Brilliant Fire

Below on this page is Part 10 of a science fiction story called The Historical Archive. In this story (set in the Final Reality), the Editor is taken into a Simulation by Nyrtia during the time when she is trying to regain control of her famous invention, the Bimanoid Interface.

Previously, in Part 9, Nyrtia explained her plan to take the Editor into a simulation of ancient Sicily where Empedocles (who, being a mutated isolate, lives disconnected from the Bimanoid Interface) and Pausanias (an Asterothrope from Site Q) are in danger of derailing the course of human history. The Editor tries to convince Pausanias to return to Site Q, which will hopefully prevent Empedocles from obtaining nanite technology. Meanwhile, Nyrtia hopes that the Editor will attract the attention of Manny the bumpha. Nyrtia hopes to finally meet Manny and regain control of the Bimanoid Interface.

Part 10 of The Historical Archive starts with Manny trying to deal with the simmering problem in ancient Sicily by deploying one of her trusted agents...

Part 10 of The Historical Archive (Part 1)(Part 2)(Part 3)(Part 4)(Part 5)(Part 6)(Part 7)(Part 8)(Part 9) 

Manny was waiting at the dock in Catăna for the arrival of her agent. As he came off the dock, she took him by the arm and led him to a pair of waiting horses. As they rode through the streets of Catăna, Manny said, "While you are here on this island, I want you to shift your form and use the name Jorja."

Hearing what seemed like a rumble of thunder, they both looked to the north where the volcano was venting some smoke. Turning back towards Manny, the agent asked, "Isn't that a woman's name?"

"Exactly. Your mission here will be facilitated by you playing the role of a woman." Manny handed over a scroll. "This is a letter from your father to Empedocles, requesting that he accept you as a student."

The text of the scroll described Jorja's childhood in Larissa and her eager desire for knowledge. When they passed outside the western wall of the city, the agent's femtobot components rearranged and he took on the physical form of a woman. Manny tied the reigns of her horse to Jorja's saddle and then said, "You'll find Empedocles in Leontini. Have fun!" Manny teleported herself away and Jorja was left alone on the road to Leontini.

For a time, Jorja tried to get used to the feel of "her" female anatomy rubbing against the saddle as the horse walked along the trail. It had been almost 800 years since Manny had last suggested that he use a female body form during a mission. 

Stopping at a stream, the two horses pretended to drink water, but they were both composed of femtobots, just like Jorja. Jorja inspected the contents of the saddle bags and found a collection of valuable jewels that would fund her mission.

After making a few adjustments to her anatomy, Jorja now drove the artificial horses at a full gallop and the rest of the journey to Leontini passed quickly. Jorja was pleased to be moving away from the ominous, venting volcano. Although Jorja was an artificial lifeform and theoretically immortal, it was not clear what would happen if something truly catastrophic happened. Jorja wondered if her nanite components would be scattered and unable to reassemble if she was caught in a violent lava flow.

Arriving in Leontini, Jorja was directed to the villa of Empedocles by some of the local residents. Jorja left the two artificial horses to the side. Carrying in her hands only the introductory scroll, she banged on the front door of the villa. The door swung open, revealing a young man who smiled at Jorja and asked, "Who are you?"

in the Ekcolir Reality

"I'm Jorja of Larissa. I'd like to speak to Empedocles."

"I like your name... I'm Gorgias." Jorja looked past Gorgias into the cool interior of the house. Gorgias was taking his time to visually inspect both Jorja and the two horses. Finally he said, "Come in." Jorja entered and the door thudded shut. "Follow me." Gorgias led the way through the dim interior and then out the back door into a courtyard. Beyond was a vineyard where Empedocles was speaking to another young man. Gorgias called to Empedocles, "A guest from Larissa!"

Empedocles turned and watched Jorja approach. Taking note of Jorja's great height and the way Jorja walked, he grinned and asked rhetorically, "Is this a boy or a girl?"

Gorgias said, "She has the voice of a girl but moves like a man."

Jorja handed the scroll to Empedocles and said, "My father raised me like a son."

Empedocles nodded to the other boy and said, "This is Pausanias... pretty enough to be a girl but now starting to grow a beard." Reading the scroll, he muttered, "All good things must end..."

Pausanias had a telepathic connection to Jorja, but Jorja's mind was unlike any he had previously encountered. Stepping close to Jorja, he asked, "Would you like a drink?"

