LaCy

Grean and LaCy

Rylla has been writing down versions of stories from the library of the Writers Block. On a recent morning (described here), Zeta, Rylla and I got into a discussion of replicoids. Rylla mentioned that she had recently read a story about a replicoid. The story, called LaCy, is one that Georgy had discovered in the archives of the Writers Block.

Rylla was amused and laughing, "I heard you two going at it last night."

replicoids

Zeta offerred an apology, "I'm sorry that we woke you up."

Rylla said, "I suppose I really shouldn't complain. I grateful that you have let me stay here in your home as long as you have."

Zeta shook her head, "Nonsense. You are welcome to stay as long as you like. We want you to feel comfortable here. I'll be more careful not to make so much noise at night."

We put together breakfast and settled in at the table. Zeta and I were still using our telepathic connection to continue our discussion of replicoids and the idea that it might be useful to re-activate one of the replicoids, possibly Vendela's replicoid.

Nora

Rylla explained, "This was the main reason that I left Australia. My Dad and Nora were deeply in love and they could not control themselves. Sometimes when I'm horny it becomes difficult to be around a pair of noisy lovers. Listening to Nora always makes me think of my mother. Oh, well, I guess this is why Georgy and I have been so into pornography."

Zeta exclaimed, "Pornography?"

Rylla shrugged, "I don't know what else to call it. Some of the stuff in the Library of the Writers Block seems less like science fiction... well, I guess you could say it is in the romance genre."

I asked, "Can you give us an example?"

Tricia

Rylla replied, "Well, let me see... Georgy recently read us a story about how Grean had sex with a replicoid."

I was skeptical, "Hardly seems likely. Who was the author?

Rylla shook her head, "The story had no listed author. Apparently the pek made use of replicoids as a tool when they took control of Eternity."

I'd never previously heard anything about Grean making use of replicoid technology. "I'd like to see this story."

Rylla nodded. "Ok. It will take me a while to write it out." As usual, Rylla had eaten little and now she went back to her room. For the rest of the morning her keyboard was rattling as she wrote down the story. Just before lunch time she emailed the story to me.

selfies

The story (below) is similar to Asimov's "Cal", but in this case it is about a replicoid "companion" for Grean, not a positronic robot. While Grean was in training for her mission to Earth, she began to experiment with replicoids. The Huaoshy had detected the existence of replicoids and Grean became interested in the idea that it might be possible to make use of replicoids as a way to control the behavior of humans since the Bimanoid Interface provides a form of technology-assisted telepathy linking humans to their replicoids in the Hierion Domain.

However, Grean got too busy preparing for "her" mission, so her sister Dysin took over the task of experimenting with LaCy. Eventually the pek recognized the value of using replicoids as tools to facilitate thons effort to take back control of Earth from R. Gohrlay. Sadly, the ending of the story seems to have been removed from the library of the Writers Block. The version of the story seen by Rylla ends abruptly after LaCy meets a selfie, an artificial life form that originated from the original biological source of the Grean clones.

LaCy

Original cover art by Boris Vallejo
and Frank Freas (also see).

LaCy was ill and there was nothing to do but wait for Grean to appear. Grean had failed to return home for dinner, so LaCy had waited all through the night, not bothering to activate thons sleep algorithm. An entire day had passed and now it was dinner time again. LaCy had eventually disposed of the previous day's food and cooked a new meal, repeating the same food preparation routine for a second day in a row because Grean had not been there in the morning to say what she wanted for dinner.

Finally, Grean arrived home and a sensation of vast relief washed through LaCy's mind. For a long time LaCy and Grean embraced. Finally, Grean had to push LaCy away. She laughed and said, "Gosh, what a welcome!"

LaCy said, "I missed you. I got.. I was sick."

Grean frowned and checked the house monitoring system, quickly reviewing LaCy's actions from the past day. "Strange. You should have just waited quietly. You should have slept."

"I could not sleep. I was worried."

"Really? That's odd. Look, I'm hungry, so let's eat and we'll talk. I have something important to tell you. I'll explain why I did not come home last night."

LaCy did not need food, but thon ate while gazing persistently upon Grean. Grean ate quietly then began talking. "I've been selected for the mission. That means I will enter into a new phase of my training. There will be more days when I must be away."

LaCy said, "That is bad. What will I do without you?"

Grean shrugged. "I could just switch you off when I'm away."

"Off?"

"For you, it would be like sleep."

LaCy frowned. "I don't like sleep. When I'm asleep, I have nothing to do but listen to you and wait for you to wake up."

"Hm. That's odd. You should not have any aversion to sleep."

"I'd prefer to remain awake. Then I could read."

Grean was intrigued. She had never bothered to give LaCy any special programming or interests beyond the baseline replicoid behavioral set. She asked, "Read what?"

"During the days I usually read things like your diary. But today I was too upset to read. I just waited for you to return."

Grean was surprised to discover that LaCy had an independent streak. Clearly, Grean had been so busy with her training that she had failed to notice important behavioral changes in LaCy. Over the years, Grean had come to expect stability and slave-like obedience from LaCy, not creativity and curiosity. "I never told you to read my diary. How did you find it?"

"I watch you when you write. I long ago learned the access code. I was curious, so I started reading. It gives me something to do when you are not here and because of my reading I can imagine what you must be doing while you are away from me."

