For Womankind

Artemis

Back in 2019, For All Mankind episodes started to arrive from Apple TV. So far, 20 episodes have been produced and a third season is expected to arrive later this year. I recently suffered through the first season of Apple TV's Foundation, so I went into For All Mankind with low expectations, suspecting that I would see more painfully silly made-for TV "drama".

Gender Bender. It is an amusing alternate reality fantasy: what if the Soviet manned space program of the 1960s had won the race to land someone on the Moon? And more dramatically, what if the Soviets landed a woman on the Moon, "forcing" NASA to fly female astronauts in space during the early 1970s rather than waiting until the 1980s?

Ed's death march. Who dies today?

 Old pre-NASA science fiction stories often featured manned bases on the Moon (example: Vandals of the Void). To provide an excuse for a making a base on the Moon, For All Mankind pretends that there are accessible deposits of water ice on the Moon's surface that can be turned into rocket fuel. I'm dreading the idea of this show turning into a soap opera and taking 20 episodes to get people to Mars. Yawn.

When the science in this made-for-TV "science fiction" becomes as tenuous as a lunar water deposit, the obvious solution in Hollywood is to kill someone. Poor Patty. 🔥

Shane Baldwin death watch.

 For All Mankind starts to unravel in episode 3, which was directed by Allen Coulter and written by Nichole Beattie, and then almost stalls in mid-air in episode 4 under the pen of Naren Shankar. Yes, because exploring space is too boring for Hollywood, we have to suffer through watching the son of Ed Baldwin learning how to ride a bike. Such drama.😉

 You can lead me to Moon water, but you can't make me enjoy watching. After meandering through soapoperaland™ for far too long, episode 5 actually devoted a few minutes to depicting a spacecraft landing on the Moon. Sadly, this entire "NASA goes to Hollywood" mission to find water ice on the Moon in the early 1970s feels like fantasy, not science fiction, but what else can we really expect from Hollywood...

mission accomplished

 Into the Plot Abyss. I understand that the folks in TVland have a formula for creating "great TV" moments, but why does it have to involve unbelievable plots? In the middle of a mission, let's just change our plans and land on a crater rim where we don't have adequate images of the landing site... because... plot. And once we land, let's use up all of our time and oxygen before making a last second attempt to enter the crater where the water is. Then after explaining that 1) they can't even bend over in their spacesuits and 2) every last pound of equipment has to be accounted for, suddenly it is possible to quickly transform a rover into a winch so we can use this 300 meters of spare electrical cable to lower someone into the crater and find water ice... just before we run out of oxygen. All cheer loudly as we try to forget how silly the entire scenario is... it's great television. Right?

Von Braun

Let me go out on a limb and predict that after making episodes 3-5 be all about finding water on the Moon, the folks at Apple TV will never again bother viewers with discussion of why finding water there was so dang important. We have more important things to do such as helping little Aleida with her math homework and helping little Margo become a flight director (thanks Wernher).

Episode 6... on life-support... At the tinker-toy Moon mine we are now gathering "ore samples". Since this fantasy exploration of the Moon is so silly and boring, the show returns to Earth for a quick political sex scandal and FBI harassment of homosexuals.

Pull the Plug. Episode 8... zzz... Another episode written by Nichole Beattie and the soap opera is in full swing. Mercifully, the Shane my For All Mankind death watch comes to an end.

Jamestown

 Gordo Memorial Station. Poor Gordo can't take it any more. Me too. With nothing to do except watch episodes of a stupid TV show, he cracks.

Goodbye Bob. After suffering through all ten episodes of Apple TV's first season of Foundation, I imagined that I could get through the first ten hours of For All Mankind, but no. I have no investment in these unlikable characters and this imaginary space program. Over and out.

Related Reading: Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment

Next: Time Viewing

Apple TV turns outer-space into a cold war battlefield.

Flaming Atom

Flaming Atom

 Red and Green. According to the ISFDB, Charles Cloukey was born in 1912 and was 18 years old when his story "Rhythm" was published in Amazing Stories (1930). Set in the year 1999, Cloukey's story included Elsie Damon, a cute redhead and love interest for Graham Greene. Graham likes to refer to the charming Miss Elsie as "Flaming Atom".

Backstory. Graham was in a plane crash which damaged his feet, apparently leading to infections, amputations and permanent damage to his heart. According to the SFE, Cloukey died of typhoid fever in 1931, just before the modern age of antibiotics.

interior art by Leo Morey

Graham is waiting patiently for Flaming Atom to turn 21 so that they can get married and also waiting for 10 years to pass since the disappearance of his father, Thornton, a scientist, who had discovered "the secret of life somewhere in the phosphorous compounds." Thornton's unpublished knowledge of how to make synthetic life is locked up inside Vault Number Three of the Second National Bank. Ten years must pass until Thornton can be declared dead and the key to Vault Number Three given to Graham.

Evil Elmer. There in the image to the left are Graham, Flaming Atom, Hermann von der Konz (known as "Von", Graham's friend and the narrator of the story) and Elmer Calvroom, who stands to inherit the Secret of Life if Graham dies. 

 Too Complex to Kill. Elmer is an inventor who tries to kill Graham using an evil sound-generating device (ESGD™) that will synchronize with Graham's weak heart and drive it to destruction. However, Elmer's complex plot to kill Graham and make it look like natural heart failure is foiled by the fact that Graham was born with an unusual sense of hearing. He's unable to hear the low-frequency tones produced by Elmer's ESGD and so he sleeps through the attempted murder and then awakens suddenly, pops Elmer on the chin and calls the police.

technology in 2000: electric plane
interior art by Leo Morey

It looks like Cloukey's story had to be split into two parts, the second of which was called "Synthetic". Set about one year after the events in "Rhythm", Graham, Flaming Atom and Von der Konz are relaxing at the "palatial" Greene family beach house near Atlantic City when Graham casually mentions that the Evil™ Elmer recently broke out of prison. Flaming Atom, a test pilot, rushes off to prepare for an upcoming airplane speed competition.