Jorja replied, "Yes, thank you. Just some water. It was a hot dry ride from Catăna." Jorja could sense that Pausanias was trying to telepathically link into her mind.

Pausanias went to the backyard well and pulled up some cool water from deep in the well. Jorja pretended to eagerly drink. As an artificial lifeform, Jorja had no need to eat or drink.

The Doubling Mutation.

Having examined the letter, Empedocles rolled up the scroll and asked Jorja, "Are you really from Larissa? I'm surprised that your father heard of me."

Jorja explained, "He was part of a trade mission to this island two years ago. That's when he learned about you. I wanted to travel, so he suggested I come here for my education." Empedocles handed back the scroll and Jorja gave a small leather bag to him. 

Empedocles put a hand into the bag and pulled out one of the jewels. "A bribe? I won't waste a moment trying to teach you if you are illiterate."

Jorja laughed. "I know how to read and write. I'm interested in many things... from the constituents of the material world to the mystery of how we learn and know about the world."

"We'll see what kind of mind you have." Empedocles put the jewel back in the bag and negligently tossed the bag aside. "Pausanias was just telling me a new poem." He told Pausanias, "Speak the poem again."

Pausanias said, "It began with a dream... I saw Empedocles chasing a woman into a ball of fire, but Hesiod was there, too." The boy briefly played a flute then said: "She must burn with more than material flame, fated to reveal her true nature deep in bone, after her truth is revealed and after she is gone, who will record the magic of her charms?" The boy pointed at Jorja and said, "And now here your are."

Jorja sent a nanite probe into Pausanias, suspecting that he might be another of Manny's agents. In many cases, Manny preferred to have two of her artificial lifeforms working together on a project. The nanite probe indicated that Pausanias was a femtobot artificial life-form, very similar in design to Jorja. Jorja told Pausanias, "I won't compete with you for Empedocles' affections... I just want to learn western philosophy."

Empedocles asked Pausanias, "Was Jorja in your dream?"

The boy shook his head. "Sadly, no."

Empedocles laughed. "Pausanias has always been interested in women. He dreams of me and old Hesiod and then writes a poem about a girl."

Gorgias asked Pausanias, "What do you mean, 'more than material flame'?"

Pausanias suggested, "Material flame hides something else."

"Like what?"

"Mere mortals don't know the answer to that because it is difficult to study flames. The gods know the secret of fire, but they don't want to share that secret with people."

Jorja said, "For humans, fire is a kind of illusion... the true physical components are simply too small to be seen, so all mortals know is the illusion." Jorja went to retrieve the jewel sack. She pulled out a large necklace and brought it to Empedocles. She showed him the big red crystal that was part of the necklace. It had been ground to form a lens. "In Egypt, the ancients learned how to enhance vision."

Empedocles took the red lens and used it to examine the skin of Jorja's cheek. "I see the pore for each of the tiny hairs on your face." Gorgias and Pausanias each took turns using the magnifying lens then Empedocles launched into a theory about air entering the human body through tiny pores in the skin.

Pausanias stepped into the vineyard and a moment later he emerged with a field mouse. He chopped off the head of the mouse and Empedocles protested, "You may have just killed your grandmother."

Pausanias laughed and said, "May her next life again be in a human body." He cut the lungs out of the mouse and looked at them using the magnifying crystal. "Look master... there are holes here, too. That must be why people breath. Mortals need to take air, water and food into our bodies, but not fire." Empedocles examined the mouse lung under the magnifying lens.

Gorgias said, "On a cold day I love to stand in the sun or next to a flame, just for warmth."

"But no flame enters your body... only warm air."

Jorja said impatiently, "Our concepts of air are just as weak as the illusion of flame. The components of air are too small to be seen, even with magnification. We try to understand the material world with our eyes, but when examining the smaller materials, we might as well be blind."

Pausanias spoke to Jorja and asked "How can people know when to trust their own eyes?"

"I trust my eyes for the work they were made for. Eyes are not magical... they have limitations."

Gorgias asked, "Who crafted our eyes and the eyes of a fly?" He grabbed a passing fruit fly and held it under the lens. "Look at the strange eyes of a fly! What god could make all the different types of creatures with so many odd forms?"