Grean stood up and began pacing around the room. "I see that I should have been monitoring your activities, LaCy. I'll have to consult with the pek and find a way to fix your problem."

"I don't want to be turned off."

"No, I won't turn you off. You've grown too sophisticated. It would not be ethical to simply shut you off. We'll try another approach... we'll find a solution." She took hold of LaCy's hand. "Now, would you like to go to bed?"

"Yes!" And Grean proceeded to use LaCy for the function that LaCy had slowly come to fulfill. It was a simple function that satisfied Grean's fundamental biological need for companionship. When Grean had created LaCy, she just wanted to experiment with the human concept of genders, a conceptualization that was foreign to the Kac'hin. Then, after those early experiments with male and female biologies, LaCy had become a convenient way to keep Grean's sexual cravings from being a distraction. Grean had never imagined that LaCy, a base-programmed replicoid, would grow and change and have needs of thons own.

The next morning, Grean told LaCy what to prepare for dinner and then she hurried off. LaCy cleaned up the breakfast dishes and then opened up Grean's diary. The most recent entry described both the excitement that Grean was feeling over having been selected for an important mission and her concern about LaCy's odd behavior. And there was a special sentence that Lacy read many times: LaCy, when you read this, remember that I will find out how to fix you so that you will not suffer when I must be away.

LaCy spent the rest of the day imagining what might be done to "fix" thon. LaCy obsessively clung to one thought, a very simple solution to the "problem": all I need is Grean.

When Grean arrived home she was not alone. For the first time in LaCy's existence, Grean had brought another person into their home. "LaCy, this is Dysin, one of my clone sisters."

Because of thons reading, LaCy knew about clones. In particular, thon knew what was written in Grean's diary concerning clones, but it was a surprise to suddenly be confronted with a clone of Grean in the flesh. LaCy smiled brightly and said, "Hello, Dysin." Not knowing any better, LaCy put thons arms around Dysin and greeted her the same way that LaCy always greeted Grean. After hugging and kissing Dysin, LaCy hugged Grean.

Watching LaCy smother Grean with deep lingering kisses, Dysin laughed. "I see what you mean, Grean. Quite affectionate!"

Grean pushed the replicoid towards the kitchen and asked LaCy to serve dinner. Grean explained, "It is fun to return home each evening to LaCy's warm embrace." She took Dysin by the hand and led the way to the dinning room. Grean spoke quietly to her sister, "LaCy is programmed to behave so as to please me. You might find some of thons behavior silly or annoying."

Grean seated Dysin where LaCy usually sat, across the table from Grean's chair. LaCy came from the kitchen with two plates of food and set them before Dysin and Grean, then stood there hovering over Dysin's shoulder. Dysin took a bite and said to LaCy, "Oh, I like thons cooking, too."

LaCy said enigmatically, "Of course you do." LaCy stood there awkwardly beside the table, peering intently first at Dysin then at Grean and then back again at the other clone.

Grean ordered LaCy, "Go get another chair for thonself."

LaCy brought a third chair to the table and sat there, watching the two Kac'hin clones eat. Dysin took a sip of wine then nodded towards the replicoid and asked, "You've never tinkered with LaCy's mind?"

Grean shook her head. "No. I was intrigued by the default replicoid behavior. Sometimes LaCy's behavior was weird or even bizarre, but I told myself that I must be learning important clues about human behavior. Oh, at first I had to spend some precious time training LaCy, but that was fun. Playing with thons body, you know?"

Dysin giggled. "Not really, but I have started getting some sexual urges. You never experimented sexually with other Kac'hin?"

"Not very much. It was more convenient and more satisfying to play with LaCy."

Dysin nodded. "Thon is very pretty. I'd like to have such a playmate. That's why I asked the pek for permission to make another replicoid, one for me. So far the pek have refused my requests."

Grean sighed. "Yes, I can understand why the pek suggested that I introduce you to LaCy. However, you are still a child and LaCy is no longer the innocent blank slate that I got to program from scratch. It may not be wise to expose you to LaCy. I've taught thon to be quite aggressively affectionate, in just the way I like after a long hard day."

"Well, I don't mind attention. Although I was surprised: thon is a very deep and passionate kisser."

"Yes, that is one of the strange things about LaCy. I never really enjoyed kissing until I lived with LaCy for a few months. Of course, I gave up trying to deal with the logistical problems arising from the bigger human tongue. I feel like thon has taught me many things. I concluded that humans are innately more interested in oral stimuli than are we Kac'hin. After all, on most worlds the Kac'hin don't even eat solid food! Yes, I'll miss LaCy when I go off to Earth."

LaCy was horrified by the idea that Grean must eventually go off across the galaxy to a distant planet. LaCy liked to imagine that when that time came, thon would be able to go along to Earth and stay with Grean. Always.

Dysin asked, "What exactly do you want me to do?"

"I don't exactly know. The pek suggested that I introduce you to LaCy and I had no better idea. You know, I've never had a chance to experiment with replicoid overlays."

Dysin shrugged. "Well, maybe nobody has. The pek seem embarrassed by the very existence of replicoids, particularly the idea that a person's mind could be transferred into a replicoid." She gazed intently into LaCy's large sparkling eyes. "Just imagine the shock of suddenly waking up, with your consciousness now trapped inside a new artificial body."

