Débutante

In Alastor Cluster (source)

The early lives of the original Colleen and Lakum were carefully planned so as to prepare them for their missions in support of the Ekcolir Intervention. After completing their work on Earth, they soon realized (with a little help from infites) that Grean had additional plans for them beyond Earth.

Colleen and Lakum had been crafted and designed to compliment each other's talents and, along with their children, they had much to accomplish together in Alastor Cluster, far out at the frontier where humans were spreading through the galaxy in the Phari Reality, working towards the goal of making it possible for humans to attain telepathic abilities. However, before Colleen and Lakum moved to Alastor Cluster and built their family, they worked together on a mission to the far future during which Colleen obtained some valuable infites from the last Prelands.

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Hierion Physics
The planet Triskelion B was a naturally rich source of hierions and became a source of wealth and materials that pushed forward research in Alastor Cluster towards the goal of giving humans telepathic powers.

On Triskelion A, the Central University physics researchers were protected by a hierion shield, allowing them to make scientific advances that were achievable nowhere else among the 200,000 settled human worlds of the galaxy. Leading those research efforts was the physicist, Dr. Ektenor.

"We have been working for centuries to accumulate enough hierion matter so that we will be able to fracture the space-time continuum." -Dr. Ektenor

In the Ekcolir Reality.

Triskelion A was also unusual in that its people had escaped from the anti-robot fears that haunted most human worlds. In the Laboratories of Central University, robotic assistants and collaborators helped move research projects towards new discoveries.

Previously, Colleen (traveling with a humanoid robot companion) had gone to Yerophet where she initiated a set of experiments with hierion shields. Could the human settlers of Yerophet be protected against the powerful psychic influence of the native Kerub?

While visiting Yerophet, Colleen wore a personal hierion shield in an attempt to stay safe from the debilitating effects of both Kerub telepathy and the behavior-shaping zeptites that were present inside the brains of most people.

A Syntocinate sect family (source)

However, Colleen's planned telepathy experiments were being forced in new directions. Back on Triskelion, Lakum hosted a fare-well dinner for Azynov and Yōd. A subtle derailment of orderly events in the Phari Reality had begun the previous week when Lakum's daughter Shery and Azynov innocently discussed their shared interests in mathematics and statistical mechanics. That seemingly unimportant conversation soon sped Shery on her way towards discovery of an exciting new type of hierion shield.

Next, Yōd became aware of the odd "dreams" that Lakum's daughter Kresso had begun having about Colleen's work on Yerophet. Yōd was familiar with the fact that some humans could best receive telepathic signals while they slept. Yōd suspected that Kresso had telepathic abilities that were strongest when the girl was asleep.

Soon, these seemingly unrelated events merged into a new pattern and the original course of events in the Phari Reality was dramatically altered, forcing Yōd and Azynov to improvise and adopt a new strategy for their upcoming visit to Yerophet.

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Below is part 2 of Yōd's account of Colleen and Lakum's adventures in Alastor Cluster (The Yerophet Experiment). Part 1: Sherylyn.

 

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Part 2: Robots of Triskelion.

Azynov and Yōd had spent their morning touring the Biology Department of Central University on Triskelion A. Now they walked, hand-in-hand, towards Gamevoli's, the eatery which had become their usual place to grab a meal on campus. They were met by Danni, one of Dr. Ektenor's robots. Danni approached and said, "Dr. Ektenor has been quite busy today. He can't join you for your scheduled lunch appointment, but he hopes to meet you here in the middle afternoon."

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Azynov placed a hand on the robot's shoulder. "Thank you for relaying the message, Danni. We've completed our work at the University, so with nothing else to do, we will wait here for Dr. Ektenor."

Yōd took hold of Danni's arm and asked, "Won't you join us?" She tipped her head towards the buffet. "For lunch."

Danni replied, "Sorry, but I'm needed by Dr. Ektenor." The robot hurried away, casting one last glance back at Yōd over its shoulder.

Azynov and Yōd picked out items from the buffet then they sat at a table in the outside garden. Yōd poked at the vegetables on her plate that she could not identify by name. "We should have enlisted one of the botanists to join us for lunch. Their mission seems to be naming every plant in the galaxy. I suppose they could tell me what I'm eating and which planet it originally came from."

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(Sedronite, image credits)

Azynov shook his head sadly. "Cataloging plants... they call that 'research'... quite pathetic. At least the robots in the Biology Department seem to care about that particular biology mission. I'm less certain about the human 'researchers' that we met today. Dr. Whelo's only concern seems to be designing new robots." As an artificial lifeform, Azynov did not actually need to eat, but he did so in order to be social. He nibbled at a piece of fruit that was similar to an apple and watched Yōd while she gingerly chewed on a strange blue colored leaf.