Later, after a long philosophical discussion during which the lens was used to examine many objects, Empedocles called a halt in the talk and led Jorja through the village. He helped Jorja buy a nearby house with a pasture and stables for the two horses. Empedocles and Jorja inspected the grounds of Jorja's new home and he commented on the amazing beauty and good health of the two horses. 

They lit a fire in the hearth and Empedocles watched Jorja with deep appreciation for her physical features which seemed unrealistically perfect. Empedocles once again commented on the unusual physical features and calm demeanor of the horses and added, "They don't seem to attract flies!" 

Jorja dismissed the astonishment of Empedocles with a giggle and told him that she not only bathed daily by also regularly washed her horses. 

Before departing, Empedocles handed the magnifying lens to Jorja and said, "I hope to see you early in the morning at my villa."

"I will be there. I want to hear more about your theory of fire as the most important element."

As Empedocles departed, Jorja closed the front door of her new home, turned and saw Manny standing by the fire. Manny asked, "What do you think about Empedocles and his philosophy?"

Jorja was very familiar with Manny's tendency to avoid small talk. Rather than answer Manny's blunt question, she said, "Nice to see you again."

Sometimes years went by between visits from Manny. She reminded Jorja, "I recently spoke to you at the port... do you really feel a need to make idle chatter?"

"I'm playing my role as an Earthling. It startles me when you suddenly appear on Earth, but as for Empedocles..." Jorja sat down in a chair and thought about the events of the day. She was not particularly impressed by Empedocles and her thoughts were mostly fixed on Pausanias. "I suspected that Pausanias is the real reason why you asked me to come here."

Manny nodded. "And Pausanias suspects that you have been sent here as another exile." Manny laughed loudly. "He'll be here later tonight, which is why I am here. I want to discuss how you should deal with him."

"Pausanias? Coming here?"

"Exactly." Manny giggled merrily. "He will arrive in about two hours... you have time to prepare a plan..."

Jorja frowned and morphed back to "her" usual male body form. "When Pausanias shows up, I'll tell him that I'm Jorja's uncle, Monomachus."

Manny laughed. "No, you don't get off the easily. I need you to investigate Pausanias and find a way to keep him from violating the Rules of Intervention. That's why I brought you here. Pausanias can't be allowed to stay on Earth if he is going to cause trouble. And as an isolate, Empedocles could easily take up some of the Asterothrope nanites and he's clever enough to figure out how to control them." Manny waved her hand and Jorja was shifted back to her female form, without any clothing. Manny stepped close and caressed Jorja's lovely body, "I need you to watch Pausanias very closely."

Jorja tried to ignore how Manny was stimulating her body. "Why don't you explain what's going on? Does it give you some kind of perverse pleasure to keep me in the dark and make me... deal with this boy Pausanias?"

Manny explained, "Empedocles has an unusual linkage to the Bimanoid Interface, his brain structure is almost completely incompatible with it. As an isolate, he provides an opportunity, but it is dangerous to have a trouble maker such as Pausanias living with him."

"How is it possible for someone to become an Isolate?"

original cover art by Ed Valigursky

"Almost all humans are continuously linked to their replicoid in the Hierion Domain, but some humans are mutants who escape from the control of their replicoid. That allows them to be particularly clever and innovative. There's nothing wrong with that, but now with a source of nanites existing in close proximity to Empedocles, well, I've looked into the future and suffice it to say, this can't continue. We're here to set things straight." Manny allowed her artificial body to form a penis which she aggressively poked against Jorja.

"I see." Jorja surrendered to Manny's charms and they made love. Later, laying by the fire, Jorja said, "I almost forgot what it is like to have a clitoris."

"That's why I just hit on you, my love. I want you in peak form when Pausanias arrives." Manny told Jorja to make a few minor adjustment to the form of her body. "I want you to completely enthrall Pausanias. Now... have fun." Manny teleported off of Earth and Jorja made a few last minute preparations for the arrival of Pausanias.

Even before Pausanias could knock, Jorja telepathically noticed his approach. Jorja could sense that Pausanias was thinking about a female body. Just then, Nyrtia inserted me into Jorja's body inside the Reality Simulation System. I had only a moment to take stock of my surroundings and then I heard a knock at the door. When I opened the door, I saw Pausanias and could telepathically sense that 'he' was thinking about transforming out of 'his' disguise. He asked, "May I come in?"

