The Last Mind Clone

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I'm usually the first one up during the small hours of a new day. Zeta has suggested that as a tryp'At, I don't have the normal human circadian rhythms. In any case, it was unusual for Zeta to awaken first. Then she shook me out of my sleep. "Wake up."

I sat up, disturbing two cats. I was still in the mental world of the dream I had been having. Or was it a dream? Maybe Yōd had been using our shared telepathic linkage to send me information while I slept? I muttered, "I'll take the blankets down..." My voice trailed off. I was thinking about Nora and Rylla.

Zeta placed a hand on my shoulder and asked in a puzzled voice, "Nora? Blankets?" Via my telepathic link to Zeta I could tell she was wondering: Down to Australia?

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Finally pulling my mind back into the same universe where Zeta was residing, I explained, "You woke me out of a strange... dream, In my.... dream... Nora and her family were visiting us for the holidays. They were going to sleep in the basement."

Zeta tugged on my arm and I slipped back under the covers of our bed. We put our arms around each other and I was holding her tight with the hope that she could anchor me in Reality... my mind kept pulling me back to the alternate Reality of my dream. Zeta complained, "I would not make anyone sleep down there."

The Mind Clone Network

Ever since moving into our retirement home, we had not used the basement for day-to-day living. However, in my dream, things had changed... there was a two car garage down there (formerly three) and some rooms that we had re-constructed as bedrooms. There was still a small version of the formerly large room that Zeta had long used for gardening projects and as her pottery workshop. We had also shrunken down the recreation room, but it still had a pool table that could be converted into a ping-pong table. Additional rooms that had been long used for storage were now new bedrooms, but I'd rebuilt one small room into an office. In my dream, the utility room still included a sump pump (the house had been designed to survive a hundred year flood) and a newly installed second furnace so that the basement could be heated comfortably in winter. I pulled out of my thoughts about the dream and tried to focus on Zeta and the present. "Well, yes... under normal circumstances. But, on those occasions when the house will be full to overflowing, we will need to use the basement as a dormitory. In my dream, all of our children, grand children, great-grand children and the first great-great-grandchild were-"

Zeta interrupted, "Great-great-grand child?"

"Yes, Marda's first-born... a son, named Brak."

"Brak?" Zeta seemed dismayed by the name.

"Yes, Marda named her son Brak."

"Brak is a name? For a boy?" Zata shook her head with wonder. "What a crazy dream... Marda was born just a month ago!"

"Well, my dream was from the future."

Zeta asked, "In the future?"

"It seemed so real, I feel like it was a memory from the future." I've always felt that I had been allowed one time travel journey into the future, back in the era when time travel was still possible. My memories of that trip into the future have been edited, but occasionally I do recover stray memories from my future self.

Zeta was intrigued by the sudden arrival of family news from the future. "Marda's first-born?"

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"Well, yes. Like Rylla, Marda became something of a baby factory. Her daughter Llyndella was the one who finally became -will become- famous for discovering sedronic matter."

Zeta giggled, "What kind of a name is Llyndella?"

I could not answer Zeta's question. Nor could I explain how I knew about Llyndella and her amazing discovery of the first sedron. "Anyhow, my dream was not about Llyndella... the dream took place before Llyndella was born."

Zeta whispered in my ear, "Tell me what happened."

For a few minutes, I tried to trace the threads of my dream memory back as far as possible. Just before awakening, I had been with Zeta, down in the basement, but it had really begun when...

______________

Rylla being observed by a Kac'hin.

I can sense the general moods of Rylla, even when she is on the other side of the planet. I knew that she was trying to get in contact with me. I turned on the holochat and there was Marda, in realistic 3D reconstruction, holding Brak at her breast. She called to her mother, "Here he is, now."

I said, "Good to see... you, Marda."

She pulled a little blanket across her chest so as to cover her breasts. "You don't have to ogle the breasts of little girls."

There was nothing little about Marda. I protested, "I do... if you put them right in front of the hololens."