Yōd tried to wash the sticky leaf down her esophagus with a gulp of beer. "The state of scientific research here is very depressing. For all of Dr. Ektenor's talk about the University being protected by its micro-hierion shield, there is little evidence of active research projects on Triskelion. The biologists do little more than collect butterflies and name obscure plant species."

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Azynov suggested, "The problem seems to be that nobody except Dr. Ektenor, and his collaborator Colleen, take seriously the idea that invisible zeptites are all around us, waiting to slip into brains and quell the natural human desire to explore."

Yōd speared a small tomato with her fork, held it out towards Azynov and asked, "What's so funny?" She could see a goofy smile on his face.

"Nothing. Just... well, your teeth are now blue."

"Ug. Maybe if I drink enough beer then the blue will wash away." She drank some more then said, "Speaking of collaboration, what did you think about Dr. Whelo's claim that robots are his only useful collaborators?"

Another R. Danni mystery!

Azynov knew that Yōd was not a fan of the sugary tomatoes that seemed to be popular on Triskelion. Yōd pushed her fork further across the table towards Azynov. He leaned across the little table and took the tomato off of Yōd's fork with a quick bite. After chewing, swallowing and then after taking a sip of water, Azynov replied, "I got a real eye-full of Dr. Whelo's collaborators. The Biology Department reminds me of a harem. It is obvious that Dr. Whelo enjoys surrounding himself with a collection of sexy robots. I suspect what he usually works at in collaboration with those robots is making orgasms."

Yōd chuckled. "The first day we were here on Triskelion, Dr. Ektenor warned us that sexy robots are destroying this society."

Azynov complained, "And you had to immediately take poor little Danni to bed."

Yōd shrugged, "Well, Danni is so versatile, we did not actually need a bed." Her thoughts were crowded with sweet memories of the robot's creative sexual techniques. She tried to bring her thoughts back to the present. "You know, in the name of scientific objectivity, I couldn't just take at face value either Danni's or Ektenor's account of the robots of Triskelion and their function in society." Yōd set down her fork and picked up a long thin vegetable from her plate. She pushed the green carrot-like root between her lips and bit off a piece. "Anyhow, there is nothing little about Danni. You should have joined us for that romp in the hotel spa."

Azynov was imagining what it might be like to make love to Yōd while they were under water. Azynov shook his head. "No, Danni creeps me out. I'm glad you carried out your scientific study of Danni's reflexes without my assistance. And I hope you are not planning to invite him back to the hotel after this evening's dinner party for one final farewell orgasm."

Yōd took another bite of the carrot. "It is tempting, but you've made it abundantly clear that you don't find Danni sexually enticing. I suppose you'd prefer to spend the night with one of Dr. Whelo's curvy little collaborators."

Azynov asked, "Little? They all seemed to be bursting out of their D cups. Based on my casual observations, I'd say that Dr. Whelo has a serious breast obsession."

Yōd nodded. "As do you. Which of his robots did you like the looks of? The redhead?"

"There was a redhead?" Azynov thought back and tried to picture the robots that he had seen in Dr. Whelo's lab. "I guess I was looking at other items of interest... all of them below the neck. And I was puzzled when Dr. Whelo mentioned religion."

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Yōd agreed. "That was odd. I don't think of Dr. Ektenor as being a religious fanatic."

"But Whelo condemned both Ektenor and Colleen as putting their religion ahead of science. Whelo seems to think that Dr. Ektenor is a cult leader, trying to indoctrinate the Physics Department with beliefs about invisible ghost-like souls."

Yōd sighed. "I suppose if you look at it objectively, Ektenor and Colleen have no physical evidence for the existence of femtobots or zeptites as invisible components of the human body. Yet, their entire research project is built upon their belief in unseen nanites that control human behavior. Maybe Dr. Whelo is justified in calling that a religion."

Azynov watched a shapely robot walk through the garden. "Just visiting Triskelion for a week could make some people start believing in miracles."

One Ring of telepathy.

Yōd followed Azynov's gaze and asked, "Are you ready to worship that bouncy robot as a goddess?"

"Some of these robots look like they walked right off a pulp magazine cover. With these sorts of distractions in the labs, it is a miracle that any research gets done. Even Dr. Ektenor does not seem all that productive."

Yōd explained, "When I spoke to Lakum yesterday, she made it clear that Colleen has been the main driving force for scientific discovery in Dr. Ektenor's lab. I suspect that Dr. Ektenor just tries to keep up with Colleen. And now, with Colleen off planet, Dr. Ektenor may have nothing to do."

"If so, then why did he cancel our lunch date?"

Yōd was gazing at a robot seated with some researchers at a nearby table. "I'll bet his absence has something to do with robots, not physics."

artificial geology

Azynov followed Yōd's line of sight and looked over his shoulder. He could tell that she was ogling a robot she had seen at the University on several occasions during the past week. This was a seven foot tall robot that looked much like Danni, only larger. Azynov smirked, "I see Goliath is back."