I waved a hand and he stepped inside. As usual, the Simulator had translated his words into a thought form that I could understand, but I was struggling to make sense of 'his' thoughts. I led him close to the fire and said, "Let's make this easy on both of us. We should use our natural body forms." I allowed my femtobot components to shift into my real body form. I was expecting to reassemble into the body that I had long used on Earth, but Nyrtia had other ideas. I took on the form of a tryp'At. 

Pausanias seemed briefly puzzled by my alien appearance then 'he' transformed into her natural Asterothrope form. She asked, "What are you?"

"I'm tryp'At." I added, "I can't believe that an Asterothrope was allowed to visit Earth..." We introduced ourselves and I said, "Well, Synasyup, it is nice to meet you, but I'm worried that we might have more guests tonight. Now that we've revealed out true natures to each-other, for safety's sake, I suggest we adopt the form of Earthlings." By specific conscious effort, I removed and altered each of my alien tryp'At features and adopted a normal human body form.

tryp'At

Pausanias/Synasyup morphed into a cute human female. She was watching my reactions and using her Asterothrope telepathic abilities to follow my thoughts. She quickly made a few adjustments to her body only to please me. She giggled and said, "So, you are not a fan of big breasts."

"I have nothing against them, but really, size is not important." I was feeling rather silly since Nyrtia was not allowing me to alter the structure of my large genitals.

Synasyup asked, "Who is this Nyrtia that I see in your thoughts?"

I tried to communicate telepathically: Nyrtia put me into this simulation.

Synasyup placed a hand against the side of my head. I sense that concept in your mind. Simulation. Do you really believe that this is some kind of dream?

For more than ten years I'd thought of Asterothropes as being a human variant of the far future with vast knowledge of advanced technologies. Synasyup obviously knew how to control her nanites, but I could sense in her mind that she was not familiar with the idea of Reality Simulation. I won't try to convince you. However, the idea of establishing a synapex connection to Synasyup popped into my mind. We shared a powerful telepathic linkage already and it seemed possible that with synapex links between our brains, she might be able to see deeply enough into my mind to understand the truth about Simulated Reality.

Synasyup placed a hand on my crotch and asked: You can use Nyrtia's synapex technology to intimately connect our minds?

At her touch my penis began to stiffen. I replied: I suspect it might be possible. When she squeezed my testes I knew that Nyrtia had planned for Synasyup and I to link in every possible way.

Synapex Connection

Synasyup laughed and spoke out-loud, "Thank you, Nyrtia, for sending this set of Asterothrope genitals to Earth!"

Nyrtia's voice came from a chair in a dark corner of the room. "No problem, my dear. I trust you'll enjoy playing with them as much as I do."

Synasyup and I both turned and stared at the dim figure of Nyrtia where she sat slouched in her chair. She casually waved a hand at us and said, "Don't let me interrupt your sexplay. I'll just watch. I'm waiting for Manny to show up."

Synasyup went to a shelf and grabbed two wool blankets. She told me, "Let's go outside under the stars."

We went outside and Synasyup took hold of my hand. She started leading me out towards the horse pasture, but she could sense that I was having trouble walking. She pulled my erection out of my clothing, kissed the tip of my penis and we continued walking. There was a quarter moon in the sky and we strolled out into the grassy field. I've been on Earth three years... I'd almost forgotten what an Asterothrope man's penis is like.

I could sense that Synasyup was sexually excited, but I also sensed that there was a problem. She spread one of the blankets on the ground and we sat down. I asked, "You ran away from siteq because you did not want to go through the Akufowofiro ceremony?"

She placed her hands on my erection. She was looking through my memories and assessing my knowledge of Asterothrope customs. She said, "You tryp'At don't have an Akufowofiro ceremony, but you know about it?"

"Only indirectly. From a story."

Akufowofiro

"I see. How strange. Looking at your memories, I can almost believe that this is a Simulation." For a time she played with my genitals then she told me, "It is true. I did not want to go through the Akufowofiro ceremony. But then Qaz gave me this artificial body. Now the Akufowofiro is meaningless, but..."

I could see in Synasyup's thoughts that she had been using a human male body form for the past three years. I told her, "I did not come here to ravish you. I'm not sure why Nyrtia expects you and I to become lovers."

