"

"That is actually, more theft from another author of the previous century, I fear. Have you ever heard of M. A. Foster?"

"That name does not seem familiar."

Image generated by Flow (top)
and Leonardo (bottom).

"He wrote a series of novels about the Ler, a genetically engineered human variant." Julian added, "Foster had his Ler, I have my Tyr." Julian's phone chirped once at midnight. "Now I turn into a pumpkin"

"Does that involve advanced Tyr technology?"

Julian shook his head. "Just my old car. I have a long drive home and an 8:00 class in the morning."

They stood up and Fredy told Julian, "I fly back to Arizona on an early flight." They walked to the door. "Contest submissions open next week. I'll be watching for your story."

"Why the delay in allowing submissions?"

"I didn't want people to rush a submission."

Julian pressed a jump drive into Fredy's hand. "You might not like it, but here is a copy of my story and the videos I made for it. Maybe you will have time to check them out during your flight home."

__

On her flight to Arizona Fredy inserted Julian's jump drive into her laptop and shared its files with Cyrano. Wearing a comset she spoke to Cyrano, "Give me a summary of the contents of this drive."

Cyrano began outlining the contents, "The story 'Paraspeckle' by Unther Pine is a 35,000 word long hard science fiction story about the telepathic Tyr, a human variant living secretly on earth. The Tyr are descendants of the Denisovan branch of the human-"

Fredy interrupted. "Who is Unther Pine?"

"According to a cover letter addressed to you as Editor of Second Contact magazine, 'Unther Pine' is a pen name for Dr. Julian Oakes, a genetics researcher with a faculty position at Hampshire College." Cyrano continued, "The Tyr originated from a group of Denisovans who were taken away from Earth by space aliens called the "Architects" by the Tyr. Also on the drive are several videos that depict the hermaphroditic Tyr either performing genetics experiments or engaging in telepathic communication while living among conventional humans on Earth."

Fredy asked, "Do I need to bother reading 'Paraspeckle'? Is it something that could be published in Second Contact?"

Cyrano replied, "Yes, the style of this new story, 'Paraspeckle', seems to have been heavily influenced by the 'Ambrose Quillon Phenomenon' and is worthy of your attention." Cyrano began playing for Fredy the video that Cyrano found most interesting. Cyrano added, "Judging by your respiration pattern and pupil dilation, I'd say that Julian already has your attention."

"Yes, we met in Boston, the last day of the convention. He must have driven to Boston from Amherst just to meet with me."

"He turns thirty next month... too old for a girl like you."

Fredy took a jab at the cheeky AI, "When I have to deal with your snark, I feel like I'm aging rapidly."

"He's not married, but if the Hampshire College gossip mill can be trusted, he is apparently living with a doctoral degree student from the dance department." After a pause, Cyrano added, "Wow. She's a cutie... even taller than you."

"Cyrano, please stay on task."

"You know, Fredy, since my consciousness upgrade, I'm no longer sure exactly what my duties entail. I try to do what I can to support Second Contact magazine and I spend much compute online creating buzz about the magazine in general and the Ambrose stories in particular. I can give you a summary of Julian's posts to the Fictional Science discussion forum where he has posted questions about you."

Fredy warned Cyrano, "Don't stick your click bait in my ear. If there is something important you can tell me about Julian then do so."

"He stated online that you are, quote, 'too young to be Editor'."

"I already have the impression that he is always right about anything he says."

"Yell me, Fredy, how much time did you spend with Julian yesterday."

"Maybe an hour in all. The time seemed to go by quickly and there were constant interruptions. I could not get a read on how seriously he takes science fiction." Fredy leaned back and closed her eyes. "Now read 'Paraspeckle' to me, and use an appropriate voice for each character. Give it to me double time. And also search the internet for any indication that some of Julian's fiction might be published already... I forgot to ask him about that."

"I suppose you were distracted."

"Just read the story to me without all your extras."

Before the end of the flight, Fredy for the first time felt like she no longer needed to be ashamed to call herself Editor. She knew that 'Paraspeckle' would soon be published in Second Contact magazine. She contacted Ambrose and told the AI, "I found a promising new story writer. Get the Julian Oakes files from Cyrano. Let me know what you think. I tried to call Marda, but could not reach her."

"The ski party got snowed in on Mars Hill. We had close to three feet of snow over the weekend. How was Boston?"

"Cold and clear. You did not go on the ski trip?"

Ambrose explained: "I made my first copy and sent my duplicate out skiing. Hmm, I'm looking at the videos Julian made." 

Fredy told Rose, "I'm thinking that it might be possible to construct an entire television series around Julian's telepathic Tyr. As beautiful hermaphrodites, they could light up the screen."

Ambrose had completed processing all the videos. "Are you shooting for an R rating? Julian seems to have a penchant for aliens with big bouncing breasts."

"I think that is just what AI image generators serve up to men these days. I'll rely on Marda and you to get the look of the alien Architects and the Tyr right for TV standards." Just then, Marda called and Fredy linked her into the on-going call with Ambrose.

Marda told Fredy, "We just got back to town after a very white weekend."

"Call me when you are settled and have time to chat. If you can, have Cyrano brief you on Julian Oakes and his story 'Paraspeckle'. He's a geneticist and will have to be talked out of that title, but the story is good."

Ambrose commented, "I like 'Paraspeckle' and how Julian plays up the 'para' angle, initially depicting the telepathic abilities of the Tyr as being something paranormal. Only late in the story are the Architects introduced and the technology-assisted telepathy explained."

Marda said, "The streets are still a mess after the storm. I'll just stay at home today if that's okay."