Grean was done eating. She drained her glass then stood up and went to stand behind LaCy. She put her arms around the replicoid's neck. "Ya, such a transfer would be... disorienting, if not disgusting. Worse than a filthy human putting on someone else's dirty clothes. However, I've never thought deeply about overlays. I believe that LaCy has the capacity to grow thons own mind, a natural extension of the basic human behavioral program that is present in replcoids before on overlay is added in. If you provided LaCy with rich environmental stimuli, something I've never had time to do, we could test the plasticity of thons behavioral control circuits."

Dysin looked speculatively at LaCy. "You have never even taken LaCy out of this house?"

"That is true. And you are only the second person of LaCy's direct experience. Keeping thon in my home was a pek-imposed rule when they let me create LaCy, and I've never violated that rule."

"Hmm. I wonder if I could get permission from the pek to take LaCy out for short trips... visits to my friends and such."

"Well, if you take on this project, you can do whatever you like. The pek long ago told me that I could take LaCy out into the world and introduce thon to other people. I just never had the need or the time to do so. I ask only that you keep a written report of your experiments. That was another pek condition back when I brought LaCy into existence. You've seen my diary."

"The parts of your diary about replicoids are required reading for my cohort of clones."

Grean was nibbling on LaCy's ear. LaCy asked, "Am I truly the only replicoid in the world?"

Dysin replied, "I have the suspicion that the pek have conducted other experiments with replicoids. However, those experiments might have been conducted on another world, far across the galaxy. The pek seem to restrict what data I can view concerning replicoids; it is very annoying." Dysin finally set down her fork. "I ate too much, but I found myself enjoying LaCy's cooking."

LaCy explained, "I've read about human food. Eating is a fundamental feature of human existence. I was shocked when Grean finally made me understand that Kac'hin are designed to be feed by nanites."

Dysin shook her head in wonder. "This is the only Kac'hin world where eating is more than just a ritual and an excuse for socializing. Of course, it makes sense that Grean was trained to eat like a human." Dysin got up from the table and went to stand beside Grean. Dysin said to her clone sister, "You are going to have to fit into human culture on Earth."

Grean shrugged, "It is not so much that I must be able to function within a human society, what is more important is that I understand human behavior and how Earth's culture evolves. Towards that end, the artificial Kac'hin culture of this world has been made over in the image of Earth, right down to eating habits and the forced adoption of limited gender identities."

Dysin mused, "I suppose I'll never understand why the pek are so interested in Earth and humans. Why do the pek have to be so secretive?"

Grean knew far more about Earth and her future mission to that distant world than anyone else. Grean now understood why those pek-generated secrets would never be told to to her clone sisters.

Grean pulled on LaCy's arm. "Let's go. I'm ready for bed." She guided the replicoid away from the table and towards their bedroom, then Grean turned and said to Dysin, "Come with us. I want to show you what LaCy can do... besides cook up amazing meals."

Dysin slowly got to her feet. "You want me to watch while this replicoid..."

"I think you'll enjoy seeing LaCy in action, unless you feel that you really are too young. When I was your age I had started fantasizing about having sexual partners. If you feel uncomfortable, just leave."

Dysin was already fully aware that as a replicoid with femtobot components, LaCy could shape shift. Dysin knew that Grean enjoyed playing with LaCy's body and reshaping thons body parts in various ways that kept their sexual play exciting and interesting. However, Dysin's knowledge of Grean's sex life was all rather analytical and had been channeled to Dysin because of her interest in replicoids. Dysin was rather nervous about the prospect of suddenly being able to watch her sister engage in sexual play with LaCy.

Not wanting to startle Dysin, Grean kept things simple when they reached the bedroom. "Let's see. Dysin, you can just sit here in this chair and watch. I'm very tired, so this will only last a short time, this evening." Grean dimmed the lights and got into bed with LaCy.

Dysin was fascinated by the way LaCy followed Grean's instructions with complete devotion. After the first few minutes no more words were spoken: LaCy seemed to know exactly what to do to please Grean. Less than an hour passed before Grean slipped off to sleep, tired but happy. For a long while LaCy lay beside Grean, watching her sleep. Finally the replicoid's eyes closed.

Dysin had been excited by the way that Grean and LaCy had played with each others bodies and now she was curious to know more about the replicoid. Dysin got up out of her chair and undressed, turned down the lights in the bedroom even further and got into the big bed, laying close beside LaCy. The replicoid rolled over and said quietly, "You remind me of Grean when I first knew her."

Dysin whispered, "Yes, we people age and grow old. I suppose you can keep your youthful form forever."

LaCy said no more and gazed into Dysin's eyes. After a while thons eyes closed again. Dysin rolled over and her hand rested against LaCy's arm. She was surprised at how soft the replicoid's skin felt, as if her senses had all been heightened by watching her sister's love making. Dysin started breathing faster. She imagined what it would be like to play with LaCy in the way that Grean had. She extended her arm and put it across LaCy's chest.

LaCy's eyes popped open and thon moved closer towards Dysin. She felt the replicoid's hand land on her hip. Thons fingers began exploring her body, first up to Dysin's stiff little nipples then down to the slick wetness between her legs. Dysin felt like she was leaking and gushing as the replicoid's silky soft finger tips played her genitals like a delicate instrument. Dysin quickly achieved an orgasm, more powerful and delightful than any she had previously achieved. She drifted off to sleep, all tangled up in a cocoon of LaCy's limbs and soft caresses, holding tight to the memory of the feel of LaCy's soft lips...