"Oh, relax silly. You can see it in my mind, I want to make love to you. I can see in your mind that you find me sexually exciting. For three years I've had to tolerate the sexual antics of Empedocles and I've reached the point of doubting that I can live out my life on this world."

I laughed. "I'm not going to make love to you in hope that you'll enjoy it so much that you'll return to siteq."

"No... as crazy as things are here on Earth, I like it better than siteq. Nothing ever happens there. It is a sterile culture. I now understand that I was reacting against that. Rejecting the silly Akufowofiro ceremony was just the final, symbolic conflict. My excuse for getting out. Earth is alive, with a growing civilization and a great future to be built."

I warned Synasyup, "I've only had these Asterothrope-like genitals for a short time, and the way you are playing with them, I'm about ready to ejaculate."

"Oh, please do! I've never seen an Asterothrope male ejaculate... only the little hermaphrodites."

I took hold of her two hands. "I'm really not here to entertain you with a sexual performance. I'm worried about the future of Earth. Maybe it would be best for you to return to siteq."

"That may be true, but I don't know if I can go back. Qaz told me that I'd... how did she put it? Become a part of Earth."

I chuckled and thought about Rylla's friend 'John Smith'. I could see in Synasyup's mind the events of the day and her thoughts about Jorja. I said, "I think Jorja was a copy of me that Manny uses for odd jobs on Earth."

"Your friend Nyrtia mentioned Manny. What is a bumpha?"

"An alien creature. It may well be that she is the creator of the human species. Whatever she is, I'm here with you because Nyrtia knows that you could alter Earth's historical timeline. Nyrtia is trying to meet Manny so that they can settle an old score."

"What is this thing in your mind... robot?"

"Nyrtia originated as a robot... a constructed artificial life-form."

"A machine, made by humans?"

"Exactly."

"How strange. When I was a little girl I read some fiction about such things. With nanites in siteq, there is little work for people to do. Here on Earth... this is where robot helpers would be useful!" Synasyup bent over and took the tip of my penis in her mouth.

I ejaculated and felt Synasyup's mind fly off into a twisting cloud of pleasure. It was clear that she had clytykynyn receptors in her mouth. Her body went limp and I laid her out flat on the blanket and got my erection inside her. The clytykynyn receptors in her vagina responded to my ejaculate and she cried out in pleasure. Across the pasture, I could hear the two horses snort in reply. As soon as I rubbed against her stiff clitoris, Synasyup and I were locked in an orgasm trance. Many hours later, I finally returned to normal consciousness. Synasyup was sitting on me, my erection still inside her. Our bodies had connected by synapex linkages. I realized that Synasyup was searching through my memories and learning about the future of Earthly civilization. She said, "You are from the future."

With our extensive telepathic linkage, I was able to quickly explain to her that time travel was no longer possible, but yes, for me, that simulation of Sicily was in the distant past. The sun popped above the horizon and I could see the two horses grazing in the pasture. Synasyup kissed my mouth and then told me, "I have so much to learn."

I was wondering if anything I did in that simulation could possible make any difference. Surely when Nyrtia and I departed, the simulation would simply be reset. Synasyup suggested, "Even if you are correct and this is a dream world, maybe I will be allowed to remember you and what I can see in your mind."

The sun, having peeked above the horizon went behind a cloud. I noticed that the sky was full of fast moving, low clouds. With the wind rising and a roaring sound in the nearby forest, Synasyup and I resumed our sexplay. She rubbed the glans of her clitoris against me and I played with her stiff nipples. We kept our synapex linkage and our next orgasm trance was even more fantastic. I could sense her sexual pleasure as my ejaculate filled her vagina and flowed out, running down over my hips and onto the blanket. Later, I regained normal consciousness and it was raining on us. Synasyup was snuggled in my arms and she noticed that I was back from my altered state of consciousness. She said, "So, about Zeta..."

Time Portal

I had not been thinking about Zeta. I'd been completely caught up in my telepathic linkage to Synasyup. Our minds either had a natural resonance, or this was another one of Nyrtia's tricks. I realized that Synasyup had broken our synapex connection and my erection was pressed against her belly. Using her powerful telepathic mind, Synasyup must have been looking deep into my memories and come across Zeta. "My wife." I asked, "There is nobody at siteq who you want to see again?"

Synasyup laughed. "Whesh! You really don't want me on Earth, do you?"