Building on his father's work, Graham's crack scientific team has synthesized some rabbit cells from atomic constituents and grown those cells into an adult bunny. Graham shares with Von some startling findings from the biology research lab... Firstly, the bunny grew to adult size in just three hours. Second, Thornton apparently used a Super-Duper™ microscope to determine, atom by atom, the genomes of both a rabbit and a human 🔬. So far, only a rabbit 🐇 has been made in the lab, but experiments with synthetic human cells have begun.

"Paradox"
interior art by Walitt

Bible Science. 📖 Graham and Von get into a discussion of the question of whether an artificial lab-grown human would have a soul. During their "scientific" discussion of the ethics of making artificial people, Graham mentions the "fact" that humans have only existed for a few thousand years. He suggests that maybe a lab-grown human can be better than a regular human made the old-fashioned way.

In the middle of that discussion, word arrives that Flaming Atom was in a plane crash and is now blind. Graham asks Von to go collect his fiance, but on the way to her crash site, Von is attacked by a mysterious electric plane ❊ equipped with a heat ray weapon. Von learns that it was that heat ray that blinded Flaming Atom. Evil™ Elmer sends along a note, admitting that it was he who blinded Flaming Atom and he demands that Graham turn over the Secret of Life or be killed.

Synthetic Life. Three weeks later, Flaming Atom has a pair of new eyes and Graham has two new feet. Also, the first synthetic man (he's given the name Bob Nelson) is already fully grown and has been educated using "hypnotic machines" (he speaks not only English but also French). 

 Figure 1. A city in the year 2930;
interior art for "Paradox" by Walitt

During his short (one month) life, Bob falls in love with Flaming Atom and then saves her life when the Evil™ Elmer returns in his electric plane and tries to kill Graham. Bob dies saving the lives of Flaming Atom and Graham and Von ends up being convinced that Bob had a soul.

Apparently, Cloukey was a young science student when he died and I have to wonder how his science fiction writing might have progressed had he lived a long life. I also wonder if Isaac Asimov was influenced by any of Cloukey's stories. Cloukey published another series of stories about time travel to a future era when the people of Earth are at war with Evil™ Martians.

Back from the Future. The story begins inside an "exclusive" Philadelphia club with Sherman and Preston discussing the paradoxes of time travel stories such as Wells' The Time Machine. Raymond Cannes then casually tells Sherman and Preston that time travel will be invented in the year 2806 and that he has just returned from a visit to the future. Raymond's trip to the future was made possible by the mysterious appearance of detailed instructions for how to make a time machine. Sadly, after Dr. Hawkinson builds the time machine and uses it to send Cannes into the future, Hawkinson is killed in a laboratory accident 🔥.

Time Loop. Upon arriving in New York of the year 2930, Cannes is quickly sent off to Australia by automated airline delivery. In Australia, Cannes meets Dwar Bonn, the greatest scientist of that age, who has just built the first time machine capable of time travel into the past. Cannes uses the portable time travel device to deliver the instructions for building a time machine to Dr. Hawkinson in 1928 and then he returns to the year 2930, completing a time loop.

80,000 ton airplane of the future

Many technological wonders exist in the year 2930 such as 80,000 ton airplanes, the half-mile tall buildings (shown in Figure 1, above and to the left) and the ability to quickly "read out" the entire contents of Raymond's memories of the the 20th century. And most importantly, the tradition of brilliant scientists each having a beautiful daughter is still alive and flourishing in 2930.

The Thrilling Conclusion. Of course, Cannes falls hopelessly in love with Dwar Bonn's cute daughter, Greta. However, Cannes bungles his chance for romance by impulsively trying to kiss Miss Greta. 💔 Then an Evil™ Martian spy appears and tries to steal Dwar Bonn's time travel machine. Cannes captures the Evil™ Martian who has murdered Dwar Bonn. However, the Martian's are on the verge of killing everyone on Earth, so Cannes returns to 1928, only to die in an accident.

hopeless; interior art for "Paradox" (1929)

Cloukey wrote himself into the story so that he could be at the "exclusive" Philadelphia club and hear Cannes' account of his trip to the future, given to the club's members just before Cannes steps outside and is run over by a truck. 

All is lost. Nothing remains of the time machine because upon returning to 1928, there was a slight miscalculation. Cannes fell out of the sky over Philadelphia, smashing the time machine. Cannes threw the broken device into the Delaware river.

All is not lost. However, apparently readers of "Paradox" asked for a sequel story and so Cloukey could not let matters rest there... eventually two sequel stories were published, continuing this time travel adventure.

Editorial blurb for "Paradox +"; July 1930

interior art by Frank R. Paul

 Paradox Plus. There were actually two time travel machines in "Paradox". The "fancy" one from the future was destroyed, but at the start of "Paradox +" readers are told that the original primitive time travel machine that was built by Dr. Hawkinson was not destroyed when the good doctor's lab burned down.