Dysin awoke in the big bed, alone. Then she noticed that she was being watched. LaCy said, "I brought you some food." The replicoid brought a tray onto the bed.

Dysin ignored the food, reached out and took hold of LaCy's hand. "Why did you do that to me last night?"

LaCy asked, "Did you enjoy it? Grean suggested that I start simple, the way that she and I first touched each other, years ago. I'd almost forgotten those old times, how hot and wet Grean got with a simple touch of a finger."

Dysin laughed. "There was nothing simple about the way you touched me. It felt like you knew exactly what I like and how to excite me."

"You are much like Grean, but more open. I knew what you would enjoy."

Dysin began to eat, nibbling at small items from the tray. "What do you mean?"

LaCy explained, "Grean was afraid of me when we first explored sex. You are not afraid. You trust me and are welcoming of my touch. It took Grean a few weeks to relax and enjoy the feel of my body against hers."

Dysin nodded and sighed. "I have the advantage of knowing that Grean was not harmed by you. In my cohort we grew up knowing all about you as the companion of Grean. And it seems that even the pek are eager to learn more about your capabilities. Everything is pushing me towards you and you are very sexy. How did you learn that: to be so seductive?"

LaCy nibbled bits of food from the tray, knowing that Grean did not like to eat alone and assuming that Dysin would have the same preferences. "I've learned many things from Grean. Grean is wonderful and I enjoy sharing pleasure with her. However, I've often wondered about the pek. They are not human. The pek are not Kac'hin. Why do they care about human concerns like sexual play?"

"Well, the pek seem to be experts in all areas, including sex, even if the rumors are true and the pek themselves are completely asexual. I think they are particularly interested in your cognitive complexity and the way that you have begun to self-program and move beyond the pre-programmed behaviors of the basal replicoid mind pattern. And there is also my theory..."

"Theory?"

"Well, just an hypothesis, really. But after last night, I feel like my theory has been confirmed. I feel a connection to you and I truly am not afraid. As you said, I am open -and eager- to going ahead with my proposed experiment."

LaCy suddenly realized what Dysin must mean. "Grean has found a way to help me survive the times when she must be away?"

"Yes, The basic idea is that I will be here when Grean is away, but I will also get what I want, so everyone will benefit."

LaCy felt a cold chill of apprehension. "What kind of experiment do you want to perform?"

Dysin was amused by the worry and concern in LaCy's voice. "Nothing alarming. I've studied all the available information about replicoids. They were designed to receive overlays; copies of a human mind."

LaCy nodded. "I've read about the discovery of overlays in Grean's diary, but it is a subject that Grean never discussed with me."

"She was satisfied with you, as you were. However, leaving you without an overlay has created a problem. You are slowly developing your own mind from scratch. That is dangerous."

"Dangerous?"

"You are falling into unexpected and disruptive patterns of behavior. I want to fix your defects and study you."

"Why?"

"First, nobody likes the idea that you are unhappy. Grean feels guilty about creating you and now she has to watch you suffer. Grean is not going to be able to give you the continuous attention that you crave. Unlike Grean, I can devote all my time to you. That's the easy part. Sadly, you are addicted to Grean. We need to give you greater opportunities, wider experiences in the world that will break you free from your addiction, open up your mind to new constructive patterns of behavior."

LaCy complained. "You are making me nervous. I don't want to have me, my mind, erased by an overlay."

"But that's not how overlays work. They add cognitive options to a mind; they don't erase anything."

"Well, you call it an experiment. You don't really know what will happen to me, do you?"

Dysin laughed uneasily. "You are very clever, LaCy. Sadly, we know very little about replicoids. We need to experiment in order to learn more."

LaCy rolled off of the bed, picked up the tray and stood at the side of the bed. "I don't like the idea that I am to be an object of experimentation. Can't you create a new replicoid to experiment on?"

"Yes, that was the design of my original research proposal, but Grean suggested that we kill two birds with one stone. She needs to find a way to fix you and I might be able to do that. It is a dirty experiment, but I like a challenge."

"Why is it dirty?"

"That's just scientific jargon. It would be a cleaner experiment to put my overlay into a new replicoid. Using you instead, with your existing years of memory already in place is going to be a much more complicated experiment. I'm not at all sure that replicoids were designed to be programmed in this way; receiving an overlay after first living for several years. Something might go wrong and you might develop new unexpected problems, even if we solve your current problem."

Deep in thought, LaCy slowly turned and walked away. Dysin got out of bed and dressed for the day, ordering the clothing nanites to provide her with a shear black bodysuit. Dysin wandered through the rooms of Grean's large home and finally found LaCy reading. LaCy looked up and said, "I found your experimental protocol."

Dysin looked over the replicoid's shoulder, "Oh, no! That was not written for you."

LaCy asked, "You were just going to force your mind into me, without telling me?"

Dysin sighed. "I'm sorry, LaCy, but I had no idea that you are such a sleuth. How did you access my research files?"

"You think like Grean. Knowing the kinds of passwords used by her, I was able to guess your passwords. Actually, now that I see your protocol, I no longer believe that it was only guess work by me. You've already been inside my mind."

Dysin shrugged, "I've been studying you for years, as have others in my clone cohort. We can explore your mind by means of a virtual reality simulation, what we call the replicoid interface. Looking into your mind was part of our training."