Marda rolled her eyes, "Don't be so old-fashioned. In modern society men are expected to ignore women who nurse their babies."

Rylla came into range of the camera. All I could see of her was her torso as she stood behind Marda. With this view, I could see that she seemed to be pregnant again. Rylla said, "Hi, grampa."

I said, "Hi, Rylla. You are looking... great."

"Ya, I'm looking large. I was going to surprise you and Zeta with the news when we reach Arizona, but... hold on to your hat and brace for a surprise. Care to guess what the 'big' surprise is?" I was speechless; amazed that ten years after her third pregnancy, Rylla was pregnant again.

The last Mind Clones; a pair
of twins who function as part
of the MC4 subnet along with
the children of Alexina
and Amiante at Observer Base.

Marda jerked a thumb over her shoulder towards her mother and said, "It's twins."

I sputtered, "Wow! Again? That's... amazing."

Rylla said, "Tell me about it. And the way I'm swelling up, it might create a problem. Airlines don't want pregnant women on their flights."

I could sense that Rylla was very happy and excited to have two new babies on the way. "When is your due date?"

"The official projection says in March, but you know that I'm slow." She put her hand on Marda's shoulder, "It took me a year to make Marda and almost sixteen months to build Phrix and Alcia... that was 19 pounds of babies!" Rylla laughed. "I hope the two new ones don't try to break that record. Anyhow, I just sent you an email with our travel information. We'll be arriving late in the day, so we'll spend the first night in a hotel and drive to your place the next day."

"You know I don't mind picking you up at the airport."

"No, it is not practical. There will be six of us and your car is too small. We've got a rental van reserved, and besides, you have other guests arriving."

It was true. The whole family was going to gather for the holidays. I opened up Rylla's email and glanced through the contents. "So, your dad is not going to be able to escape the lab?"

Fru'wu

"Oh, of course he could, but this is prime sample collection season and he refuses to let his post-docs take over. So it will be just Nora and her three kids. They will be arriving from Montreal."

I knew that Nora's daughter Dysyn was attending the University of Montreal. "And my other two children and their families will be here, too. It will be a full house... 21 people and assorted cats and dogs."

"A real circus!" Rylla sighed. "You'll probably be too busy for work."

For Rylla, "work" meant work on her writing. Marda had become her key collaborator and they were both planning to consult with me during their visit concerning their latest work. "I've arranged for you to have the lower floor. We'll have a working office down there, isolated from distractions."

Marda complained, "Isolated? Next to the rec room and the pool table?"

"I've installed additional sound proofing in the walls of the office. Anyhow, what's wrong with the sound of children playing?"

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Rylla replied, "Nothing at all. Thank you for accommodating us. Oh... and you'll be interesting to see a new story that Stacy recently found. It reveals some of the genetic tricks and techniques that were used by the Fru'wu and the Grendels."

I asked, "Why do you keep teasing me with these new discoveries?" For more than a year Rylla and Marda had been investigating a series of new revelations about the process of how human evolution had been shaped by alien Interventionists, but they had been reluctant to share the details with me. "Why not send a copy of this new story on to me now?"

"No, I can't do that." Rylla apologized, "There are problems."

Marda added, "Some of the contents of this story seem to be deliberately planted mis-information."

I asked, "Planted by who?"

Rylla explained, "If we knew that, our job would be easier. We are going to have to independently verify everything that we have extracted from the Writers Block, which means a large amount of leg work for Georgy inside the ER Simulator. It takes time to accomplish all this fact checking."

I could sense that Rylla was not being completely honest. "You two are hiding something from me."

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Brak had fallen asleep and Marda got out of her chair, then moved out of camera range. Rylla sat down in front of the hololens. "I can tell you this much: the tryp'At are involved."

"Well, don't pretend like you need to protect me. I'm not that fragile. I'm willing to hear bad news about the tryp'At."

Rylla looked over her shoulder then whispered to me, "Marda does not trust you. She suspects that you are living on Earth in violation of the Pact."