Yōd nodded and gestured towards the table where "Goliath" sat with his lab members. "That's the Geology Department's tectonics research group. They drop by here most days about this time."

Azynov gazed upon Yōd, wondering at her fascination with the robots of Triskelion. "And you've learned to grab this table and sit in that chair so you can be sure to get an eyeful of Goliath?"

Yōd nodded. "I looked him up in the campus directory. His name is Notteng VI. He's part of a famous robotic engineering effort aimed at pushing the limits of humanoid robot design. Each successive Notteng model is a little bigger than the previous one."

Azynov laughed. "Exactly how big is Notteng VI?"

Yōd replied, "According to Robots Facts and Figures, which I consulted in the interest of scientific accuracy, each of the Notteng models had been big enough for all practical purposes. However, the robot designers of Triskelion seem unable to reach an upper limit for both breast and penis size. Apparently there is always a new request from someone for another larger model."

Azynov sighed. "Big breasts are eye-catching, but hardly practical, although I did read that some of the robot models here on Triskelion have been used to help with raising children and as wet nurses."

Yōd shook her head, "Baby's don't care about breast size. No, it is simply human perversity that is behind the sexualization of the robotics revolution here on Triskelion. If something isn't done to curb this trend, the human population of this world will whither away, along with the only real chance for science and technology innovation in the galaxy."

For more than an hour, Azynov and Yōd discussed their plans to visit Colleen on the planet Yerophet. They were going to take their little spaceship off of Triskelion in the morning and then reset the AR Simulation. After flying a short distance out into space, they would shift the coordinates of the spaceship to a position close to Yerophet and restart the simulator. Azynov said, "According to my research, small private spaceships are allowed to land in the remote parts of Frost Hills District as long as there is no over-flight of Kerub lands."

Yōd suggested, "Maybe we can land right on the ranch where Colleen is staying."

Finally, Dr. Ektenor arrived at Gamevoli's and joined Yōd and Azynov at their table. He hungrily ate a late lunch. Azynov and Yōd described the sorry state of the Biology Department. Yōd offered a detailed commentary on the eye-catching robots that she had seen in the Biology building on campus.

Dr. Ektenor made a few comments about "the death of biology" as a science. "Biology here in Alastor Cluster is a kind of zombie science... dead, but still wondering around, annoying people."

Yōd said, "Biology knowledge, particularly genetics, seems little changed from the pre-space age days of Earth."

Dr. Ektenor leaned back from his empty plate. "The history of science here at Central University is very sad. A few budding scientists do manage to grow to adulthood with their bodies cleared of zeptites and they start doing some real research, but then they get infected again. Unless you take continual care to avoid it, the zeptites always return."

Yōd suggested, "So, here in Alastor Cluster, I suppose that it does take something like religious fanaticism to prevent zeptites from taking control of your mind."

Dr. Ektenor nodded. "Not just here. It is the same across the entire galaxy."

Dr. Ektenor, Azynov and Yōd spent the late afternoon relaxing in Gamevoli's lounge. Topics of discussion ranged far and wide, but eventually the main topic became the journey to -and back from- the Andromeda galaxy that Azynov and Yōd had once made.

As outsiders, visitors to Triskelion, Azynov and Yōd spoke with odd accents, which particularly attracted the attention of passing robots. All the robots had sensitive hearing and they seemed attracted to unusual speech patterns. During the past week, Azynov had gotten used to looking across a room and finding robots watching him intently.

At the nearby tables, small groups of researchers from the university came and went, none of them paying much attention to Dr. Ektenor, Azynov and Yōd except for the robot assistants who all seemed to have an ear for off-world accents and just a few of the humans who were friends of Dr. Ektenor and said hello while passing their table.

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With their tales of distant planets such as Tar'tron, Azynov and Yōd had entertained Dr. Ektenor's and held his attention during several meetings of the past week. Now, Azynov noticed that Dr. Ektenor seemed distracted. He was looking across the room and seemed to be mesmerized by a curvaceous robot who was seated at a table on the far side of the lounge. Yōd followed Isaac's wandering eyes and then asked Dr. Ektenor, "With all these well-built robots running around, I suppose most scientists never have time for a wife and family."

Dr. Ektenor laughed. "Shall we use myself as an example? I routinely blame my obsession with physics for my many social deficiencies. For me, robotics is a hobby... I am always looking for new innovations in robot design." He took another long look at the sexy robot that had caught his eye. Ektenor drew a deep breath and sighed. He turned his eyes back towards Yōd. "Azynov is a lucky man to have found you and also found a way to keep your attention. I was never that lucky with women, possibly due to stiff competition from robots." His eyes flicked back across the lounge towards the magnificently sexualized robot, but he asked Azynov a question, "So, you met Yōd at the center of the galaxy, on the planet Tar'tron?"

