Teleportation Relics

Teleportation

In the science fiction story Exode, Nereid Interventionists operate a teleportation system on Earth. Working in collaboration with R. Gohrlay, the Nereids are all that stand in the way of the Huaoshy and their relentless plan to phase out we humans and replace us with the hermaphroditic Prelands.

R. Gohrlay's power to resist the alien Huaoshy arises from "her" control of time travel technology. R. Gohrlay develops the technological means to view alternative Realities. I'd originally imagined that R. Gohrlay is defeated by Huaoshy advanced technology: particularly by the ability of the Huaoshy to view "Reality Chains". However, it might be the case that R. Gohrlay also had the ability to view Reality Chains and simply did not share that capability with foot soldiers like Trysta.

The Dead Hand of R. Rycleu

Grean the Kac'hin

After the Huaoshy developed their own time travel technology, they used the Kac'hin as their tools to defeat R. Gohrlay. Grean was able to "defeat" the positronic robots of Earth, but doing so does not feel like victory. Strangely, even after all traces of the positronic robots are erased from Earth, 20th century Earth remains nearly unchanged. The Kac'hin are puzzled: somehow, the "dead hand" of Gohrlay retains its grip on the fate of Earth.

R. Rycleu

Part of the puzzle is traced to R. Recleu, one last positronic robot that was protected from Grean's Reality Change and who remains hidden on Earth. Unfortunately for Recleu, Grean can deduce the fact of Recleu's existence and utilize advanced Huaoshy technology to track down the robot. However, when Grean moves in and tries to capture R. Rycleu, the robot is teleported away to safety, leaving behind only the arm that Grean had grasped.

The severed hand of R. Rycleu is useful for Grean because it retains some cells of Trysta, revealing the presence of an Asterothrope on Earth. Only much later do the Kac'hin realize that there is a Nereid agent on Earth who is responsible for teleporting R. Rycleu to safety.

Disembodied Nanites

Betty

I previously developed the idea that an Interventionist agent (Rechmain) was on Earth about 500 years ago at a time when there was some "cultural contamination" and transfer of knowledge to Earthlings about advanced Interventionist technology. I'm always looking for additional ways to link cultural change on Earth to cultural contamination from Interventionists. What if the amputation of R. Rycleu's arm was not the first "teleportation accident" on Earth?

I'm now imagining that the Fru'wu can send rather primitive robots to Earth where they are "hijacked" by advanced Nereid nanites. For example, Betty originates as a Fru'wu robot, but functions as the mysterious Nereid agent on Earth, doing so with such skill and stealth that the Kac'hin are unable to figure out what is going on.

However, what would happen if the Fru'wu teleported one of their robotic agents off of Earth for return to the Fru'wu base at Klyz? I'm thinking that the Nereids would have a fail-safe system for preventing their advanced nanites from leaving Earth and falling into Fru'wu hands.

What would be the fate of "disembodied Nereid nanites"? I'm thinking that the Nereids might sometimes have the need to allow their advanced nanites to exist within Earthlings. This presents some danger because of the possibility that Overseers might detect the nanites.

Originally, I was thinking that the Nereids might not be masters of sedronic technology, but more recently I've been open to the possibility that the Nereids have "transcended" the limitations of their original physical bodies and adopted an existence within the sedronic domain of non-conventional matter. If the Nereid's use nanites that are also sedronic, then the risk of detection by Overseers might be minimal.

One of the functions of nanites when inside a biological host is the repair of tissue damage. Nereid "medical nanites" might protect the health of their human hosts and perform certain seemingly miraculous functions. Further, if a human host died or was teleported away from Earth by the Fru'wu, then what would happen to the remaining nanites after the host body was gone?

Henry III

Jane Grey

In his Demon Prices novels, Jack Vance included the "Kalzibans" who were depicted as undertaking pilgrimages to Edmonton in order to honor the Sacred Shin. I've long wondered what Vance imagined to be the basis for this futuristic religious devotion to the Sacred Shin.

Previously, I've included Henry VIII and Jane Grey in the Exode story (see also). With the impending arrival of the Buld spaceship at Earth only 500 years in the future, the Interventionists were rather desperately seeking ways to move Earthlings towards science and away from religious mysticism.

I'm now thinking that it might be worth including Henry III in Exode as a convenient way to illustrate what the Interventionists were up against. His "Relic of the Holy Blood" provides and interesting example of how rulers in the Middle Ages tried to consolidate power by linking their kingdoms to "holy relics".

In the past, there were plenty of malnourished people who were susceptible to diseases, some with rather dramatic and gruesome symptoms (example). Henry III was one of the kings who played the game of touching subjects in the hope of curing them of such afflictions (see).

Several cultures developed the idea that curative miracles might be associated with "death relics". What if there were a scientific basis for such beliefs? I want to include in the Exode Trilogy the idea that Nereid medical nanites were occasionally detached from Nereid agents on Earth. Those nanites could be carried around in the form of a "death relic" and used to cure other people of their ills.

Lendhalen

Katherine's mother

I originally intended to have Parthney study the history of Interventionist missions to Earth while he was in training as an Interventionist agent at Lendhalen. I imagined Parthney living in the same house that was once the home of Earth people like Jane Grey. However, Lendhalen was established about 500 years ago, so I'm not certain how to depict the Interventionist records from the time of Henry III.

I'm exploring the idea that King Henry's daughter Katherine was unable to efficiently integrate nanites into her developing brain, resulting in health problems. Since there was no support system in England to care for such a child, she was removed from Earth, resulting in a "disembodied" swarm of nanites.

Katherine

I'm imagining that Katherine had the same kind of developmental problems as did Hana's first child, Hilde. Once removed from Earth and teleported to Klyz, Katherine regained her health and lived a fairly normal life at the main Interventionist base in the Koly star system.

For Parthney, Syon might be the main source of information about Katherine and the time period before the founding of Lendhalen. Parthney learns from Syon that Katherine helped train the Interventionist who killed Llywelyn.

Wales has a special role in the Exode Trilogy. Knowing the history of previous Realities where there was an important role played by England in Earth's industrial revolution, Syon might encourage actions that promote the formation of a British Empire by the Interventionist agents who she helps to train. Katherine is teleported off Earth in 1256 at the age of 3. She helps train an Interventionist agent who goes to Earth in 1275 and plays a role in bringing Wales under English control.

Related Reading: In my next blog post, I further develop and define Katherine as a character in the Exode Trilogy.