 1929. For the sequel, two friends (Preston and Sherman) at the Philadelphia gentlemen's club, who heard Cannes' story about the future, now use the time machine to go off to the future on an adventure of their own, returning to the day that Dwar Bonn was killed by the Evil™ Martian spy. They meet up with a co-worker of Dwar Bonn (Vanon) and arrive at just the right moment to rescue Greta. As shown in the image to the right, Greta and the other passengers all jump out of their airplane just before it is destroyed by the Evil™ Martians. 

interior art by P. Muller
for "Anachronism" (1930)

 War of the Worlds. Apparently, Cloukey was a fan of H. G. Wells and so in the year 2930, Earth has fought several wars against the Evil™ Martians. Now, the Evil™ Martians are on the verge of killing every human on Earth by means of their new weapon, neonoglycerine. Evil™ Martians have infiltrated Earthly society and hidden vast quantities of neonoglycerine inside airplanes and buildings. Using a Special Ray™ sent out from their base at the South Pole, the neonoglycerine was detonated, killing 30% of Earth's population. Luckily, some neonoglycerine inside the rear cargo compartment of the airplane that was carrying Dwar Bonn and Greta across the Pacific Ocean did not explode.

And lucky for Earth, there are now artificial islands in the Pacific Ocean where robots grow wheat. The wreckage of the airplane lands on a wheat island and Vanon finds a sample of un-exploded neonoglycerine. Additional Martian spaceships are arriving with more neonoglycerine and the Evil™ Martians are also ready to release a deadly bacterium into Earth's atmosphere. Lucky for Earth, the physics lab of Dwar Bonn is still open for business and his scientists soon build a Ray Projector that can detonate neonoglycerine. If you are wondering about the state of Earthly rocket science in the year 2930... see Figure 2, below.

Figure 2. A "brief" explanation; edited for brevity

 The fate of Greta. At the end of "Paradox +", Greta is dead, having bled to death after being taken to the South Pole by a Martian spy. As shown in the image to the right, the great 80,000 air-liners of the future are like 20th century ocean-liners; they are named. The one that carried Dwar and Greta Bonn was called the Patrician.

the invisible Martian spy

 Invisibility. In a three minute flight from Australia, Sherman rides in an invisible rocketship to the Martian base at the South Pole where the dead body of Greta is discovered. The thrilling conclusion of the story was not published until December. In "Anachronism", Sherman and Ben Yun (another scientist of the year 2930) accesses the Martian supply vault at the South Pole and make use of an advanced Martian drug to revive the dead Greta. 

The war against Mars grinds to an end. The Martian germ warfare agent was found in the vault at the South Pole before it could be released into Earth's atmosphere. A powerful radio wave projector was used by Earth to detonate vast amounts of neonoglycerine on Mars, disrupting Martian civilization and ending the war. After Greta marries Vanon, Sherman decides that he wants to return to 1929. Working from Dwar Bonn's notes, Ben Yun obligingly builds a time machine and sends Sherman back to 1929.

in the Ekcolir Reality

 The End of Time Travel. However, the sneaky Martian spy who killed Dwar Bonn and took Greta to the South Pole also traveled from 2930 to 1929. Like all Evil Materminds™, the spy wants to be understood, so he sends Sherman a letter in which he explains that he killed Ben Yun and destroyed Ben Yun's time machine with a time-delayed bomb after using the time machine to come to 1929. Arriving in 1929, the Martian immediately destroyed the time machine that had been built by Dr. Hawkinson. 

And Teleportation, too. And now, in revenge for the defeat of the 2930 Martian Invasion force, the sneaky Martian spy begins to terrorize Philadelphia by killing Earthlings. He uses a devious teleportation device from the future that materializes lumps of iron inside people's brains.

in the Ekcolir Reality

For "Anachronism", Cloukey constructed a kind of future science locked-room mystery. The Martian spy's teleportation device uses two projectors. When iron atoms are disintegrated by the teleporter, the energy is beamed into the head of a victim by two projected beams of particles. The two types of particles meet inside the victim's brain and reform iron atoms. The sudden appearance of a lump of hot iron inside the brain instantly kills the victim. 

How can Earthlings with primitive 20th century technology defend themselves against this Evil™ Martian from the future? Before his own death, Sherman called into the case the brilliant scientist, Bradley Bowman Blake. By noticing that the locations of all the victims in Philadelphia define an ellipse, the brilliant Blake deduces the locations of the two beam projectors.

 Damsel in Distress. After locating the teleportation equipment, what remains in the story for Cloukey to relate is the inevitable demise of the Evil™ Martian who is holding Mary Sherman as his prisoner and threatening to blind her with concentrated acid. However, the clumsy Martian spills acid on his hand and then drops dead from a heart attack.

interior art for "Sub-Satellite" 

Cloukey's first published story ("Sub-Satellite") included a character named "Clankey" who tells his friend, Kornfield, about the first trip to the Moon. The lunar adventure was made possible when Dr. D. Francis Javis invented a technique for making artificial diamonds that are worth 2,000,000,000 dollars. Ten years of work and 1,000,000,000 dollars spent resulted in completion of the first spaceship (see the image to the right). 

The Right Stuff. Dr. Javis hired a young dare-devil and stunt-flier (Mr. Brown) to pilot the rocket to the Moon. During its flight to the Moon, the rocket was protected by a computerized radar system (built by Clankey) that allowed the rocket to detect and avoid meteors.

Cloukey did not give any dates in "Sub-Satellite", but in the follow-on story "Super-Radio" we are told that sometime after the year 2072, Clankey had invented a Super-Radio, a kind of teleportation device. 

cover art for "Super-Radio" by Frank R. Paul

And now, Clankey is missing along with 1,000,000,000 dollars worth of the Javis diamonds. On the case is crime investigator Harris.