Azynov had his arm around Yōd's shoulders. "Yes. The women of that world had lots of fur. Picture girls who look like a big fuzzy cat."

Dr. Ektenor shook his head in wonder and then pinched Azynov's hand. "I thought it was you, Isaac who is the artificial lifeform. Isn't Yōd human?" He gazed at Yōd and inspected her carefully. "She does not look too hairy, now.  Did Yōd shed her fur after leaving Tar'tron?"

Yōd explained, "Tar'tron is an old world that has gone through many phases, progressing through what might be called different civilizations. When I lived there, body-sculpting nanites were being used to alter the human body form, thus the cat girls who caught Azynov's eye. However, since then, I've had my mind transmigrated into a completely new body."

"One of the joys of being surrounded by robots is that they can easily be rebuilt and transformed to match human tastes. There is quite an industry catering to various human hair fetishes." Dr. Ektenor asked Azynov, "So, which of Yōd's various bodies have you enjoyed the most?"

Azynov kissed Yōd's cheek and ran his fingers through her hair. "Have no fears, Dr. Ektenor, Yōd has hair in all the right places. I've had no reason to voice complaints about any of her bodies. I think they were all dominated by her great intelligence and wisdom. Yōd is a special woman no matter what body she happens to be using at the moment."

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Dr. Ektenor nodded. "I envy that attitude. You'll remain in love with Yōd even when she is old and wrinkled. It is only shallow men like myself who concern themselves with flashy bodies. Please tell me more about the world you visited in the Andromeda galaxy. Ret'fai."

Azynov and Yōd provided Ektenor with a detailed account of Ret'fai and its people, the fain. Dr. Ektenor listened attentively to their account then asked, "So after all that time on the home world of the fain, you left Ret'fai uncertain as the the real physical form of the fain?"

Azynov shrugged. "I believe the situation on Ret'fai was similar to the conditions on Tar'tron. Sophisticated developmental control nanites were in use, allowing the fain to take on almost any physical form."

Yōd added, "I had the suspicion that the fain were somehow embarrassed by their true physical form. They seemed well motivated to change themselves into something different. It was almost like a competition to see who could devise the most interesting body form."

Now, having described the planet Ret'fai to Ektenor, Azynov was holding Yōd's hand and he rather bitterly reflected on the long and lonely journey back to Earth  from the Andromeda galaxy that he had endured. He told Dr. Ektenor, "For the entire final year of that long space flight I was without Yōd." Azynov pulled Yōd's hand to his lips and kissed it.

The Foundation Reality

To Dr. Ektenor, it seemed like Azynov and Yōd were inseparable, constantly sharing lingering glances and unable to resist touching each other. Puzzled, Dr. Ektenor asked, "How so, Isaac? Did she get out of the spaceship and walk to Earth?"

Yōd replied, "There was an emergency on Earth, so I was dis-incorporated and my mind was teleported directly to Earth." She batted her eyes at Dr. Ektenor and smiled provocatively, knowing that this aspect of her past life would be hard for him to accept.

Dr. Ektenor was feeling the effects of too many cups of rum punch. He gazed upon Yōd, basking in her attention. Ektenor reflected on the fact that old men had a limitless capacity to listen to streams of nonsense as long as it came from the curved lips of lovely young women. "You make me jealous. I've spent my career trying to use hierions to split the fabric of space and make teleportation possible. I've gotten nowhere. So, long-range teleportation really is possible? You have done it yourself, Yōd? Amazing!"

Azynov suggested, "It may be that only sedronic matter can be teleported long distance."

The Sedronites.

Dr. Ektenor looked at the bottom of his empty cup and tried to imagine a human mind converted into ghostly particles of sedronic matter. He shook his head and said, "As a materialist, it makes me uneasy to hear about disposable bodies, disembodied minds, the idea that I am a ghost inside some virtual reality simulator..." During the past week, Azynov and Yōd had shared with Dr. Ektenor the fact that he was part of a Reality Simulation. With no evidence to back up that claim, Dr. Ektenor refused to believe it. "After decades of study, I can't begin to understand the physics of hierions, and adding insult to injury, you two show up and tease me with your wild stories of sedrons. I've tried for decades to physically isolate a sedron, but you two blithely tell me that sedrons constitute another entire family of fundamental particles. And strangely, you cannot explain to me how you know this."

Azynov tried to inject some levity into the situation, "Well, soon we will depart from Triskelion and you will be rid of our disturbance. You can get back to your routine, playing in your lab with hadrons and fields, hierions and shields. Please forget we ever mentioned sedrons."

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Yōd added, "It is nice of you to humor us, Dr. Ektenor. Where we come from, nobody is allowed to obtain physical evidence for the existence of either hierions or sedrons. Still, we are interested in such matters and that's why we came here to Triskelion. We really appreciate all of the time you have taken from your research just to explain to us what you know about hierions.