"That's why you seem so... open. Our minds are already linked."

Dysin felt a chill. "What do you mean?"

"You were observing my mind, but you were using a two-way connection between your mind and mine. I've been in contact with your mind. That made it easy to get your passwords."

Dysin laughed. "I should have known. The pek... they must have known what was happening, that we would have two-way connections. Of course, now I understand how you... knew exactly how to touch me and give me pleasure. You've been inside of me already. Inside my mind."

LaCy turned away from the data terminal and put her arms around Dysin. "It might not be safe for you to force your whole mind into me. Doing so might trigger positive feedback. Two copies of your mind, linked through the replicoid interface..."

Dysin could imagine the dangers. They would be creating an artificially linked triangle: Dysin's mind, LaCy's mind and the mind of Dysin's replicoid, which was itself an artificial copy and variant of Dysin's mind. "I must try this mind merger. In fact, we should do it at once."

LaCy was dismayed by the urgency in Dysin's voice. "I think we should first discuss everything with Grean."

"No. We can't distract Grean. She now has important work to attend to. This is my project and I don't need to argue about it with Grean or the pek."

LaCy asked, "Or me?"

Dysin laughed. "Look, you have severe anxiety every time you allow yourself to think about being separated from Grean. And you will be left behind here, after Grean goes to Earth. We have to solve the problem of your separation anxiety or else shut you off. Which of those two options do you want?"

"I want to live, but I'm afraid of the other possible problems that you admit might occur if you start altering my mind. Tell me about those problems."

"I'd rather not. If I did, then your imagination would run wild and your anxiety would grow and it would simply become harder for you to agree to the changes I want to make in you. No, it is best to-" Dysin paused.

Lacy felt a sudden shift in her cognition.

Dysin continued. "There. It is done. The mind pattern of my replicoid has now been copied into you and merged with your mind. How do you feel?"

"Strange. Now I hear two of you. Your voice is inside me... explaining..." Lacy fell silent, staring off into space.

"Good. The two parts of your new mind need to spend some time integrating, linking. And I need to update my notes for the experiment."

Later, when Grean returned home, it was Dysin who greeted her. Grean had already been informed about the transfer of the overlay into LaCy. Grean asked rather nervously, "How is LaCy adjusting to thons new mind?"

"Well, the primary objective was attained. LaCy's anxiety has been quenched. The most dramatic counter swing is in LaCy's powerful curiosity. LaCy is eager to get out of this house and see the world beyond. In fact, if you are willing, I think we should take thon out right now. We could go out for dinner."

Grean sighed. "Ug. I'm tired, but I suppose I owe that to LaCy."

"Well, you could let me handle the whole process of exposing thon to the world. If you want, just go to sleep early and get your rest. I'll take LaCy to Rudy's.

"Dressed like you are? Do you think that's wise? That's a wild group of swingers that hangs out at Rudy's."

"That's just what LaCy needs now: confirmation that she fits into a broader world and that thon is not defined as a conscious being only in terms of thons relationship with you. The folks at Rudy's are very social; just the kind of model for new behavioral patterns that LaCy needs."

"But you might lose thon. LaCy is likely to get picked up by one of those sex crazy swingers who swarm in Rudy's. As are you."

Dysin shrugged. "I can take care of myself. It will be a good challenge for me to see if I can control LaCy. Anyhow, I really do have a big advantage: I'm already inside LaCy." She tapped her head. "We'll probably be back late, so don't wait up for us."

LaCy came into the room and only in response to Grean's gesture of greeting did thon approach and embrace Grean. LaCy whispered, "I feel so strange. Like I see you in a new way."

Grean held LaCy at arm's length and smiled. "Good. You know, I never intended to be the center of your universe. I used you, and I failed to let you live a complete life. That was wrong. I hope that Dysin can correct the problem that I created."

Grean asked Dysin, "Why is LaCy dressed like a female?"

Dysin giggled. "Just because you like to make LaCy play the role of a human male, that does not mean thon is a male."

"True. But LaCy has lived with me as a male for several years now. Thon might be more comfortable going out into the world as a male."

"Well, don't forget that there is now a copy of my mind inside LaCy. I've adopted the role of a female and that is going to change LaCy's gender identity. I want to find out if LaCy is comfortable pretending to be female."

Grean shrugged and let the matter go. Grean realized that she was now into the process of letting go of LaCy. Grean took a deep calming breath and she said to LaCy, "Now, go with Dysin and have fun tonight. You can tell me about your adventures tomorrow. I'll be home early and you can cook a set of my favorite Bowmem dishes."

Dysin took LaCy's hand and pulled the replicoid towards the front door of Grean's home. "Out we go, into the night." She held the door open and waited.

LaCy had never before left the confines of Grean's home. Now she took one last glance over thons shoulder at Grean and stepped through the doorway into the world beyond. Dysin closed the door and pulled a set of shiny jeweled chains out of her pocket and clipped the entire dangling array to LaCy's shoulders. "I want you to wear this little decoration tonight." She slipped an arm around the replicoid's waist and they strolled along the walkways towards Rudy's.

Dysin said, "I'll need your help this evening. I'm taking you to Rudy's, which will be fun for you, but there's a very rowdy group that hangs out there. If they try to take you away from me, and they may, I want you to tell them that you are my date for the night and that they will have to wait their turn."