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I groaned. "Well, she may be right. However, so much time has passed... I've stopped worrying about the Pact."

"As have I, but Marda has a mind of her own. And she's worried about Brak..."

"There's a problem with Brak? Medical?"

"No, he is perfectly normal."

"So what is the problem?"

"Marda grew up in constant telepathic linkage to me. Marda expected that she would have that same kind of relationship with her first-born."

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"That's silly. There were six Mind Clones and then that was the end of the telepaths."

"Rationally, Marda knows that. Emotionally, she wants to have a telepathic link to Brak."

Marda returned and stood beside Rylla. She added, "I can't stop wondering... maybe there will be no more Mind Clones allowed until the terms of the Pact are finally met."

I told Marda, "Look, I'd depart from Earth today if I thought my being here was a violation of the Pact."

Marda said, "No, you wouldn't. You'll never leave Zeta."

I persisted: "And she would go with me. Anyhow, you can't dismiss the other possibility... that telepathy just is not good for Earth."

Marda objected, "That's for we humans to decide!"

Rylla suggested, "We humans may lack the needed technology to craft a telepathic human." She reminded Marda, "Your telepathic powers may have been made possible through the action of developmental control nanites that shaped your embryonic brain. Maybe under the terms of the Pact, that alien technology is no longer allowed on Earth. Had you gotten your wish to produce a telepathic baby, that might have been a violation of the Pact."

Marda sputtered in exasperation, "Nonsense!" She turned and retreated out of camera range.

I told Rylla, "I can see that you are dealing with some tensions on your end, but I still wish you would be honest with me."

Rylla looked over her shoulder then opened up a text chat. THIS IS A SENSITIVE TOPIC FOR MARDA, SO DON'T DISCUSS THIS WITH HER. OKAY?

I replied: I DON'T LIKE KEEPING SECRETS.

Rylla: YOU DON'T HAVE TO LIKE IT. JUST TEL ME YOU WILL NOT UPSET MARDA.

Me: FINE. I'LL KEEP YOUR SECRET. SPILL IT.

Rylla: I'M NOT CERTAIN OF ANYTHING, BUT THERE IS SOMETHING STRANGE HAPPENING. IT MIGHT BE THE NEXT GENERATION OF MIND CLONES.

I glanced at Rylla's protruding abdomen. Foolishly I said, "You are in contact with the new twins?"

Rylla glared at me and typed: "SHUT UP! MARDA MIGHT HEAR. SHE ALREADY SUSPECTS. SHE'LL EVENTUALLY FIGURE IT OUT, BUT RIGHT NOW SHE IS TOO BITTER ABOUT NOT HAVING A TELEPATHIC LINK TO BRAK.

I asked: WHY NOT JUST TELL HER?

NOT UNTIL I KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON. THIS GOES BEYOND ME. ALEX WILL SOON GIVE BIRTH TO HER TWINS AND THEN WE'LL KNOW

Again I could not restrain my surprise, "Alexina is carrying twins?"

"WILL YOU PLEASE SHUT UP? YES, ALEX IS CARRYING TWINS AND BOTH AMI AND ALEX ARE IN TELEPATHIC COMMUNICATION WITH THE TWINS.

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I was surprised, but then I remembered what I had been told long before, about Alex and Ami being less constrained than Earthlings. They might be living under a different set of rules and constraints in the Hierion Domain. I asked, "How long ago did you get this news from Alexina?"

Rylla was growing increasingly angry at my inability to not talk. I'LL SAY NO MORE. IT IS CLEAR THAT YOU CAN'T KEEP YOUR BIG MOUTH SHUT.

"Rylla, you know me very well. It is my job to disseminate information, not obscure the truth."

"ALEX HAS TOLD ME NOTHING. I THINK ALEX AND AMI ARE TRYING TO KEEP SECRET WHAT IS GOING ON AT OBSERVER BASE. OF COURSE, THE MORE ALEX TRIES TO HIDE THE TRUTH, THE MORE I CAN SENSE THAT SHE IS HIDING SOMETHING FROM ME.