Dr. Ektenor tipped his head in acknowledgement of the kind sentiments expressed by Yōd. "I've found our near-daily chats both entertaining and educational. On one hand, I wish you would stay longer on Triskelion and continue sharing with me your astounding tales of far galaxies, but on the other hand it may be best that you depart and allow me to get back to my usual work schedule."

Azynov said, "I'm sorry if we have taken too much of your time. For a brief period in my life I was caught up in the academic rat race, so I can appreciate how busy you must be."

Yōd watched Notteng VI walk past and exit from Gamevoli's through the front door. Following Yōd's gaze, Dr. Ektenor said, "A remarkable physical specimen, eh Yōd?"

Yōd grinned and replied, "There is some sort of genetic programming that forces women to pay attention to tall men."

At that moment, Dr. Morek, head of the Geology Division, was also on her way out, but she paused close to Dr. Ektenor. "Will you be at the TBT seminar tomorrow?"

"Of course, I wouldn't miss it."

"Good, it seems like ages since I've had a chance to speak with you." Dr. Morek put her hand out towards Yōd, "I'm Liza, head of Geology. I was off campus earlier this week when you toured the Geology building here on campus."

Yōd shook Dr. Morek's hand which was twice the size of Yōd's hand. Until that moment, Yōd had not fully realized how large a woman Dr. Morek was. "I'm Yōd, of no academic distinction." She gestured towards Azynov, "This is Dr. Azynov."

Liza shook Azynov's hand, "What is your specialty?"

Azynov replied, "I'm more of a science generalist, but long ago I studied biochemistry and did a small amount of research on enzymes."

Dr. Morek asked Ektenor, "Is Dr. Azynov being recruited by the University?" She told Yōd, "We are terribly thin in our coverage of the life sciences."

Dr. Ektenor explained, "No such luck. Issac and Yōd are here investigating the general state of scientific research on Triskelion. They have come all the way from Earth!"

"I've heard a rumor to that effect. Yōd, in particular, has set tongues waging all across campus." Dr. Morek waggled a finger at Yōd, "I'm about to become jealous over the way you monopolize Dr. Ektenor's time."

Yōd laughed. "Don't worry, Azynov and I will be leaving tomorrow and you will be free to get your hands back on Dr. Ektenor."

Dr. Morek placed a hand on Dr. Ektenor's shoulder and told Yōd, "Oh, if only! I've found it impossible to ever get him to do anything recreational, he is all work and no play. In Geology, we are quite dependent on him for new upgrades to the hierion extraction equipment that is used to mine Triskelion B." She asked Dr. Ektenor, "Speaking of which, what is the timeline for rollout of the next extractor update?"

"Keep your pants on, Liza." Ektenor jabbed an elbow at her. "We have not announced a date for the update. You'll be the first to know, as always."

Yōd said, "I could not help but notice Notteng VI."

Dr. Morek nodded, "Of course not! Bigger is better... that's our motto in Geology. You've never seen Notteng VII who is stationed at the Silver Mountain Beam Station; he's six inches bigger than Notteng VI. Our modern Hierion Beam Extractors are 10,000 times larger than the original ones that were used back when Triskelion B was first mined."

Dr. Ektenor added, "They are 10,000 times larger, but also more efficient by an additional factor of 1,000."

"Yes, the hierions now flow to Triskelion A at a fantastic rate, but Dr. Ektenor and the physicists are never satisfied."

Yōd mused, "Bigger may be better while not being any more satisfying."

Dr. Morek laughed and slapped Yōd on the back, "Don't knock it until you've tried it."

Azynov nodded and said, "In my experience, newer does not always mean better." He was thinking about the old days when he enjoyed using a typewriter. Speaking into the voice transcriber of his datapad was not as satisfying.

"Sad, but true, Dr. Azynov." Morek turned to Dr. Ektenor, "Speaking of the new... rumor has it that you are finally going to publicly unveil your latest robot creation. Is that true?"

Dr. Ektenor shrugged, "You are talking about a private robot of mine. I won't go out of my way to publicly debut this newest model."

Liza placed a hand on Yōd's shoulder, "I hope you are not offended, but when I first saw you last week I wondered if you might be Ektenor's mysterious unseen robot."

"I take no offense." Yōd explained, "Azynov and I have no anti-robot prejudice." Glancing casually at Dr. Morek's ample bust, Yōd said, "With my itty-bitty breasts I would not expected to be mistaken for a robot."

Liza shook her head slowly. "Not all robots get inflated boobs, but that is the current fashion trend on Triskelion. Why, back when I was a youngster, the robots went through a topless phase during which flat chests with flower tattoos were fashionable. These silly trends come and go, their only purpose is novelty, which is often what folks find most attractive."

