Figure 1. Marda and Tyhry in the Ekcolir Reality simulation |
Last year I had a near-end-of-year blog post in which I discussed story ideas that I had not been able to complete in 2022 (see tHE yEAR inVERSE). Since my science fiction story writing is intended to 1) be fun, 2) allow me to explore the idea that there have long been alien visitors on Earth and 3) I get to pretend that there are always new surprises in Eddy's investigation of the Secret History of Humanity, I don't really care if I begin a story and then get distracted by another story idea... or two or three. I'm in no hurry to complete stories such as City on the Edge of Tomorrow.
This year, I'm planning on two end of the year blog posts that will be concerned with story writing tasks that I failed to complete in 2023. This blog post is one of these and the other is called "The Religion of Mosy". Mosy is a major character in a science fiction story that I call "The Mosy Saga" which traces the origin of the legendary figure Moses to alien Interventionism.
Plans for December blogging. |
While inside the Ekcolir Reality Simulator, Tyhry was experimenting with medical nanites and she already had experience working with her mother on how best to use nanites to reverse the aging process and make a person look younger. In my imagination, Figure 1 is a rather comical situation for Marda and Tyhry in which Marda pretends to be Tyhry's mother.
Tyhry and Marda on Lambda Grus III |
Star Kings. Vance's story about mysterious space aliens from a distant world who long-ago brought modern humans into existence on the exoplanet Lambda Grus III (then planted them on Earth), was published right at the end of 1963 (see the amazing cover by Ed Emshwiller). Not long after that, Gene Roddenberry wrote a script for a television show called "Seven", featuring aliens who are secretly altering Earth's history.
Figure 2. Marda and Brak |
I wonder if Roddenberry had ever read Vance's "Star King" story and if he was influenced by it. I've read the original script for Roddenberry's 1966 proposed television show called "Seven" (you can download it here). It was a time travel story with evil aliens and even a Hollywood style explosion 💣 (the evil aliens try to kill Gary Seven). I'm not surprised that Roddenberry could not interest anyone in making a television show about Gary Seven's struggle against the evil Omegans.
Roddenberry's script for "Seven" has some of the good plot elements that ended up in "Assignment: Earth", but also a large amount of dark fantasy. On the positive side, Roddenberry was ready to have the cute Roberta on screen without her miniskirt; first hosing her down when the fire department responds to the explosion and then having her quickly change clothes and appear half dressed... in a slip. When the explosion occurs, it provides a handy excuse for Gary Seven to lay on top of Roberta.
The beginning of the Omegans? |
1953. It would be interesting to know if Roddenberry read Childhood's End. Roddenberry's description of his evil Omegans in his 1966 script for "Seven" reminds me of Clarke's Overlords.
Roberta's pajama party. |
Figure 3. The Flower Club. |
While describing the first murder that is attributed by Vance to his protagonist, Kirth Gersen, Vance includes an interlude at the Jodisei Conversation and Flower Arranging Club of Brinktown. The image shown to the right (Figure 3) is my attempt to get Mr. Wombo to depict the Brinktown Flower Club. These flowers were all generated by DALL-E (see this image and this other image).
Conversation Piece. Mr. Wombo spontaneously added the lower row of three women that are in Figure 3 while I was trying to make Figure 4 (below). I suspect that this tendency of Mr. Wombo to "double up" elements in images is due to the large number of 512 x 512 images used in the training set and the fact that I routinely use a tall aspect ratio (also see Figure 5).
Mind clones. Brak is the first full telepath. |
I'm still trying to decide how long Marda and Tyhry should remain inside the Ekcolir Reality Simulator. There may be benefits to making it a long stay, particularly if Tyhry is unable to bring Fru'wu nanites back to the Final Reality from the Simulation of the Ekcolir Reality.
Mr. Wombo's green aliens. |
Wombo dreams. Sometimes it feels like an AI-program has a sense of humor. After I made the image in Figure 1, I tried to get Mr. Wombo to add in two aliens to that scene. I was thinking of the Fru'wu when I used a text prompt that included: "high resolution movie still showing two alien visitors on Earth". When Mr. Wombo inserted some aliens with green skin, I went with it and ended up with the image that is shown above, right.
Figure 4. Mr. Wombo's humor. |
As discussed in "Cosmopolite", Tyhry is able to use Hua technology to shift both her body and that of Marda to their "natural" form. As tryp'At hermaphrodites, it is possible for Tyhry to impregnate Marda, but I believe Brak is a much more complex genetic construct than could be created by conventional sexual reproduction. However, there could be a period of time during which Marda and Tyhry are happy to assume that Tyhry has fathered Marda's child.
I was surprised when the WOMBO Dream "Dreamland v3" style produced a
whole series of images like the one shown to the left where the two
green aliens were given bulging breasts.
TER is hot for Marda. |
The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of Tyhry and Marda spending a long time in the Ekcolir Reality Simulator... long enough for Brak's telepathic mind to develop to the point where it can begin to access information in the Sedron Time Stream. Maybe Brak's fetal mind can help put ideas into the mind of the Tyhry analogue who is from the Ekcolir Reality (TER), eventually leading her to develop a plan by which she will smuggle zeptites from Threy to Earth. The AI-generated image that is shown to the right depicts TER in a summer-heated moment with Marda while they are together at the beach.