A Super-Radio device was used to send the diamonds out from their vault, evading conventional means of detection. Suspecting that this crime was perpetrated by his arch-enemy known only by the initials M.W., Harris quickly determines the direction that the Super-Radio was pointed. Now hot on the trail of the Evil™ criminal mastermind known as M.W., investigator Harris is flown by Mr. Brown out into the Atlantic Ocean where they quickly find the artificial island of M.W. where Clankey is being held. The Evil™ M.W. is preparing to perform brain surgery that will erase Clankey's memories when Harris and Brown arrive on the island. Clankey is soon liberated from M.W.'s evil clutches and awakened.

Interior art for "Super-Radio".

 The Showdown. M.W., a scientist and inventor, is discovered to be a woman. Inside a Super-Sophisticated radio room that holds the stolen diamonds, she uses her ball lightning machine (see the cover illustration, above) to pin Clankey against a wall. The electrical ball lightning is under the remote control of M.W. It turns out that Mr. Brown had gone to school with M.W. and he recognizes her as Margaret Walters. Margaret is captured and the diamonds are recovered (see the image to the right).

 Happy Ending. Mr. Brown requests that surgeons operate on the brain of Margaret Walters so as to remove her criminal tendencies. As Margaret recovers from the operation, readers are led to believe that she is no longer criminally insane and might now be capable of returning Mr. Brown's affections. 💕

Cover art for "In the Spacesphere".

Another story was published by Cloukey in 1931: "In the Spacesphere". The interplanetary spacecraft of the future have a spherical shape. "In the Spacesphere" takes place on a passenger ship that goes first to Venus and then to Mars. The story concerns a Martian drug smuggling ring. 

Back in the 1970s when I read all of the Lensman novels by Edward Elmer Smith, I was not impressed by the way he depicted trafficking in the illegal drug "thionite". The plant that made thionite grew on only one planet of the galaxy. Similarly, I don't understand why Cloukey depicted the ruler of Mars as a drug trafficker. There is also a thread in the story about the Martian ruler's daughter which leads nowhere. The other female in the story is an undercover agent of the World Secret Service who is killed by the drug smugglers.

interior art by Frank R. Paul

 Rockets and XX-rays. Readers of "In the Spacesphere" are told that, in this future, it is easy to detect smuggled drugs because all spaceship cargo is inspected by XX-ray scans. However, the luggage of the Martian royal family does not get the usual security scan, allowing a shipment of drugs to reach Venus. Not only that, but some of the Martian plants that are the source of the smuggled drug are also taken to Venus. Readers are told that Venus is great place to grow things.

Invisibility. For "In the Spacesphere", Cloukey introduced bineon, a chemical substance created by Martian chemists of the future and used to create invisible structures such as that "shown" in the image to the right. A human arm mysteriously appears from inside an invisible cylinder and the Martian drug ring member is shot.

interior art for "Swordsman of Sarvon"

The only other science fiction story published by Cloukey was a novel called "The Swordsman of Sarvon". Sarvon is on Venus, where the native people are descended from Earthly Atlantis. I have not read "The Swordsman of Sarvon", but apparently it heavily involves a technology that allows the Evil™ Venusians to transfer their minds into the bodies of humans. These "spys" then attempt to disrupt human civilization on Earth in preparation for the people of Venus to conquer Earth. The story is set in the year 2180 when Earthlings are just starting to travel from Earth to nearby planets like Venus and one scientist on Earth has discovered how to harness atomic energy.

in the Ekcolir Reality

The imaginary future of "The Swordsman of Sarvon" seems like a strange jumble of propeller airplanes, sword-fights and brain transplants. I like to imagine that in an alternate Reality, Charles Cloukey survived and had a much long career of writing science fiction stories. In the Ekcolir Reality, the analogue of Cloukey met Catherine Coblentz in 1930, after the death of her first husband. Catherine's astronomical data proved that Mars was too cold and dry for life and the surface of Venus was baked under a thick carbon dioxide atmosphere, making it unsuitable for life.

In the Ekcolir Reality. Catherine prevented Charles from writing stories about Martians and humans living on Venus. They collaborated on a series of science fiction stories about alien visitors to Earth from distant exoplanets and became major figures in the "UFO craze" of the mid-20th century in the Ekcolir Reality that led up to first contact with the alien Fru'wu.

In his stories, Cloukey fully adopted the strategy of having Evil™ Badguys who must be defeated by devilishly clever, scientifically-trained Goodguys. Also, Cloukey seemed completely devoted to the absurd idea that Mars and Venus are hospitable planets for human or humanoid life. When he started writing science fiction stories, Cloukey apparently had no clear idea how a rocket works and his infatuation with propeller-driven airplanes was profound. He imagined 80,000 ton propeller airliners that could stop in mid-air, turn their propellers and hover like a helicopter. Another astounding Cloukey idea for advanced futuristic technology was using a sphygmomanometer as a fool-proof lie-detector device.

image source

 Fictional Chemistry and Physics. As silly as many of his fictional science ideas (including his fictional neon chemistry) were, I have to give Cloukey credit for trying and we must wonder how much his science fiction stories would have improved with time and practice. I'm particularly impressed by Cloukey's attempt to imagine "future physics" that would allow for practical teleportation. Cloukey seemed to have the concept of how to use a futuristic device to scan objects to atomic resolution. He also seemed to instinctively understand the possibility of sophisticated computation devices and automated control systems.

Last Words. I've previously blogged about Stanley Grauman Weinbaum and his science fiction. I also wrote a science fiction story (Let's Make a Genre) about how Stanley's analogue in an alternate Reality was used by Interventionists to provide Earthlings with information about the future. I'm tempted to include Cloukey in the science fiction story that I'm currently writing; "The Cythyrya Investigation". Maybe like Stanley, Cloukey was able to tap into the Sedron Time Stream...