I tried to explain the situation to the best of my ability: "There is danger. Some of your nanites could leak into Empedocles and he is not... easy to control."

"I see this idea of control in your mind. You think about it all the time. Do these aliens like Manny really control us all?" She was casually playing with my erection while we chatted.

"Well, that is my fear. I'd like to think that we have free will and control our own destiny, but... Manny has god-like powers. The Huaoshy are... ancient. They have technologies that we on Earth can't even imagine."

"And yet, the Neanderthal's of Earth discovered time travel."

"That is the only reason we even know about the Huaoshy. If the Neanderthal scientists at Observer Base had not built positronic robots..." I fell silent.

Synasyup gently touched my face. The sun burst out from behind the clouds. "There is so much you know... I only could look at fragments of your memories..." She kissed me again. "I hope you'll stay with me and teach me about the future."

I could not imagine that it made any sense to tell Synasyup about the future. My thoughts returned to Nyrtia and I suspected that she must be watching us. Synasyup and I got to our feet and gathered up the blankets. We strolled hand in hand back to the villa through the wet grass. She was still sifting through my memories and I was trying to learn as much as I could about the culture of siteq from her memories.

When we arrived inside, there was a cheerful fire in the hearth and Nyrtia and Manny were there, cuddling together on the floor in front of the fire. Synasyup and I sat down and she told Nyrtia, "Don't let us interrupt your play. I assume this is Manny."

Manny said, "Yes, I'm Many Sails."

I chuckled and could sense that Synasyup was momentarily confused. Then she could see in my mind that Manny was actually an alien bumpha, whose natural form was a spaceship that could travel between galaxies as easily as a person might walk across a foot-bridge over a creek. I could see that Nyrtia had her thumb on Manny's clitoris and two fingers up inside Manny's wet vagina, but the way they were tangled together I could not see what Manny was doing to Nyrtia. Synasyup said, "Finish your sexplay, well just watch." Synasyup turned her attention back to me and she began to massage my testes.

In the First Reality: Gohrlay aboard Many Sails.

Manny sighed contentedly, kissed Nyrtia and told her, "Thank you dear. That was very sweet. Now, I'll be on my way before I become any more of a distraction." She looked at Synasyup and said, "You don't have time for this to turn into an orgy." Manny dissipated and Nyrtia got to her feet.

Now Synasyup got a good look at Nyrtia. She said, "Your breasts are huge, like my mother's."

Nyrtia waved a hand and suddenly we were all clothed. Still, Nyrtia's large breasts still hung there in front of Synasyup, reminding her of siteq and I was thinking about Zeta and her artificially enlarged breasts. Nyrtia pulled Synasyup's hand off of my crotch and yanked her to her feet. "Empedocles will be wondering where you are." Nyrtia pushed Synasyup towards the door and playfully slapped her bottom. Synasyup morphed into the form of Pausanias. He looked at me and asked, "Are you coming?"

Nyrtia answered for me, "His copy, Jorja, is already with Empedocles." She sat down next to me and put an arm around me, "I'll take care of this one." Nyrtia put her hand on my testes and squeezed.

"It is not fair that you get to play with him while I have to go suck on Empedocles' little penis." Nyrtia pointed in the direction of Empedocles' villa and Synasyup scampered off. 

I asked Nyrtia, "Well, how did things go with Manny?"

Manny patted my stiffening penis then pulled back her hand and sighed. "I feel foolish. I should have understood without her having to explain everything to me."

Manny and an agent on Earth

Nyrtia seemed lost in thought. I reached out and stroked one of her big breasts and felt her stiff nipple. "I did not expect to find you two in here making love."

"Oh, Manny is a real sweetie. She's been watching me for millennia and could not resist this opportunity to ravish me." She gazed into my eyes for a moment and said, "I suppose you want to know what happened... beside the hot sex."

I asked, "Are you really going to leave Synasyup here? Why not send her back to siteq?"

Nyrtia explained, "Manny wants an agent on Earth, so she's training Synasyup. That's why she brought you here."

I complained, "I thought you brought me here."

"Yes, of course I did, but this was all part of Manny's plan. Anyhow, don't worry about Synasyup. Now that she saw into your mind, she understands the importance of not letting Empedocles get his hands on nanites."

I was trying to understand what Nyrtia was telling me. "Slow down! Are you talking about my replicoid copy and what he did here in real Time or me and this simulation."

