The Behgi Braid

the Bimanoid Interface

After Colleen extracted Lakum from the ER Simulator, Georgy used her telepathic link with Rylla to share an account of Colleen's adventures inside the Reality Simulation System. It was late in the middle of a winter night when I finished reading Rylla's version of those events. I could not stop myself from wondering about Lakum's telepathic abilities, both before and after the upgrade of the Bimanoid Interface. I began looking back at older information about the worlds in Deep Time where the human genetics experiments had been done that ultimately resulted in human telepathy.

Zeta slipped herself into my lap and pointed to the computer screen. "Why are you going off on this tangent? I've been waiting patiently for you to finish up with Rylla's report and come to bed." Given her fancy medical nanites, Zeta is still quite spry even though she is on the high side of sixty.

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No impediment as simple as me sitting in a chair has ever prevented Zeta from quickly grabbing herself an orgasm, and her inventiveness has grown dramatically since the Bimanoid Interface was upgraded. After Zeta had accomplished her immediate physiological objective, she rested herself in my arms and again looked at the computer and asked, "What's the link between Sogdian and Taivasila?"

"I would not be surprised if both Sogdian and Taivasila were artificial worlds. Sogdian may have been part of the Phari Network."

"Are you actually comfortable with the idea that entire planets can be constructed?" I could sense that Zeta was amused by my gullibility, which she attributes to my interest in science fiction.

The Taivasila Simulation.

"Artificial does not have to mean starting from scratch. Imagine smashing two or more existing planets together in order to engineer a 'new' planet." I brought to the computer screen an artist's depiction of Taivasila. "In the case of Taivasila, I wonder if that world was a hybrid... part natural rogue planet and part artificial construct, the inhabited half existing mostly within the Hierion Domain. I'm thinking in analogy to the Eternity space-time bubble... it may be that Taivasila was in the Hierion Domain, but it may have initially formed around a planetary body."

inside Eternity

Zeta speculated, "Maybe any large space-time bubble such as Eternity must be anchored to a large, stable mass."

"And if so, then maybe descriptions of how Gohrlay 'lived on" Taivasila are misleading. Maybe Gohrlay's time 'on Taivasila' was really time spent inside a virtual reality system, in much the same way that Lakum has been living inside the ER Simulator."

the Ivory Infites

Zeta added, "And how you lived with Ivory for all those years."

"I don't think I ever visited Observer Base, so it is doubtful that I've ever made use of the Reality Simulation System of Eternity. My best guess is that it was my replicoid, Irhit, who lived a simulated lifetime with Ivory." Given Zeta's endless frustration over my memories of Ivory, it seems like a miracle that Zeta named her daughter Tihri. I suspect that Zeta's main justification for selecting the name 'Tihri' was out of hope that she would grow up to be the opposite of Irhit.

Zeta could see part way into my thought stream. She insisted, "Your original tryp'At name was tih'Ri, but you were never allowed to use it. Here in the post-replicoid era, it seems fitting to recover that name for use."

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"Based on hints in the infites I received from Ivory, I believe she graduated from getting into trouble on Earth to getting into trouble at Observer Base. I would not be surprised if she helped train Lakum for her special role in creating the Mind Clone Network."

"So you don't believe the claim that Lakum was raised by robots?"

"Who knows what Lakum means by 'robot'. Remember, Ivory was transformed into an artificial life form when she was removed from Earth; in her new physical form she adopted a new name: Yrovi. It would be interesting to know if that name is familiar to Lakum. Sadly, it is hard work getting information relayed between Earth and Eternity."

Grean the Kac'hin

"Don't be impatient. Your memory from the future suggests that the Mind Clones will eventually provide an organized system for more efficient information exchange between Earth and the Hierion Domain."

"Hopefully that 'future memory' will prove to be accurate. I fear that by warning Georgy about Lakum, I may have created a new and different future."

Zeta laughed. "Maybe new to you, but I suspect this was all planned by Grean. How else do you explain that she was able to communicate with Colleen and block her from any further use of the AR Simulator?"