Coming Soon: Part 4 of "The Cythyrya Investigation" 

Next: Space 2019

visit the Gallery of Book and Magazine Covers

G-syms for G-world

Kaylyn the robot.

Below on this page is Part 3 science fiction story called "The Cythyrya Investigation". The Editor has begun having dreams of the far future in which a woman named Rytya has finally agreed to have a G-sym implanted in her brain. This is a future era in the galaxy during which there is an effort to make sure that everyone on G-world is G-sym linked to the Bimanoid Interface. G-world is the planet where all of the galaxy's golf champions compete. In the future, telepathy provides what is commonly called the "collective consciousness". By making use of the Sedron Time Stream, Rytya is able to make information from the future available to Angela Fersoni. 

What Angela learned about Rytya was passed from Angela to her clone sister, Ivory Fersoni. Eventually, some of the stories about Rytya were passed from Ivory to the Editor by infites. 

Angela Fersoni

Now, when the Editor is in a group mind space with Zeta and the mind clones and they are accessing his infite-generated memories, it is almost as if he is directly aware of information in the Sedron Time Stream that originated from Rytya in the far future. Seemingly with a strange form of telepathic communication into the future, the Editor begins to suspect that Rytya might be a copy of Angela, or a Fersoni mind clone. 

When Rytya begins using her G-sym, she can suddenly see deeply into her parents' minds. Rytya asks her parents tell her the story of how they first met and fell in love. She learns that when Rytya's father Fraunz arrived on G-world, two other golfers, Mylly and Yeam, made use of Fraunz as a convenient way to improve their ability to telepathically block distracting signals from strong telepathic transmitters. 

Fraunz realizes that he has long had visions of the future, which he now attributes to the fact that Rytya is using a G-sym. Finally, Fraunz takes on a G-sym and his mind is able to fully telepathically resonate with both Tya and Rytya, allowing them to send information into the past via the Sedron Time Stream.

Part 3 of The Cythyrya Investigation (Part 1)(Part 2)

Eventually, Rylla got assistance from Azynov and Yōd and it became possible for Jutta to rescue all of the Tinzy clones from Sogdian. Details will be provided by Rylla when she returns from the Simulator System. Jutta took on the delicate project of trying to adapt those clones to regular life-styles, and she was happy to remain there inside the Asimov Reality Simulator. 

After reading the notebooks of Viole Falushe, Rylla and Rey developed the theory that Retz was studying how to use nanites to boost telepathic abilities. Growing up on Earth, Viole was somehow telepathically linked to Jheral Tinzy, which led to his romantic obsession with her. It was only after Jheral died that Viole Falushe and Retz began experimenting with the Jheral clones, "infecting" them with a set of nanites that Retz had isolated from Jheral's dead body. It seemed that Retz was studying the ability of those nanites to boost the telepathic abilities of the clones. Viole Falushe's selfish goal was to use those nanites to make possible a type of telepathic mind control by which he might be able to force a Tinzy clone to fall in love with him. Retz, an agent for a secretive organization called "Zodyac Control", died suddenly when Rey tried to telepathically influence his mind and force him to reveal the secret of how he was controlling the Jheral nanites.

the Ivory infites

After the death of Retz, Rylla and Rey decided to investigate the other Demon Princes, which led Rylla to her meeting with Alys of Aloysyus. I believe that Rey obtained some infites that had resided in the brain of Howard Treesong, but I am waiting to receive a full report about that from Rylla. However, my current understanding is that Rey intends to try to bring those nanites out of the Asimov Reality Simulator. I'm worried about the danger of bringing advanced nanotechnology to Earth. I suspect that Manny could control these nanites from the future of the Asimov Reality, but I have no confidence in Rey's ability to handle them safely.

While I'm worry about possible dangers from nanites that once caused the exceptional "madness" of Howard Treesong, I'm also contemplating the nanites that have been placed in my own body. Through the years, I've received nanites from several sources, including Ivory Fersoni.

Back when I received a swarm of information nanites from Ivory Fersoni, some of that information resonated with my mind and quickly integrated with my conscious mind. Other parts of what I learned from those infites seemed more like science fiction stories than facts. Since I knew that Ivory liked to write science fiction, I assumed that she had shared her fiction with me. However, what if some of those "stories" were factual reports from the far future?

Original cover art by Frank R. Paul
for "The Man Who Evolved".
Image made using "Teardrop" by karlwikman
available under the CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

When I gained access to the Reality Simulation System, I soon became addicted to visiting past Realities. Then, when Rylla went on an extended mission inside the Asimov Reality with Rey, Zeta wanted my help keeping Tihri and Marda entertained. At first we took short road trips and were never too far from home, but then Zeta realized that Anthony could be trusted to care for the cats and so Zeta, Tihri, Marda and I left the country and visited Perth. 

I now realize that for several years, Nora imagined that she would eventually be teleported off of Earth and returned to Eternity. However, she eventually abandoned her dream of getting off this planet. During the month earlier this year when my son was collecting geological samples in the field, Nora had a construction crew build an additional floor onto the top of their house. Thus, when we arrived in Perth we were able to move into the new upstairs. 

synapex connections

Arriving at my son's house in Perth, I was immediately delighted to find that I had access to a private upstairs office with a new computer similar to the one I regularly used at home. That office is theoretically a great place for me to write, but due to the wonders of telepathy, there are very few times when I can concentrate on my writing. 