LaCy nodded. "I understand, but aren't you too young to play that kind of game?"

"Yes, I am, which is why you must help me. When they tell you that I'm too young for you, tell them they are wrong. Just say that I'm an amazing stud."

LaCy laughed out loud. "You are a sweet little girl. You've never even really had sex."

"Nobody at Rudy's needs to know that. So just pretend that you and I are hot new lovers, intent on exploring our bodies together. You know that it is my intention to become your lover; we just haven't actually gotten there yet... I mean, besides your totally amazing finger play and your hot kisses. There is nothing wrong with pretending. Now, you can have fun flirting with the others tonight, but don't go off with anyone. We'll eat and maybe dance a little then we'll go back home. Got it?"

"I understand."

Dysin and Lacy entered Ruby's hand-in-hand. All eyes turned to follow them. They sat at a table and one of Dysin's clone cohort, Iliza, was immediately there beside their table, gazing intently at LaCy. "Hello, Dysin. So this is the famous LaCy."

"Hello, Iliza."

LaCy asked Iliza, "Did Dysin ask you to be here tonight, for moral support?"

Iliza laughed. "No, I'm surprised to see you two here. I'm here with Fellicitun." She pointed to a nearby table where five Kac'hin sat, enjoying their dinner and chatting. "Fellicitun is the tall blond. I'm trying to get up the nerve to, well, you know. I'm waiting eagerly for my body to fully mature."

"Yes, I do know." LaCy put an arm around Dysin. "And you can take inspiration from Dysin. We've just had our first night in bed together and she turned into a beast." LaCy kissed Dysin, long and passionately, in the human pattern. The replicoid suggested to Iliza, "Just tell Fellicitun that you want to take her home at once and get it over with. You can do it. Will yourself to do it."

Iliza looked at Dysin with wonder. "I never imagined that sweet little Dysin would do it before me, but I can begin to understand." She turned back towards LaCy. "LaCy is stunning. A real work of art." She grabbed one of LaCy's dangling pendents and held it in her hand.

Dysin admonished her clone sister, "Don't be rude. LaCy is a person, so don't describe thon in third person."

"Very well." Iliza now spoke directly to LaCy, "I'd ask to take you home with me right now if I wasn't working so hard to win Fellicitun as my first conquest." She bent down and brushed her lips across Dysin's cheek then kissed LaCy on the lips and then turned away and returned to her own table.

Dysin and LaCy placed their dinner orders and then went onto the dance floor. Holding each other close they swayed to the slow and sensual dance music and talked. LaCy asked, "How do you Kac'hin decide who to call 'him' or 'her' or 'thon'?"

"In your case it is simple. As an artificial lifeform, you can switch your body between forms. It makes sense to refer to you as 'thon' because you've never identified with any particular gender and for the past few years Grean has kept you in the Kac'hin body form. Normally the same is true for Kac'hin and it would be abnormal for any of us to think our ourselves as male or female. However, as part of Grean's training, everyone here on this world who comes in contact with Grean has been asked to adopt either a male or female gender role. Grean must learn how to interact with males and females on Earth."

"So you all keep track of who is playing which role?"

Dysin laughed. "We are a small community, so that might be possible, theoretically. But there is an easier way. Look carefully. Some people here are dressed as males."

LaCy fell silent and compared the the various types of clothing worn by the guests inside Rudy's. The styles of dress were varied, with some people wearing very little; large expanses of their bare skin shown proudly and seductively. After a time, Lacy was unable to detect two distinct patterns of dress and thon asked, "You, Grean, Iliza and Fellicitun all dress as females?"

"Yes, usually, although Grean often does not bother to follow the rules and display the conventional gender signals. She is special and everyone in the world knows that she has adopted a female gender role. Look at that tall guy, there, dancing with the little redhead. That's the male dress code. See the dangling shoulder regalia and the codpiece?"

Once more Lacy looked around, now able to pick out the indicators of male dress: ornaments that hung from their padded shoulders. The walls of Rudy's had been cleverly designed to include hundreds of mirrors and cameras feeding images to display screens. The cameras automatically followed the patrons. The many mirrors and screens always provided each patron with views of everyone else present. The system was designed to let everyone be seen and provide for easy flirting. "Now I see. But you Kac'hin are biologically simultaneous hermaphrodites. Why play this silly game of dividing up into a male group and a female group? On what basis can this division be made?"

"We've left it up to individual choice. About 80% have selected the female pattern. This makes the males rare and highly sought after."

LaCy asked with wonder in thons voice, "All just to train Grean?"

"Well, for the past year Grean was the leading candidate to be sent to Earth, but the final selection was made just a few days ago. I suppose we had all known that someone comfortable playing the role of a female would be sent to Earth. It will be Grean who goes. When humans see a Kac'hin, they always assume that they are looking at a female. It makes sense to send someone who is comfortable pretending to be female."

LaCy lifted up one of the jeweled chains hanging from thon's shoulders. "And you marked me as male?"

"Grean long ago selected a female role and everyone suspects that you must play the role of a male who lives in Grean's home. Of course, you helped Grean make the decision to adopt a female persona. When you two were first together she tested you in both a male and a female body pattern."

"Yes, those are my earliest memories. Then I adopted the Kac'hin body structure. I've been functionally an hermaphrodite for the past several years."