Dr. Ektenor added, "Some of those flat chests were L.E.D. display screens. I found the whole effect quite unsettling."

Dr. Morek asked Azynov and Yōd, "So now you will return to Earth and submit a report on Triskelion? What do you conclude?"

Azynov replied, "I wish we knew more about the hierion shields that have been developed here. In fact, Yōd and I are moving on to Yerophet where we hope to see a new application of micro-hieron shielding."

"Telepathy?" Dr. Morek shook her head derisively, "I'm a skeptic. However, happy hunting. It would certainly be an amazing discovery if anyone found verifiable evidence of telepathic communication." The skepticism in her voice was obvious. "Well, I must get back to my much more mundane world of geology." With a wave of her hand, Liza hurried out the front door of Gamevoli's lounge.

Yōd said, "I'm sorry Dr. Ektenor if we've been disrupting normal interactions with your colleagues."

"No problem, not a problem at all. I find most of my colleagues rather worth avoiding on most occasions. I take to heart the idea that novelty is important." Ektenor gazed at Yōd and almost told her something about Danni, but he decided not to do so. "After thirty years of working with someone, their idiosyncrasies can become irritations. No doubt Dr. Morek has been happy to see less of me lately... I'm not good at gossip and small talk. I have maintained a good working relationship with Morek mainly because she is often out of town, visiting various mining facilities."

Yōd checked the time. "As much as we enjoy chatting with you, time grows short. Don't you think we should be going over to Lakum's dinner party?"

"Being honest with you my dear Yōd, I must admit that I'm facing this evening with no small level of trepidation." Dr. Ektenor nervously stroked his beard.

Yōd assured Ektenor, "Lakum told me that she is very please that you accepted her invitation to attend the party."

Azynov again checked the time. By his estimation they should have headed out for Lakum's house a half hour earlier. "It grows quite late. We really should be on our way to the party."

Dr. Ektenor rose rather unsteadily to his feet. "Yes, you are quite right. If we stay here any longer, Yōd will drink me under the table. Oh, and before I forget, despite my whining, I really do want to thank you, Yōd, for arranging for my invitation to the festivities this evening. I seldom get away from my work and out of the lab for social events. It has been many years since I visited Lakum. Even if I am dreading this social occasion, it is good for me to attend."

They departed from Gamevoli's and walked to Dr. Ektenor's aircar. Due to their half drunken state, Dr. Ektenor and Yōd were both unable to walk in straight lines. Azynov was grateful that his artificial body did not experience debilitating effects from ingesting chemicals such as ethanol. Arriving at the university parking facility, they were met by a robot named Vyky who was introduced as Dr. Ektenor's driver and after a brief discussion of the flight plan, Vyky strapped her lithe body into the pilot's seat. Ektenor seated himself in the co-pilot's chair and carefully checked the integrity of the aircar's hierion shield. Then, with that chore completed, they were soon on their way to the rural home of Colleen and Lakum.

As Vyky guided the aircar into the sky, Yōd told Dr. Ektenor, "Lakum seems to think of you as family. She even told me your first name."

Dr. Ektenor shrugged. "Many years ago, back when Colleen began working in my lab, she introduced me to Lakum and their young daughter. They soon asked me to tutor Shery in mathematics. Back then, I saw quite a bit of Lakum and we became good friends... for a while."

"Oh, really?" Yōd was snuggled up against Azynov in the back seat of the aircar. "Like Azynov and I are friends?"

"Exactly. Of course, that was before I realized that Lakum is an hermaphrodite. And we became 'friends' before Lakum realized how much time Colleen would be spending in the lab. Eventually Lakum came to hate me for the way I kept Colleen working in the lab year after year."

Yōd suggested, "It seems that Triskelion was the perfect planet, the ideal place for Lakum and Colleen to retire. Nobody here would ever question two women producing babies and raising a family... I'm surprised that Lakum so casually revealed her anatomical secrets to you."

The Zal Intervention

Dr. Ektenor blushed. "Did Lakum tell you about that? Well, you know, we here on Triskelion pride ourselves on not judging others, be they robotic artificial lifeforms or biological rarities such as hermaphrodites. I'm no biologist... still, it is odd; the text books say that there are no true human hermaphrodites, making Lakum a serious mystery."

Azynov asked, "Lakum never tried to explain her existence to you?"

"Well, she told me her story. That did not turn out well because she started the account of her life by trying to convince me that time travel is possible." Dr. Ektenor looked pleadingly at Azynov. "As a physicist, I was certain that time travel is a fantasy. However, as a man who was in love with Lakum, I was willing to try constructing my life around that shared delusion... for a time. It did not work out."

Azynov admitted, "I too had a similar experience in my youth. A man named Thomas tried to tell me that his mother was a time traveler from the far future. He claimed that, as a child, he had a telepathic connection to his mother's mind. Of course, being a skeptical person who had been trained in science, I decided that Thomas was crazy."