Nora is helping to train up Zeta's telepathic abilities, which involves their seemingly tireless efforts to share as many orgasm trances as possible. After a week of me trying to ignore Zeta's thoughts during her sexplay sessions with Nora, I gave up on that hopeless effort. Now we have fallen into a routine. As soon as Nora and Zeta get the kids down for a nap, they quickly indulge in sexplay. I stay out of their way until they have a shared orgasm and slip into an orgasm trance. At that point, I join the fun and make love to Zeta. Nora and I always end up with synapex linkages to Zeta's nervous system. When our minds resonate in telepathic linkage, Zeta can now see into my deepest memories, including those that originated from Ivory's infites. 

I've begun having vivid dreams of the future while in synapex linkage to Zeta and Nora, but I believe these actually rely on re-awakenings of old memories that I received in the Ivory infites.

________________

There were two sound tracks in Fraunz's head. First, there was the relentlessly pleading voice of Kaylyn as she made her final appeal to Fraunz's good sense and reason. She'd been at it for a week, trying to convince Fraunz that telepathic golfers had an advantage. Now very short on time, Kay was speaking quickly and using jargon. "No matter how good you are at reading greens, you can't see the future and you have no chance of success against the masters of G-world." She squeezed his hand for emphasis.

The second voice was that of Fraunz's conservative father, who never tired of labeling telepathic golfers as cheaters. A man with honor does not win at any price. At the end of the day, you need to be able to live with yourself. Fraunz knew as well as anyone that it had been 34 years since a non-telepath won the annual galactic golf championship trophy. Fraunz was not interested in arguing with Kay; he simply pulled her hand to his lips and began delicately kissing each of her fingers. She giggled and said, "If you don't care about breakfast, we could go back and finish eating each-other."

Fraunz had been impressed by the robot's skills at oral sex and having eaten too much and exercised too little during the past week, it was tempting to opt for one last sexplay session with Kaylyn. However, now arriving from Fraunz's cabin, they'd reached the entrance to Commissioner Yatym's suite and the robot Jymyny was there at the entrance, eager to bring Fraunz to the Commissioner's table. After a piercing glance at Kay's jiggling breasts, Jymyny spoke to Fraunz: "Good morning, sir."

Tya on G-world. Image made with
  KellyOutdoor2 by Eclesi4stiK
  available under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.

Paying only minimal attention to Jym, Fraunz muttered a quiet: "G'day, Jym." His thoughts tightly focused on the sexy Kaylyn, Fraunz put his arms around Kay and she did her usual wild trick with her vibrating tongue inside his mouth. Fraunz had invited her to join him on G-world, but she was only authorized to travel to G-world, not land on the planet. Robots were not really welcomed on G-world, where the ancient traditions of golf slanted the mindset towards a preference for human labor, not automation. As he pulled his lips off of hers, Fraunz once more told Kay, "You can have my caddie exemption."

Jymyny reminded Fraunz, "Everyone is already at the table, sir, waiting for you."

Kay shook her head and said, "I don't know anything about golf." She turned and walked away, with one last glance over her shoulder at Fraunz. He watched her walk away, enjoying for the last time the sight of her artificial body as she walked down the corridor. Designed as a sexbot, Kaylyn had breasts on both her chest and her back. Still, despite her best efforts, she had been unable to induce Fraunz into even considering the possibility of having a G-sym placed inside his body.

Fraunz turned and strode into the Commissioner's suite and tried to forget about Kay. He and Jym sat down at the table, Jym beside his master, Axyl Yatym. Fraunz waited for Fyfyn to look his way and he told her, "Good morning."

Jym has a physical appearance
that is very similar to that of Dani.

Fyfyn nodded at Fraunz then turned her head and resumed her conversation with the Commissioner's daughter, Ophylya. Commissioner Yatym gazed across the breakfast table at Fraunz and told him, "The shuttle taking us down to Oakridge departs in just twenty minutes."

Fraunz lifted a glass of grapefruit juice to his lips and told the Commissioner, "I'm ready," and he drank the juice. At that moment, Fraunz was trying to ignore the Commissioner and her husband and listen to what Fyfyn and Ophylya were discussing. From the moment when Fraunz had boarded the spaceship en-route to G-world, he'd been captivated by Ophylya. Ophylya was not only cute and delightfully bubbly, but she was also an amateur golfer and very knowledgeable about both the sporting and business sides of golf. Nobody doubted that she would one day be Commissioner of golf for the Vega sector, following in her mother's footsteps.

Sadly, during the spaceflight from Vega to G-world, Fyfyn had monopolized Ophylya's time and the two women had become lovers. Fyfyn was again speaking to Ophylya about living with her on G-world and the idea that Ophylya could serve as her caddie. Fraunz was eager to hear Ophylya's reply to Fyfyn as was the Commissioner, but the Commissioner's husband, Axyl was asking Fraunz, "How would you play the 17th hole at Oakridge?"

Fyfyn

The 17th hole at Oakridge was well-known to all the golfers of the galaxy for its devious multi-tiered putting green. Fraunz pulled his gaze away from Ophylya's big green eyes and finished chewing the wad of bacon that was in his mouth. He swallowed and told Axyl about an approach to the 17th hole that was best suited for his short game. While he talked, Fraunz could hear Ophylya diplomatically explaining to Fyfyn that she would be going off to college on Earth in six months, to study business. Fraunz began fantasizing about the possibility that Fyfyn would want to try living with him as they began their advanced training on G-world. Fyfyn was not nearly as cute as Ophylya or even Kaylyn, but Fraunz could see no fault in her tall, athletic body.

On the shuttle, the first class section was filled with golfers while their supporters were all relegated to the rear compartment. Fraunz found himself seated beside Fyfyn. She casually informed Fraunz that she would get to play the famous Oakridge course. She had won one of the few available tee times for that week. Now she chided Fraunz, "Why didn't you even apply to play Oakridge during this week's tournament?"