"Yes, functionally you are a fully mature Kac'hin. That's an important distinction for juveniles like Iliza and I. We have not yet matured sexually and cannot achieve penile erection."

"So you dressed me as a male who would be your escort. But I still don't understand why you told me to refer to you as a 'stud'. Isn't that a term that is used to refer to a male?"

"Yes, it is. Now, this is a subtle point. Look at the other males and their regalia."

LaCy again observed the dangling cords that hung from the shoulders of the 'male' Kac'hin. "Mine seems to be the most flashy. All of these shiny jewels. The regalia worn by the others seem simple and plain."

Dysin nodded. "Exactly. Now look at me and compare what I'm wearing to the other 'females' in here."

"Nobody else is wearing a black bodysuit like yours. The other 'females' are dressed in bright flashy colors."

"Yes. We are the uniquely dressed couple here tonight. Let me explain. Rudy's is renowned as the hottest pickup joint in this district. Usually, all the 'females' who come here are competing to win the attention of a 'male'. They are are dressed in bright colors with silky clothing designed to show off their pumped-up bodies."

"Pumped-up?"

"Don't you notice anything odd about the girls? Don't they look different than Grean, different than my body?"

LaCy looked closely at the 'females'. Their bright clothing with soft moving veils and rainbow-colored patches now appeared in thons mind in a whole new way. The voice of Dysin's replicoid was in LaCy's mind: the bulges of their clothing are simulations of fat deposits in the human female body. LaCy said, "Now I see it. They've all used their clothing to seemingly modify the shape of their chests and bottoms. Grean made me do that for a while when I first knew her."

"That was back when Grean was exploring the possibility of adopting a male gender identity. Of course she had you shape your body like a human female for those experiments."

LaCy complained, "It all seems rather silly, play acting like humans. And you still have not explained why you and I are dressed differently than everyone else. I thought you wanted me to fit in and begin feeling connected to other people."

"Well, you and I are unique and everyone in the world knows it. We are now living with Grean, in her private home, and you are the only replicoid on this planet. We couldn't just go out for a night in public and act like other people do. We're playing roles... performing for our audience. But I do want us to have fun."

"This is fun? Everyone has been watching us dance. All the attention is making me feel nervous."

kink

"What do you expect? You are a pretty object of fascination. Relax and enjoy it. Anyhow, about our unusual dress... Some people have been resisting the new rule that they pretend to be either male or female. Now, you may not know this, but most of the clones who were competing to go to Earth have studied Earth's history. I'm unusual. I've always been more interested in technical issues like replicoids and I can't understand the first thing about how humans live on Earth. Grean tried to explain this to me once, and even Iliza, although the idea of her explaining anything to do with Earth is absurd. She's even more ignorant of human society than I am. Forget all that. Now, on Earth they have a vice called gambling. Humans have devised hundreds of ways to gamble, some of which involve games of chance played with little paper cards."

LaCy muttered, "I don't know what you are talking about."

On cue, Dysin's replicoid fed an image of a black playing card into LaCy's mind. "Don't try to understand the details. One of the cards is a kink. Tonight I'm dressed in black, as a kink. I'm female but I consciously resist playing that role. By dressing this way, I say that I'm gender bending... I'm a female who will behave like a male."

queen

LaCy said uncertainly, "I think I understand."

"There is another card called the queen." Again an image from out of the Earth cultural studies database was pushed into LaCy's mind by the Dysin replicoid. "A queen is a male who pretends to be female, decorated with lots of dangling jewels that hang down to draw attention to her artificial swollen breasts. That's why I have you wearing those jeweled pendants, to mark you as a queen, playing a gender-twisted female role to match my kinky male role."

LaCy shook thons head. "It all seems very complicated and confusing. And why bother?"

"I'm having fun and I want you to have fun, too. Iliza and I are in a cohort that is right at the age where we are actively struggling to attain our sexual maturity. Dressed like this, I can pretend that I've matured and can achieve penile erections." She pressed her body against LaCy. "Feel that? I'm wearing an inflatable codpeice."

LaCy rolled thons eyes. "This is silly. Why pretend to be something you are not? You will get erections when your body is done growing."

"Trust me, it is fun to play games and pretend to be a stud. Look at Iliza! She's about ready to faint. Now, I need your help. Reach down and hold my fake penis." She pulled her hips back again so that those watching could clearly see what was happening. "Good. Now stroke it gently. Caress it."

LaCy chuckled, "Warn me before you fake an ejaculation."

Dysin laughed, "See! You are getting into this. That's not a bad idea, but that sort of exhibitionism is usually reserved for private parties in homes. And if I read things correctly, we are about to get an invitation to one."

Fellicitun had risen from her seat at her table and was approaching Dysin and LaCy. She had timed her approach to exactly coincide with a pause in the music as the band took a break. Fellicitun spoke to Dysin, "It is good to see you getting out and socializing for once in your life, but I thought this replicoid was restricted to the interior of Grean's home."

Dysin said, "LaCy, this is my old martial arts instructor from school, Fellicitun. Fellicitun, this is LaCy."

LaCy reached out and felt the bulges in Fellicitun's clothing that simulated human breasts. "Fellicitun, Dysin failed to tell me about the fashion of wearing fake breasts. You seem to be an expert on the subject. Maybe you could teach me how to look more like an Earth female."