Tuntoci settlers on Yerophet

Dr. Ektenor chuckled. "And now Colleen has gone off to Yerophet, investigating claims that the Kerub can establish telepathic linkages to the human settlers on that world."

Yōd asked, "What if there is a link between telepathy and the future... between hermaphrodites and the future? And also a link between telepathy and time travel?"

From the front passenger seat, Dr. Ektenor looked over his shoulder at Yōd. "I suppose you believe Lakum's delusion about her being a time traveler."

Yōd nodded. "This is why Azynov and I came to Alastor Cluster... to learn about such mysteries. Our main goal is to learn how humans were transformed in to new variants... including telepathic hermaphrodites. Lakum is a tryp'At from the far future, but it is here in this time that people such as the settlers of Yerophet are are first attaining weak telepathic powers."

Dr. Ektenor laughed nervously. "Now I understand why you two want to follow Colleen to Yerophet. I see that you share her interest in telepathy. I long ago heard all this nonsense about the tryp'At from Lakum but I've never seen any evidence to support claims of human telepathy... or time travel, for that matter."

Azynov confirmed Ektenor's suspicion. "Yes, we are quite interested in both time travel and telepathy, Dr. Ektenor. I myself have never experienced telepathic contact, but I trust Yōd in this matter... her belief in telepath is not a delusion."

Dr. Ektenor asked, "Isaac, you are a not a telepath, and have never experienced telepathic communication, yet you believe in telepathy?"

"Yes. Sadly, I was not equipped with the sort of subsystems that can confer technology-assisted telepathic abilities on artificial lifeforms like myself, but..." Azynov looked at Yōd.

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Yōd told Ektenor, "In my case, what I have is a type of technology-assisted telepathy that was designed for humans. With the help of an endosymbiont, I can receive telepathic messages from my sister, who is on Earth." She did not try to explain her ability to also send telepathic signals to the Editor while he was asleep.

Dr. Ektenor sighed and shook his head. "I suppose there is no restriction on telepathy; it works instantaneously across vast interstellar distances?" He could not keep his voice free of sarcasm.

Yōd shrugged. "I'm not trying to convince you, Dr. Ektenor. In my case, the physical mechanics of the telepathic link to my sister is complicated by the fact that this-" Yōd gestured towards their surroundings, "-is all a virtual reality simulation." Yōd negligently waved her hand to indicate the entire world, the entire galaxy as known to Ektenor. "At this very moment, my physical body is actually not all that far from the real Earth."

Dr. Ektenor rubbed his eyes and gave voice to a petulant outburst, "Real Earth!" Ektenor wished he had another full cup of rum punch in hand. "I must warn you, I'm not going to make even the slightest effort to believe your delusions, my dear." He tried to smile, but could only bring a pained twist of the lips to his face. Ektenor could not force himself to believe that he existed inside a simulation of the universe. "Allow me to change the subject. May I ask a personal question? What about you two? I assume you do more than just hold hands. Do you have any plans for a family?"

Azynov had been looking out the window at the passing landscape, but now he turned and looked at Yōd.

Zeta's mind clone

Yōd replied to Dr. Ektenor's question, "I'm not sure that 'plan' is the right word, but, yes, I'm pregnant." Yōd did not bother mentioning that her sister back on Earth was also pregnant. That coincidence was enough to strain even Yōd's credulity.

Dr. Ektenor chuckled, "I'm not surprised. I don't have much experience with such things, but you seem to glow, my dear."

Yōd said, "And Lakum seemed to glow when she spoke to me about you and your past. I asked Lakum about your name as listed in the campus directory, Dr. K. Ektenor, and she told me that your first name is Kressyknoak."

Dr. Ektenor winced. "I have a rather pretentious first name, but Kressyknoak was the family name of one of my grandparents. The second 'k' is silent. It is an Ektenor family tradition to honor grandparents by saddling children with their names."

Azynov suggested, "Lakum must have liked your name. She used a shortened version of it for one of her own children."

Dr. Ektenor sighed. "No, the poor child's full name is Kressyknoak Nyky Toddarro. Everyone calls her Kresso, except her sister Shery who calls her Nyky... that's spelled with one 'k' and two 'y's. Apparently Colleen and Lakum worked with a colleague named Nyky when they were on Earth."

Yōd pointed at Dr. Ektenor, "May I ask you a sensitive question, Kressyknoak?"

"I don't mind. In fact let me anticipate your curiosity." Dr. Ektenor glanced at the data stream for the autopilot, pointed at some of the data and briefly met the eyes of Vyky the robot pilot, then turned his attention back to Yōd. "Dear little Kresso was named after me because I'm her biological father."

Azynov was surprised. He was about to tell Dr. Ektenor how surprised he was, but Yōd put a finger to his lips and told him, "Here on Triskelion it is not unusual for siblings to have complex networks of parents. Lakum told me all about this part of Triskelion culture. It all arises from the effort to prevent the human population on this world from continuing to fall."