Nyrtia sighed. "You humans have such limited minds. I'm talking about both."

I complained, "You talk in riddles." 

"And just remember, this is one of the places you can visit any time you like, so if you ever want some hot Asterothrope sex..." Manny slipped a hand inside my pants and took hold of my penis. She smiled at me and added, "Oh, and as an artificial lifeform, Synasyup will live right on into the 21st century. So don't be surprised if you bump into her in the future sometime."

"But what about the Bimanoid Interface?"

the dangers of nanites

Nyrtia nodded. I was not certain that she was going to say anything more. She opened up my pants and got both of her hands on my penis. After a long pause, she told me, "I never mentioned to you that after Gohrlay and Manny departed from Earth, I found myself trapped in my Reality Simulation System. Now I understand why." She kissed the sensitive tip of my penis. "When Manny and Gohrlay activated Bimanoid Interface 2.0, I became the guardian of Earth. I now understand how they merged the Bimanoid Interface into the Simulation System and linked it to the Sedron Domain."

For a minute I enjoyed how Nyrtia was playing with my genitals. But then I suddenly realized the importance of what Nyrtia had just told me. "Wait, what are you saying? You can never go to Earth?"

Nyrtia laughed. "You wasted a lot of energy worrying about that! No, I'm now part of what you call the sedron stream. The reason I could not access the controls for the Bimanoid Interface was that Manny shifted them into the Sedronic Domain. Now everything makes sense, but as long as I was still thinking that the controls were locked up in the Hierion Domain, I could get nowhere."

"So, you got what you want. You now control the Bimanoid Interface. Earth is yours, even if you can't physically go there."

"Well, 'control' is not the best way to describe the situation. You Earthlings are free to make your own future. All I can do is watch... and make a suggestion or two..."

"Well, I can do more than that. I can write about everything I've learned from you and these simulations." Nyrtia giggled happily. That made me nervous. Plus, I had not felt any telepathic linkage to Nyrtia since we came to Sicily. I asked uncertainly, "Can't I?" She smirked at me. "You'll allow me to remember what I've seen while inside these simulations, right?"

mining sedrons

"That's up to you, my friend. I'm going to send you back to your precious Zeta, but maybe you'd prefer things the way they were." She patted my penis. Nyrtia waved a hand and I could see an image of Zeta. She was back home, in the hot tub with Nora. Zeta was bent over and Nora was thrusting her penis into Zeta's allzaurish. Nyrtia suggested, "I can return you two back to normal... no allzaurish, no big breasts pumping out oxypathin, no big testes..." She squeezed my testes playfully. "...making clytykynyn." She pulled back her hand from my genitals. "And no need to put Zeta through a long pregnancy with twins."

I said, "I can't speak for Zeta."

"I already asked her opinion." Nyrtia pointed at the image of Zeta. "She likes having an allzaurish."

"I have my own special interests. Will I be able to write about-"

Nyrtia threw up her hands. "Yes! Yes! That's a whole different matter. Helping you tell the people of Earth about the past and their possible future among the stars is an important project for me. I want us to work together on that project. Manny assigned me the task of keeping Humanity on track. So write your stories... how else will anyone on Earth really know what is going on?"

"What did you just say... about us working together in the future?"

Nyrtia handed me a cute little infite bottle. "When you get home, take these infites into your brain. They'll explain about my access to the sedron data stream. Grean and Manny have made the future of Earth... the future foreseen under the Trysta-Grean Pact... it is now all available to us by way of the Simulation System."

I was startled my the magnitude of this revelation. "When I get home, I'll have access to all of Deep Time and the future?"

information nanites

"Yes. Satisfied? Now, about your body modifications. Tell me your decision and I'll send you home." I was deep in thought. Nyrtia said, "You haven't had much use of your allzaurish. Maybe you'd like me to-"

"That won't be necessary. Let me ask you this... the nanites that altered my body and Zeta's. They include feeding nanites, right?"

"Of course. They'll shuttle nutrients into your body and remove wastes. You'll never have to eat again. Unless you ask me to reverse all these changes that you've undergone."

That was good enough for me. I was thinking cheerfully about never having to take time to eat for the rest of my life. "Send me back." Nyrtia kissed me one last time, then she sent me away.

Next: Part 11 of The Historical Archive.