Abstraction of Asimov

Original cover art by Bob Eggleton

For the Exode saga, I turn the 20th century author Isaac Asimov into a character in the story. Another character in A Search Beyond is the replicoid of Asimov. That replicoid is not an exact copy of the original Asimov, but upon visual inspection he is physically identical to Asimov as a young man. At first, when the Asimov replicoid appears on Tar'tron, he is just a boy. After traveling to several additional planets, he makes his way back to Earth where he arrives at the peak of youthful vigor.

Telastids are sub-cellular organelles.

On Tar'tron, Asimov's replicoid interacts with the "natives". Tar'tron has been functioning as a genetics laboratory for the bumpha. The natives were artificially selected for an ability to use Telastid-mediated telepathy. Then, without warning, Huaoshy altered the dimensional structure of the universe, making impossibly any further time travel or telastid-based telepathy.

When the Asimov replicoid arrives on Tar'tron, the natives are trying to adjust to their loss of telepathic ability and they are struggling to form a new type of society. The only other human on Tar'tron is a young woman named Yōd.

1966 in Galaxy magazine

The Abstraction of a Man
The Asimov replicoid was carefully crafted by Many Sails for a specific purpose, but why make a copy of Asimov? Asimov's importance began all the way back in Deep Time, in the First Reality, before time travel technology was first developed. The analogue of Asimov in the First Reality was a member of what became known as the Escapist Clan.

When R. Gohrlay eventually developed a system for enforcing a Momentum of Time upon new Realities, that process of temporal inertia ensured that Asimov became a fixed point in time; every subsequent Reality had an Asimov analogue.

Rol, Jaqy, Meppen and Gohrlay (source)

Based on the experiences of Gohrlay in the First Reality, R. Gohrlay was able to deduce that science fiction story writers of the First Reality had been used to provide humans at Observer Base with useful hints about the Hidden History of Humanity.

Much later, when R. Gohrlay was negotiating the terms of the Trysta-Grean Pact, it became obvious that the Asimov analogue in the Asimov Reality could be used as a tool for establishing the science fiction genre as a type of information conduit that would make possible a stable Final Reality in which humans could spread to the stars.

From The End of Eternity

Original cover art by Edmund Emshwiller

R. Gohrlay established the Writers Block in the Hierion Domain. The Writers Block was similar to a section of Eternity. After "the older Asimov" (a time traveler from the Foundation Reality) successfully established the "younger Asimov" from the Asimov Reality as a successful science fiction story writer, that older Asimov was "abstracted" from time and placed in charge of the Writer's Block. With time, that Asimov analogue was able to guide the Writers Block residents in their organized effort to prepare Earth for the arrival of the Fru'wu in the Ekcolir Reality.

Search Beyond
For A Search Beyond, I originally imagined that the Asimov replicoid did not have Asimov's obsession for writing. However, he did prepare a report on "the Creators" in collaboration with Yōd after their visit to Andromeda and then after Yōd was teleported to Earth, Asimov wrote "Asimov's Guide to Tar'tron" for the people of Earth.

Original cover art by Lawrence Stevens

1948
In the Ekcolir Reality: Trysta first contacts Asimov and assistant editor Reynette Cummings. Trysta offers to buy Astounding magazine.

First Death
Asimov is guided by Thomas towards working with Space Energy Missions. An oil company-backed secret organization tries to buy them out and suppress "clean energy": the Fru'wu want to increase the carbon dioxide level of Earth's atmosphere. Asimov is given "a warning" and a heart attack, but returned to Earth.

Second Death

2017 SIHA: die again

In 1992, Asimov is finally extracted from Earth after he again collaborates with Thomas. A "copy" of Asimov then "awakens" and finds himself on Tar'tron, as told in A Search Beyond.

NEXT: the 2017 SIHA awards.

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