Dr. Ektenor nodded. "In fact, this sort of thing -me impregnating Lakum- is actually encouraged. We can't afford to let our gene pool get any narrower. Without my brief -but intense- love affair with Lakum, I'd never have had a child. And she would never have been a mother. On this world, every child is welcomed and loved, even if one of the parents is irresponsible and not interested in children, like me." The aircar was slowing and dropping down for landing. Ektenor asked the robotic pilot, "Is it safe to land this far from the house?"

Vyky the robot replied, "Yes, sir. Colleen recently extended the house's shield to encompass this field. This is now the preferred landing location for arriving guests, as long as the children are not playing here." The air car gently settled down at the center of a large grassy field.

Yōd asked, "Does Kresso expect you to spend time with her and act like her father?"

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They were on the ground and Dr. Ektenor gave the verbal command that opened the doors of the aircar. After climbing out of the little airship, they began walking along a path that led from the guest landing field towards the house. Dr. Ektenor explained, "Colleen and Lakum are Kresso's functional parents. They provide the child with an abundance of love. I've never taken the time to develop any significant relationship with Kresso, nor is that expected of me in the cultural system of this world. Lakum and I had a rather ugly falling out when I finally realized that she is an hermaphrodite." Ektenor kicked a small pebble down the path. "I like to say that I am free of prejudices, but I was not able to get over the shock of having... well, I'll not burden you with my ugly thoughts. Suffice it to say, I was no longer infatuated with Lakum once I knew she had a penis; in fact, I discovered that I was afraid to touch her. You can't imagine the horrific nightmares I've had about all sots of hidden things inside her body." Ektenor gave a little shudder. "Silly, I know, but I'm also afraid of heights and there is nothing I can do about either phobia. In fact, I'm closer to Shery than to my own daughter. Of course, that is because of our shared interest in mathematics."

Vyky was following along behind. Yōd asked Dr. Ektenor, "Do you intend to bring this robot to the dinner party?"

Dr. Ektenor glanced back at the robot. "Vyky is my most recent robotic creation. I promised Shery that I would bring Vyky to the party this evening."

Yōd pressed her point. "I could not help noticing that Vyky looks very much like Shery."

Dr. Ektenor stopped walking along the trail, turned and gestured towards Vyky. "What do you think? I probably made this robot too much like a human, but I could not restrain myself. By convention, robots should be easy to distinguish from humans."

They were in the center of a small grove of trees. In the dim light of early evening, it was difficult to clearly see Vyky's features. The robot had done something to turn her right hand into a glowing lamp, but other than that oddity, she looked like a pretty forest nymph.

Azynov commented, "Speaking as a man, and with the sincere hope that my words do not offend Yōd, Vyky makes me understand why the human population of Triskelion is declining." He assured  Dr. Ektenor, "This robot is very attractive. I want to say..." Azynov searched for the proper words, "somehow this machine is even sexier than a real woman. I don't quite understand how you achieved the effect, Dr. Ektenor. This is obviously a robot, but-"

Yōd interrupted, "Isaac, please spare me any more of your drooling and your rambling account of how you would like to ravish this machine. You are making me jealous. Although, I'll admit I would not mind having my own make-out session with Vyky." Yōd spoke to the robot directly, "You are very cute."

Vyky explained, "I was created as an act of love by Dr. Ektenor, using Miss Shery as his model."

Next: at the dinner party.

Dr. Ektenor added, "I became quite obsessed with Shery about the time she was thirteen or fourteen years old. I'd know her for years as a gifted child, then suddenly with each passing day, she looked more and more like Lakum. I was a love-smitten dirty old man, embarrassed by my burning sexual attraction to my pupil. I decided to stop my tutoring sessions with Shery. For my own sanity, I needed to transfer my lust to a machine, so Vyky was constructed in Shery's image. Shery soon found out about Vyky and she was amused. She has contributed significantly to Vyky's behavioral training. I suspect that Vyky may be the most human-like robot on Triskelion, the product of my conscious attempt to make a delightful fantasy woman and companion."

In the failing light of evening, they crossed through a backyard garden and climbed a short set of stone steps to reach the backdoor of the Lakum residence. At their approach, the door swung open...
____________________________

Part 1

I had asked Zeta to read this second part of Yōd's account of her visit to Triskelion (above). Zeta read it and then she asked me, "Why is my sister telling you about this now?"

"Something changed since six months ago when she provided me with the first part of this... Apparently, Yōd was prevented from telling me anything that might have gotten me thinking about telepathic robots. However, now that Dani has left Earth, Yōd is now free to tell me the rest of the story of the robots of Triskelion."

Next: Part 3 of The Yerophet Experiment, "Kresso"

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