"I have no alternative explanation. Still, it is unsettling to think that the Final Reality is still in the process of forming. How long might this Reality Change continue to unfold?" I had my arms wrapped tightly around Zeta and my head was resting against her neck. My eye lids were drooping.

Rylla being observed by an alien Kac'hin.

Zeta had no trouble seeing that I was thinking about Rylla. "You are waiting for her to call?"

"She knows how fast I read. I suspect-" The videochat application signaled that Rylla was connecting from Australia. Zeta activated the camera.

Rylla appeared on the screen and said, "Grandma! Grandpa! It all worked out, just like your future memory about Lakum predicted."

Observer Base

"Thank you, Rylla for providing me with your account of recent events at Observer Base. By my estimation, your quick action forced Lakum out of the ER Simulator at least six months early." I commended Rylla, "You have successfully changed the flow of time!"

Rylla suggested an alternative: "Or maybe you just recieved a garbled message from the future. I'm sad to say that I could have done the garbling. And I must add, it is no fun having been revealed to be a liar."

Zeta giggled, "Nobody blames you for not telling your parents about your kinky sex with Lakum. Especially since you have not yet actually done it!"

Rylla sighed. "Yes, even Nora has forgiven me for my future lie. The worst part of this is that I'm curious. I can't stop wondering what it would be like to... well, I suppose the intrigue of waiting and wondering might be more delicious than any virtual sex act could ever be."

The Mind Clone Network

Zeta said, "I don't know Rylla. I have the feeling that someone put a lot of thought into Bimanoid Interface 2.0... I'm absolutely addicted to the wonders of a shared telepathic linkage during orgasms. I recommend it highly. In my opinion, there is no reason for you and the rest of the MC1 sub-network to delay exploring your group play options."

Rylla complained, "Things are just not as easy for folks at Observer Base as you might imagine, Zeta. I just had another telepathy session with Georgy and got the latest update from the ongoing study of tryp'At biology."

Zeta asked, "What's the news?"

Lakum

Rylla shook her head in dismay. "I suppose I should have seen this coming. I'm not sure that I had adequately warned you two about the age problem."

I told Rylla, "I got nervous when you sent your second to the last update. Do you really think Lakum is only 14 years old?"

"Even Lakum can't say for sure what her biological age is. However, she has the appearance of a young girl. Georgy thinks that Lakum is still going through puberty."

Zeta said, "Oh, my!"

Stacy

Rylla explained, "Both Colleen and Stacy offered to have Lakum move in with them, but she declined. She is staying at Napanapa Resort."

Zeta asked, "Napa Resort?"

Rylla said, "Napanapa is name of the resort in Observer Base that Lakum was using as her home in the far future of the ER Simulation."

I said, "I'm not sure if this is relevant to Lakum's situation, but Ivory once told me that there were experiments with human hermaphrodites in the records recovered from Retz's experiments on the planet Sogdian. As I recall, at least for the particular simultaneous hermaphrodites in those studies, female sex characteristics developed first, followed by male."

The Sogdian Experiments

Rylla nodded, "Georgy thinks sexual immaturity is the real reason why Lakum was waiting to emerge from the ER Simulator. And Colleen talked to the robot staff at Napanapa. Apparently, during the past year, Lakum has been spending most of her time in the Final Reality not here in the core city of Observer Base, but at the out-lying Napanapa resort. In essence, she has been avoiding contact with the Mind Clone Network until she could grow up."

Zeta nodded, "Yes, it all makes sense. If Lakum is still a sexually immature tryp'At, then it is understandable that she wants to continue growing up at Napanapa before starting any kind of physical relationship with Stacy."

I complained, "So, I really did mess things up by launching this investigation of Lakum. We've put Lakum in an uncomfortable situation."

Rylla shook her head and told me, "I don't see this as a serious problem. In fact, it may all be for the better. Georgy, Colleen, Stacy and I can now begin the process of building a relationship with Lakum that will rest upon a strong foundation... I'd prefer lots of thought and planning rather than just the reckless rush that you saw in your memory of the future."