Fraunz explained, "I figured the chances of getting to play were slim and besides, why sit here in town for a week just for one round of golf?"

"That's not the point." Fyfyn was a telepath, with a life time of experience making use of her G-sym. "I had a hunch that I'd get to play Oakridge. You see, this is why telepaths have such a big advantage."

"How is playing just one round of golf during a week an advantage?"

"I'll be networking with the pros and getting publicity... building my brand." Fyfyn could feel the way Fraunz was visually examining her body, his eyes lingering on her perky breasts. She had no way of shielding herself from his powerful telepathic transmissions and now her body was again responding. Her erect nipples stood out through the thin fabric of her shirt. She asked, "Did you ever find out who Kaylyn was working for?"

Fraunz Wylsyn

Fraunz was deep into fantasizing about making love to Fyfyn and licking her stiff nipples, then he thought about Kaylyn the sexbot. Who would hire a sexbot to try to change his mind about telepathy? There was a simmering dispute within professional golf over the problem of mixing telepaths and non-telepaths in tournament play. On some planets, there were separate golf leagues for telepaths and non-telepaths. However, the Galactic Golf Association had never wavered in its long tradition of including the best golfers in its leagues, be they telepaths with G-syms or non-telepaths. And while the most popular tournaments of the GGA features man-woman teams, there were still the traditional Mens Golf League and Womens Golf League that had their sex-segregated tournaments. Fraunz told Fyfyn, "I have no head for politics."

Fyfyn patted his crotch with her hand and felt his semi-erect penis where it formed an enticing lump in his pants. "You had a big head for her vagina. Tell me, did Kay have two vaginas to go along with the two pairs of breasts?"

"You missed your chance to find out. You would have enjoyed her vibrating robotic tongue. You should have joined us for a threesome." He reached out and gently ran a finger tip over the protruding tip of one of Fyfyn's nipples. "But I suppose you were simply too busy playing with Ophylya."

"Well, maybe I should have seen this day coming, but future sense is never very reliable. Soon both Ophylya and Kay will be gone and forgotten and we'll be here together on G-world." Nearly twenty percent of the men and women who arrived at G-world to represent galactic sectors trained together as a team. Fyfyn liked Fraunz, but she'd never had a future vision of training with Fraunz as a golf partner. "Ophylya is a special lady... I'm going to miss her. It doesn't take telepathy to predict that."

Fraunz chuckled. "If I was getting information from the future, I'd just get confused. I already have enough trouble figuring out the past."

Ophylya

"Don't spout any crap about men not being able to multi-task." As the shuttle dropped down through the thick atmosphere of G-world, Fyfyn tried to cool down their shared heated state of sexual arousal. She changed the subject and they discussed the most famous holes of the Oakridge course. With no plans to play the Oakridge course, Fraunz was thinking about the time three years previously when he had first met Fyfyn at a golf tournament and they had become lovers. He'd never understood why she had abruptly broken off their relationship.

The truth was, Fraunz was a powerful telepathic transmitter, and Fyfyn had been instantly attracted to his mind. But then Fyfyn had discovered that he had no ability to resonate his telepathic mind with hers and she'd been very disappointed. After years of practice tuning into his unique mind pattern, Fyfyn could sense in Fraunz's thoughts that he was thinking about the possibility that they could go through their advanced training on G-world as a couple. As she talked about how she would play Oakridge, Fraunz fantasized about making love to Fyfyn. Finally, unable to ignore his increasingly hardcore sexual thoughts, she told him, "This is why I could never partner with you. Your thoughts would be a constant distraction."

"You'd grow accustomed to me."

"No, you are only a source of frustration for me. Our minds could resonate beautifully, but you stubbornly refuse to take on a G-sym." Fyfyn resumed talking about how she planned to play the Oakridge course, but Fraunz gazed across the isle and made eye contact with another golfer from the Carina sector.

Dely

The shuttle had had reached the spaceport and as it moved into a hangar, Fraunz said to the woman across the isle. "You're from Carina aren't you? I'm Fraunz, Vega sector. I don't recall your name."

She said, "I'm Dely Aperdyn." She reached out a long arm and Fraunz shook her hand. Fraunz and Dely walked off the shuttle together. During their tour of the Oakridge course, Fraunz and Dely stayed together, enjoying each-others company. Fraunz was introduced to Carina sector golf Commissioner, Mathue Nelsyn. 

During lunch in the Oakridge clubhouse, Commissioner Nelsyn asked Fraunz, "Have you made any plans for your advanced training?"

Fraunz shrugged. "I make plans all the time, but they seldom come to fruition." He glanced out the window. The first hole of the Grand Training Links was only a hundred yards away. "After the opening ceremony this afternoon, I suppose I'll just start playing."

Nelsyn laughed and called down the long table to Commissioner Yatym, "Do you hear this?"

Commissioner Yatym

Commissioner Yatym glanced at Fraunz and shook her head. "He always does what ever pops into his head. I long ago gave up trying to talk sense into him."

Dely told Fraunz, "You don't plan to take offers from sponsors this week?"

Fraunz knew that it was traditional practice for new arrivals on G-world to listen to offers from representatives of the major cities of G-world who tried to induce professional golfers just arrived on G-world to start on the 100,000 mile-long Grand Training Links at one of the big cities. "It would be another wasted week as far as I'm concerned." Fraunz was already feeling out of sorts for not having been able to golf during the week-long spaceflight to G-world.