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"This is exactly why none of us should keep secrets. It leads to suspicion and then the Network will fragment-"

"Well, nothing lasts forever. The current Network may have been designed to have a limited period of utility. We may be reaching the end. Our Network might disintegrate and-" Rylla continued in text: AND A NEW MIND CLONE NETWORK MIGHT TAKE OVER.

THANK YOU FOR GIVING ME A HEADS-UP.

Rylla and I spoke for a while about travel details then our conversion ended. I got out of my chair, turned and saw Zeta. I blurted out, "Rylla is-"

Zeta could see in my mind what I was about to say. She said, "Well, now you know."

The Mind Clone Network

I asked, "You knew?"

"Of course. She told me as soon as she found out."

"And you did not tell me?" I was hurt. I like to imagine that Zeta tells me everything.

"She asked me not to tell you until she was certain about having a telepathic link to the embryos. Now she is certain and she told you herself."

I was puzzled by one thing. "And you have known that Alexina is in telepathic contact with her new twins, too?"

Zeta shook her head, "I only know what Rylla tells me."

"I don't like any of this secrecy. Why should anything change after Alexina's new babies are born?"

"Don't ask me. You had the chance to ask Rylla, but instead you pissed her off and she stopped talking to you. Good work."

"I'm too old to learn how to keep secrets."

"Don't worry about it. And don't mope. I need your help."

Book 2 of the Lost World trilogy

I looked at the stack of boxes that were near the door to the stairwell that leads down to the basement. We were going to have to house 11 guests in the basement during the holidays. Three new beds had just been delivered the day before and Zeta had ordered new bedding. She opened one of the boxes and pulled out a set of sheets then led the way down into the basement. I picked up several of the boxes and followed her down the stairs. Watching me from the bottom, she said, "Careful old man, I don't want to have to take you to the hospital."

I took my time going down the stairs. "Maybe we should have an elevator installed."

"Not a bad idea. Alternatively, we could move to Mars where the gravity is weaker and falls are not so tragic."

I asked, "Would you go to Mars with me?" I set down the boxes and helped Zeta put a set of sheets on one of the new beds.

inside Grendelkeep

Zeta replied, "Of course I would, but if your 'future memory' about Tez is correct-"

"There has never been any confirmation of the idea that I will depart from Earth without you."

Zeta nodded, "True, but you know I can't escape from the suspicion that you will eventually be re-united with either Alpha or Ivory... or both. I'd prefer not to be a witness to such a reunion."

Zeta had emptied the boxes and she ordered me to return upstairs for more. We continued making up the new beds and Zeta was making a list of things that she needed to buy for each of the downstairs bedrooms. I noticed that the last of the boxes did not contain bedding. It rattled when I tipped it. Zeta told me, "Oh, I almost forgot, that's the new towel rack for the new bathroom." Then she looked around the room. "We seem to be missing one more box. I know I bought a king-sized electric blanket for this bed. I don't want the baby getting cold."

Alpha Gohrlay

I told Zeta, "This was the last of the boxes from upstairs. Maybe the blanket did not get delivered with the other items yesterday afternoon."

I could not get excited about one missing blanket. Our preparations for the big family gathering were coming together. We'd just had one third of the downstairs garage converted into a second bathroom for the basement. Now we were in the middle of getting the last bed made up, but I opened the remaining box and looked at the instructions for the towel rack. I said, "You know, we should probably get another dryer to put into the laundry room."

Zeta laughed, "Or just hire a cleaning service! Are we insane, thinking we can feed and house 21 people for three weeks?"

"They won't all be here for the full three weeks and there will be many short trips to the Canyon, to the ski areas and elsewhere. We'll survive and it will be fun, if hectic." It had been too quiet in the house since our daughter had gone off to college.

Zeta and I spent some time puzzling over the instructions for the towel rack, which were terse. It was a large rack with an attached heating lamp. I gave up. "Ug, this does not look fun. I'll go online and find a video."