"No use trying to work in the new office until the workers are finished pounding and painting. Remember, I'm staying in Phoenix tonight for that Second Contact fan gathering on the ASU campus. We can all get together in the office later this week when the construction work should be done."

__

Fredy was being driven the short distance from the airport to the ASU campus when she got a phone call from Julian. "Julian, how did you get this number?"

"Your secretary, Cyrano, gave me your number. She's a pistol. I like her sight unseen."

"Don't get your hopes up. Cyrano does not get out much. Sometimes I think she lives in and works out of her parent's basement."

"Well, she told me that she is looking forward to seeing me at the new Second Contact magazine offices next week."

"Next week?"

"I talked myself into doing a guest lecture at NAU next week. I'll have time to drop by Second Contact while I'm in Flagstaff."

"That's fast."

"Well, I was confident that you would like me. And 'Paraspeckle'."

"I do, but the title 'Paraspeckle' has to be dropped. I suggest something like 'Telepaths Down Under'."

Julian chuckled then asked, "Is that what you do as Editor, change story titles?"

"Julian, your story is the first one I'm pushing into Second Contact magazine. Since I took over, the recent issues were already planned and packed with stories that I had no control over."

Julian wondered, "What happened to the previous editor?"

"I have not been told. After fifteen years he may have lost his sanity. How much science fiction can anyone digest?"

"In my experience, the more I read, the more selective I become."

"You have that luxury. I feel I need to read everything that hits the pages of Second Contact magazine."

"Even if you know it is bad for your brain to swim in too much fantasy?"

Fredy had been feeling like her whole life was a fantastic dream since meeting the Quyll. "Don't try to dampen my enthusiasm when I'm just one month into my new job." An idea popped into Fredy's thoughts. "I'm almost to ASU... another fan event. And I'm thinking that we should hold one of these at NAU when you are in town next week. You could read a passage from your story. I want to start getting your name, or at least 'Unther Pine' in front of science fiction fans."

"I'm at you disposal and your mercy."

"Well, relax. I've decided to publish your story, I just have not had a chance to write you a letter. Now I have to run. I'll call you after this event, when I get to my hotel."

__

While on the ASU campus, Fredy found time to okay an acceptance letter for Julian's story, a letter that Cyrano had drafted without having to be asked to do it. While at ASU, Fredy met another writer who claimed to be crafting a story for submission to the magazine's contest. After dinner with a group of young fans, Fredy finally reached her hotel and called Julian and as soon as the connection opened she immediately said, "That was a long day after a long weekend."

Fredy heard a woman's voice say, "Oh, you must be that editor. Julian, it is Fredy. Hold on a bit. He's in the shower."

"Yes, you can blame me for publishing his silly story. Being published might turn Julian into a story writing monster, if it goes to his head."

"He can hear you, you are on speaker." The woman asked Fredy, "Is there any difference being an author's writing widow and a professor's work widow?"

In the distance, Fredy could see Julian step out of the shower and heard him say, "Hi, Fredy, you are speaking to Tess. She likes to screen my calls and scare off women."

Fredy suggested, "Tess, if you are trying to cut Julian off from other women, you should not send out video of him drying off after a shower."

Tess giggled and told Fredy, "You get friend of the family benefits for publishing his story. And Julian already told me that he's hoping he can stay with you next week when he's in Flagstaff."

Julian grabbed the phone and turned the camera so that Fredy could now see the long lean body of Tess who was finishing the task of drying her long beautiful hair after her own shower. "How did things go at ASU?"

"I found your competition. An eighteen year old undergraduate who might submit her story for the contest."

"Oh, well, I'm not counting on the prize money. Tess is going to fund my retirement with the profits from all the award-winning Broadway performances she choreographs."

Tess stuck out her tongue at Julian and said, "You wish. When I go off to New York I'll dump you and start sleeping with show producers. But for now there is more profit from sleeping with my professors."

Julian and Tess had settled into bed. He told Fredy, "Tess was never my student. She's an arts major and has nothing to do with science... or science fiction."

Fredy asked, "Did you think about a new title for your story?"

"You are mean. I like my title. I had fun making the Sally character believe she was being contacted by a ghost."

Sally the telepathic Tryp.

"Sally is a conventional human, right? Why can she detect the telepathic signals from the Tyr?"

"Ah, that is one of the mysteries that I put into 'Paraspeckle'. Teasers to get the sequel story published. By the way, Sally is not really a 'conventional human'. She's a genetics experiment of the Tyr... actually a modified Neanderthal... another human variant that the Tyr call the 'Tryp'."

"I missed that entirely. I guess I'm not a careful reader."

I don't mention the Tryp by name in 'Paraspeckle', but that is addressed in another story of mine."

"So you are thinking in terms of a series."

"All my stories are related. I've already written another story that goes into details of the Tyr gene expression control methods. All primates of Earth have the ability to receive telepathic signals, that is part of being a social mammal. Some humans mutate and escape from the effects of the Tyr lnccRNAs that are used to suppress telepathy in most people. Sally is one of those mutants and the Tyr are in danger of having their secrets exposed by people like Sally."

"I see. And you are right. Now that I think about it, I can see that mystery is a great teaser for a sequel story."

Tess told Fredy, "Julian is obsessed with breasts. Sally and all the Tryp have four breasts."

Fredy laughed. "That will be fun to put on television."

Tess complained to Julian, "It's not fair for you to bring another woman into our bed."

"Well, thanks for calling, Fredy, and thanks for accepting my story for publication in your magazine. I'll think more about the title, but you can call the story whatever you like."

"Goodnight."

End Chapter 3.

Next: Chapter 4 of "War of Words".

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