Dehla, Behgi and Suem receive
a visitor from the future.

Zeta added, "Also, we now have a better understanding of the role that the tryp'At played in creating the Final Reality. Dehla might have been the first Mind Clone on Earth and I wonder if her daughter Behgi was the second. We really do need to start thinking in terms of generations of Mind Clones, some going far back in Deep Time!"

I had been imagining that Mind Clone technology might have originally been designed for use with replicoids who could telepathically link from the Hierion Domain to Earth, but we now had a data point from Deep Time, from the era of replicoids. The evidence suggested that replicoids were never used to link to Mind Clones. "If Dehla was actually a Mind Clone of Colleen, then we need to ask: was there also a Mind Clone of Behgi inside Eternity?"

Zeta nodded, "And if so, by what name might we already know her?"

Luri of Tamari by Anney Fersoni

Rylla groaned, "That sounds like the starting point for a whole new investigation. Right now, I have to run. I've got to get to my molecular biology lab session. Later!" Rylla terminated the videochat.

Zeta shook her head and said, "The poor girl already changed her major to biology. I hope you have not sent her on a wild goose chase. Now she has to play catch-up on science classes if she is going to graduate on schedule."

"It was an hermaphroditic tryp'At chase, not a goose chase." I could sense that Zeta was worried about Rylla's sudden interest in biology research.

"I know." Zeta put her qualms into words: "We just can't afford to have Rylla become too enthusiastic about investigating her biology."

Betty

I asked, "Can you define 'too enthusiastic'?"

"She needs to proceed with caution or else she could turn herself into some alien biology freak show with an international team of scientists studying her Asterothrope gene combinations."

I started typing a list of names into the computer. "I suppose we should think carefully about the possibility that someone we know, such as Nora, was the one who helped guide the behavior of Beghi during the Ekcolir Intervention."

Zeta asked, "Why limit your investigation to just Beghi? What about Suem? And Nora is going to be a dead end; her memory was edited, so even if she was an active Interventionist agent far back in Deep Time, her memories of such things is gone. There are other possibilities such as Betty and Luri." Zeta fell silent while trying to telepathically link to Yōd inside the AR Simulator.

The Azynov Touch by Ayash Shipdesqi

I was doing some searching back through old blog posts, looking for candidates who may have been a Mind Clone of Beghi. My search parameters were these: 1) I assumed that Dehla was the Mind Clone of Colleen. 2) in some sense, Beghi was "part tryp'At". At the very least, Dehla and Lakum were the "parents" of Beghi. 3) So, what if the mind clone of Beghi was also part tryp'At?

Zeta slumped against me. Looking into her mind, I could tell that she had successfully established a telepathic connection to Yōd. I added the name Roz Shipdesqi to my list of suspects.

I wondered: was Roz still at Observer Base? I also asked myself: why had Ivory been so interested in Roz's mother, the tryp'At Overseer, Sachiz?

Roz was taken to Observer Base in 2014

Zeta came out of her trance-like state, having asked her sister Yōd to investigate the associates of Colleen and Lakum in the Asimov Reality. Maybe Yōd was best positioned to discover the Mind Clones of Beghi and Suem.

Zeta then quickly sent a short email to Rylla, asking her to try to find out if Roz was still in residence at Observer Base. Zeta hit "send". She could see in my mind that I was thinking about Ivory.

Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License
see Barbarian Warrior - 8
by Marcus Ranum

I told Zeta, "Ivory and Roz were taken to Observer Base at about the same time. Ivory was such a trouble maker that she was taken out of Eternity and sent to Cynk. It would be interesting to know the tales that Roz could tell, but I suspect she met a similar fate... like Ivory, Roz may have been pushed right out of Eternity by the tryp'At Overseers."

Zeta shut off my computer and pulled me towards the bedroom. "It is late. You'll be able to think more clearly tomorrow."

I quickly fell asleep, and soon Yōd was there in my dream, sharing what she knew about the link between Roz and Behgi.

Next: Yōd's report on Roz.

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