I put the instructions back in the box and Zeta resumed the process of making the bed. I turned back towards Zeta just as she fluttered the top sheet across the big bed. Zeta said, "Actually, now that I think about it there are two missing blankets. I got one for Nora's bed... she hates cold. And also, there were some towels that I ordered... oh, well... maybe they will be delivered today."

We were in the bedroom where we planned for Marda and Brak to sleep; it had a direct connection into a big adjoining bathroom with a tub. Rather than help tuck-in the sheet, I put my arms around Zeta and I said, "You know what would be fun..."

She leaned back against me and looked around the room. I could sense that she was worried: by putting in a bigger bed, there was not room for much else. Zeta was still thinking about getting a crib for Brak, even-though Marda had told us not to bother; she preferred to keep the baby in her bed, at her side. Zeta asked, "Do you ever feel sorry for Rylla and Marda?"

I was nibbling on her neck, but I knew what Zeta was thinking. Through some mysterious alien technology, Rylla was on her 4th pregnancy and Marda had gone through her first, all with no need for either of them to have had a sexual partner or even so much as a sperm donor. "Somehow, all of their babies were pre-planned and constructed. I guess we could say that Izhiun was the 'father' of both Marda and Brak."

Zeta turned around and we started to undress each-other. She complained, "Its cold down here."

I asked, "Do you want me to turn on the basement heating system?"

"I'm not hot enough for you?"

"Oh, you are nice to look at, but that only gives me more goosebumps."

She jumped onto the bed. "Well, get moving, old man. Throw that blanket over me." We got moving under the blanket and soon we were plenty warm. After our little work out, we lay there relaxing, but the bed was in total disarray, with my feet not covered by the blanket. I complained, "My feet are getting cold."

"Your legs are too long."

Then we heard Tihri coming down the stairs and calling, "Mom? Dad? Are you down here?"

Zeta popped off the bed and pulled on her skirt. She handed me a bundle of my clothes and pushed me into the adjoining bathroom where I started dressing. I could hear Tihri say to Zeta, "Really? I suppose you two have to try out every new bed in the house... You're pushing 80, Mom... don't you ever intend to stop acting like a horny teenager?"

Zeta was getting dressed. She put on her bra and then pulled on her shirt. "Why shouldn't we check on the new beds? Do you want a guest making a nasty discovery... such as a broken spring..."

Tihri said, "Well, speaking of guests, Greg just asked me if there might be room here for one more. His brother has no place to go for the holidays."

Now dressed, I came out of the bathroom and asked, "Another guest? I suppose he could sleep on the fold-out couch upstairs."

Zeta suggested, "Or he could use the second bed that we put into the fourth upstairs bedroom."

I asked, "I thought that was already the plan for Greg, or am I confused?"

Zeta explained, "No, that was the plan, last week."

Tihri added, "Dad, things are moving along with Greg and I. He'll sleep with me in my room."

I looked at Zeta, "You were not going to tell me about this?"

Zeta replied, "You are rather old-fashioned. I was not sure how you would feel about it. I figured that once the house started filling up, you'd never notice where Greg slept."

I asked Tihri, "So you really like Greg?"

"I'm in love with him, Dad. We want to spend the rest of our lives together."

Original cover art by
Reginald Heade and John Healey

From my perspective, that was moving along fast; this was big news. The last I had heard, Greg was just a fellow student that Tihri had recently met. I'd been told that they were planning to do a lot of skiing together during the holidays. Apparently they had recently discovered a different recreation that they both enjoyed sharing. Fatalistically, I said, "Everything happens for a reason." Thinking about Marda and Brak, I wondered if maybe Tihri was pregnant, but Zeta told me: No, not yet. My thoughts shifted to Rylla and the other big news of the day; her gestating twins. I wondered if they might be the last Mind Clones who would ever be born on Earth.

Tihri was returning upstairs. She turned and told us, "Oh, some more boxes were just delivered by a flying drone. They are upstairs by the front door."

That was when Zeta woke me out of the "dream".

Next: Rylla's second-born, Jytyr.

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