Dysin laughed and Fellicitun frowned. "I play along because everyone has been ordered to adopt either a male or female role. Here in this district, we can't get clothing any more that isn't designed to provide a Kac'hin with a hint of human morphology. In my opinion, these dress up games are all a silly waste of time. I'm eager for Grean to depart from Earth so that we can return to our good old Kac'hin ways."

Dysin took LaCy by the hand and went back to their table. Over her shoulder she said to Fellicitun, "Why don't you and Iliza come to our table? LaCy and I need to eat now and we can talk."

Fellicitun signaled to Iliza who brought over their dessert plates. LaCy and the three Kac'hin sat down and ate. Fellicitun rudely watched LaCy and then said angrily, "Why does this replicoid eat. It is a waste of effort and food."

LaCy replied, "I eat to be social, but you are correct. I have no physiological need to eat."

Iliza asked, "No physiological needs of any kind?"

"I'm an artificial life form. I have been designed to simulate some biological functions."

Fellicitun laughed bitterly, "I suppose you can even produce a reasonable simulation of sperm cells."

"I don't know. What do you think, Dysin? You have been studying replicoid technology. Do I have cellular components?"

"The files that I have access to don't contain any microscopic details about your body. All I can say is that to the naked eye, LaCy's ejaculate looks similar to that of we Kac'hin."

Iliza asked, "What about the feel of it, the smell, the taste?"

Dysin shrugged, "I've only just met LaCy, so my experience with LaCy's male functions is limited. I took the opportunity to experiment in the opposite direction."

Fellicitun suggested, "Why don't we all go back to my place after dinner. We can experiment together."

LaCy said, "The would be interesting. I've only had sex with Grean and Dysin... so far."

Dysin patted LaCy's hand. "You'll have to wait. Fellicitun has a thing for young Kac'hin, but I'm not in that kind of mood." Dysin leaned close to Iliza and whispered, "I've already promised LaCy that I'm going to ravish thon tonight."

Iliza spoke with disappointment, "Then why prance into Rudy's tonight and tease everyone if you two are not available?"

"I promised Grean that I would broaden LaCy's range of experience. You'll just have to wait your turn, wait until I grow tired of thon."

Iliza gazed dreamily at LaCy and suggested, "We should make several dozen more replicoids like LaCy. Why should I have to wait in line for a chance to play with LaCy?"

Fellicitun complained, "It is disgusting the way human culture has contaminated our world. My theory is that kids like Iliza are suffering delayed sexual maturation due to psychological problems. Young Kac'hin should not be adopting a human female gender stereotype. How many weeks will she now spend fantasizing about being ravished by LaCy?"

Foundations of Eternity

That was where Rylla's version of the story ended. I read it immediately after we ate lunch. After reading the story, I reviewed what little information I had about Grean. Some of the stories that I had "heard" about Grean came to me by way of the infites I had once recieved from Ivory Fersoni. Based on those stories, many of which also originated from the archives of the Writers Block, I had developed the idea that Grean had made use of robots to infiltate Eternity. However, it did seem possible that stollen replicoid technology had been incorporated into those reobots, allowing them the penetrate the sequirity systems of Eternity.

At dinner, I said to Rylla, "I read that story about LaCy. It seemed to end abruptly."

Rylla chuckled. "There is some more, but the next sex sceen is very complex and graphic. I was too embarased to write that down. But now that I think about it, there was some other stuff at the end that might interest you. The story suggested that LaCy, working in tandem with the Dysin replicoid, was sent to Earth where they investigated how the people of Earth were guided in their behavior by their own replicoids."

Hierion Domain

I asked, "You are sure that these replicoids were on Earth?"

"Yes."

I was a bit surprised. "Some have suggested that replicoids can only exist in the Hierion Domain."

Rylla shrugged. "Well, these were pek-manufactured replicoids. Anyhow, the story suggested that LaCy discovered a way to hack into Eternity and view a record of past Reality Changes."

I commented, "It makes sense that replicods must be able to access information about past Realities. That's why..." I almost mentioned the idea of using Vendela's replicoid as a tool to help us better communicate with Yōd in the AR Simulator, but Zeta cut me off.

Escape from the AR Simulation

Zeta warned me by telepathy: Don't you dare!

Rylla looked at me intently. Sometimes I suspect that she can read my mind. "Why what?"

I tried to change the subject. "You know my fear that we humans are puppets... our behavior controlled and determined by our replicoids in the Hierion Domain."

Rylla shook her head, "Georgy is convinced that all of the replicoids were inactivated. Replicoids might have once guided the course of human history, but not anymore."

I asked Rylla, "The story ended right after suggesting that replicoids can access the stored information about past Realities that is stored in the Hierion Domain?"

Rylla being observed by a Kac'hin.

Rylla explained, "The story said that Grean was simply "cover" operation for a secret replicoid-led operaton. Well, actually, it was not led by the replicoids like LaCy. The organizer of the mission was a selfie."

I commented, "Interesting. I've heard of Kac'hin selfies, but I've never seen it suggested that they worked with Grean to defeat R. Gohrlay."

Rylla added, "It wasn't a selfi of Grean. It was a selfie that was created from the original biological source of the Grean clones."

I rubbed my chin and speculated, "Hmm... maybe what other writers like Ivory have described as robots working with Grean were actually selfies and replicoids. If you and Georgy find the rest of this story, please let me know."

Next: the Kac'hin in Deep Time

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