During the opening ceremony, Fyfyn was up on stage as one of the randomly selected golfers who would get to play the Oakridge course in a Pro-Am tournament that week. After the opening ceremony was complete, thousands of city representatives were allowed to mingle with the newly arrived golfers from off-world. Fraunz had one last glimpse of Dely being introduced to a city representative by Commissioner Nelsyn, then he was surrounded by a cloud of smiling city representatives. Fraunz politely detached himself from the yammering crowd and went to the back part of the clubhouse that was for players only. He located his golf equipment and slipped out of the back door.

A short stroll brought Fraunz to the first tee of the Grand Training Links. There were hundreds of so-called "first holes" along the 100,000 mile length of the course, but Fraunz knew this was the "real" first hole, as planned and designed nearly 20,000 years ago when G-world had been designated the gold capital of the galaxy. Fraunz checked in with the course manager and was told, "By tradition, we start everyone of in a four-group. We're still assembling the first group." The manager gestured towards two golfers who were on a nearby practice tee.

17th green at Oakridge

Fraunz discovered that the two golfers who had proceeded him were from Lopsyng sector, a populous sector of the galactic core that had produced many galactic golf champions. The woman was preparing to take a swing, but she halted and turned towards Fraunz. She muttered to her male counterpart, "It's the Vegan."

The man from Lopsyng had been leaning casually on his driver. He turned to Fraunz and they shook hands. "I'm Yeam Hatheroy and this is Mylly Shosenlyft. You're from Vega sector, aren't you?"

"Fraunz Wylsyn." He told Mylly, "Sorry to interrupt your swing."

"No problem. We're just killing time. The absurd rule about four-groups." Mylly again addressed her ball and stoked it off the tee.

Yeam asked Fraunz, "You have no interest in getting a sponsor?"

Fraunz knew that "sponsor" was a euphemism. The cities of G-world were constantly trying to win a contract for one of the few annual championship tournaments. It was a publicity game to attract new arrivals on G-world to start their advanced training at one of the cities competing for a tournament slot. "I just want to play golf. I don't care about the politics of tournament scheduling."

Yeam nodded. "Good. I hope our fourth is also level-headed."

Mylly Shosenlyft

Fraunz followed Mylly's gaze. She'd teed-up another ball, but now she was looking over Fraunz's shoulder. Fraunz turned and saw that Dely was approaching, her clubs over her shoulder. After introductions, the four golfers chatted and took some practice shots. When a fifth golfer arrived, the course manager approached and asked, "Are you ready to start?" 

Fraunz noticed that the manager's words were sent out to the gathered crowd of spectators through a speaker system. Mylly, Yeam, Dely and Fraunze all nodded to the manager. Yeam was looking speculatively at the fifth golfer, but he said, "Let's get this going."

The manager announced the names and sectors of origin of the four-group and then a randomizer determined that Yeam would hit first. After Yeam and Fraunz teed off, Mylly and Dely walked ahead to the women's tee. Fraunz was amused that Mylly's drive ended up 20 yards further down the fairway than his own tee shot. He half jokingly told her, "You should hit off of the men's tees."

Mylly told Fraunz, "You can use the women's tees, if you need help."

Fraunz laughed. There was no official score keeping on the Grand Training Links, but scores were always tabulated by observers. Golfers built their professional reputation on the Grand Training Links and thereby gained beginners invitations to championship tournaments. However, Fraunz had never really cared about winning. He just wanted to play golf. He hit his second shot onto the elevated green and then waited for Mylly and Yeam to hit their shots. 

Fraunz was waiting at the edge of the fairway, ready to walk up the path that led around the pond that guarded the approach to the green. A nearby spectator said, "Where are you staying tonight?"

Fraunz looked to his left and his eyes met those of a tall, cute woman who was pressed up against the short crowd restraint fence that ran along the rough. Somehow she looked familiar. He asked her, "Do I know you?"

"I'm Tya. I want to offer you my services... as caddie."

Fraunz could see her long powerful legs, but her arms were skinny. Tya's face was hidden by a the broad brim of a big hat. He shifted his gaze off into the distance, but also moved closer to edge of the fairway and quietly told the woman, "I hadn't thought about where I'll be when we're done golfing today. There are supposed to be nice resorts all along the course. We can talk this evening when the golf is done..."

Tya reached over the fence and placed a hand on his arm. "There are many resorts near here, but some are nicer than others."

He looked down at her hand where it rested against his arm and saw her delicate fingers. Fraunz moved off towards the green, but cast a glance back, looking for Tya. As soon as he'd walked away from her, she'd quickly blended into the crowd. But when Fraunz stepped off the first green, he saw Tya again and she continued following along with the first four-group. However, several thousand other spectators were doing the same.

Tya and Fraunz's daughter, Rytya

Finally as darkness was falling, Mylly pointed to the side, off the course and said, "Let's stay here for the night. Fraunz soon learned that this resort was name Cloudscape. When Mylly, Yeam, Dely and Fraunz walked into the lobby they were met by the manager who offered to take them directly to the Cascadia Suite, which was, by tradition, automatically placed at the disposal of the first four-group to arrive. Several porters stepped forward and took the golf clubs from the four golfers.

The manager took the four-group to an escalation platform and they rose up into the heights of the high ceiling in the lobby. The manager explained that the Cascadia Suite constituted the top floor of the resort, but it was actually an elaborate flying machine and would follow them along the Grand Training Links. As they rose off the floor of the lobby, Fraunze could see Tya below, at the registration desk. Tya glanced up and Fraunze imagined that she had felt his gaze resting upon her.

Coming Soon: Part 4 of "The Cythyrya Investigation" 

Next: Flaming Atom