Tyhry with a synapex link to Brak. |
When I first began to contemplate the telepathic abilities of Brak, I depicted Tyhry as making use of Brak's special telepathic powers even when Brak was very young (for example, see this blog post). More recently, when I was trying to get help from Bard and ChatGPT to develop my thinking about "The Femtobot Smuggler", I could not imagine how Tyhry would be able to smuggle alien nanites past Manny the bumpha. Does Brak play a key role?
Figure 4. The replicoid game. Can you tell which copy is a replicoid or a Simulation duplicate? |
Figure 5. A long lower body for Marda. |
How can Marda go to Threy immediately after being in the Ekcolir Reality Simulation if she gives birth to Brak while inside the Reality Simulator? Tyhry has long ago mastered the trick of creating Simulation duplicates of people, so a copy of Marda can remain with Brak inside the simulator. Later, a copy of Brak will be brought into the Final Reality.
Figure 3, above, is an example of an AI-generated image in which Mr. Wombo felt compelled to add three additional human figures to a scene. For the image shown to the right, Mr. Wombo was content to provide Marda with a second belly button (near the bottom of the image). Mr. Wombo got carried away with the draped cloth, and I added some more to cover up some AI-generated anatomical defects.
The nanites of Threy. |
I'll probably have to include as a chapter in City on the Edge of Tomorrow a description of visit that Eddy and Rylla made to Threy, which took place about ten years prior to the events which are described in the first part of the story.
While inside the Ekcolir Reality Simulation, Marda (via Brak) informs the analogue of Tyhry that the Tyhry of the Final Reality hopes to obtain zeptites from Kasty, but it seems likely that Manny will not allow those advanced nanites to be brought to Earth. The analogue of Tyhry from the Ekcolir Reality (call her TER) decides to secretly assist the Tyhry of the Final Reality. Can she access the Sedron Time Stream?
The Replicoid Nanites. |
A replicoid copy of TER (an artificial life-form composed of femtobot components) exits the Ekcolir Reality with Marda and Tyhry and becomes the titular "Femtobot Smuggler".
That replicoid copy of TER actually ends up smuggling zeptites from Threy to Earth, without either Tyhry or Manny being aware of what has happened. The replicoid copy of TER takes the zeptites back into the Ekcolir Reality Simulator and discovers how to use them to access the Bimanoid Interface.
Marda meets TER. |
The replicoid copy of TER secretly provides assistance to the Tyhry analogue who lives on Earth in the Final Reality. The replicoid copy of TER makes a replicoid copy of Tyhry inside Observer Base. Telepathically inked to Tyhry on Earth, the replicoid copy of Tyhry can secretly guide Tyhry's life on Earth by passing information via the Sedron Time Stream, without Manny realizing why Tyhry is so adept at making use of the Sedron Time Stream.
Marda and TER. |
Soon after Marda meets the Tyhry analogue of the Ekcolir Reality, medical nanites transform Marda's body into its hermaphroditic tryp'At form and Marda becomes pregnant. The Tyhry analogue of the Ekcolir Reality is delighted by Marda's tryp'At features including her second row of breasts and her penis.
Figure 6. The Zeptites of Threy. |
the Ekcolir Reality analogues of Marda and Tyhry. |
Tyhry and Marda discussing fashion and disguises while inside the Ekcolir Reality Simulator. |
I've been experimenting with having Mr. Wombo generate versions of Marda and Tyhry showing them "in disguise" and making use of facial nanites to alter their appearance. Also, I'd like to be able to provide the Ekcolir Reality analogs of Tyhry and Marda with their own unique and recognizable styles. The image above and the one to the left were generated by Mr. Wombo using a text prompt that included "Jaclyn Smith and Cheryl Ladd".
Image by Mr. Wombo. |
When I continue writing City on the Edge of Tomorrow in 2024, I'll have to decide on how far back into the 20th century Tyhry and Marda will go in the Ekcolir Reality Simulator in order to maximize Tyhry's chances of getting her hands on Fru'wu nanites. Previously, I've imagined that the Fru'wu arrived on Earth in the 1950s, but that may have simply been when the "public" announcement of the existence of the Fru'wu was made. Possibly there were Fru'wu visitors and advanced scouts on Earth at earlier times. In 2024 I'll have to settle such issues and also decide who will be joining Tyhry and Marda in the hot tub (see the image to the right).
1923 in the Ekcolir Reality |
In the Ekcolir Reality, the University of Perugia's Department of Molecular Archeology becomes famous for the discovery of alien DNA on Earth by Professor Velimna Tiberini. In 1923, one of Dr. Tiberini's environmental genetic diversity scans is able to detect some Fru'wu DNA, suggesting that alien visitors to Earth were preparing humans for first contact, which officially came in the 1950s.
quantum AI |
City on the Edge of Tomorrow is about Tyhry's efforts to obtain advanced nanotechnology, so I'm always on the lookout for ways to depict invisibly small nanites. Mr. Wombo was busily generating images such as the one to the right for a text prompt that included "a quantum computing artificial life form that is holding a red quantum amplifier and dressed Victoria's Secret style in glowing silk filaments".
Figure 7. clothing nanites. |
hair and clothing nanites |
nanite-generated jewels |
In this case, the WOMBO Dream "styles" Whimsical v3, Baroque v3 and Dreamland v3 all could add nipples to this reference image (the one shown in Figure 7) without being derailed by the WOMBO Dream NSFW filter. This image seems like a realistic depiction of a clothing nanite experiment being conducted by a novice like Tyhry. Even Mr. Wombo might agree: if there are valid science fiction reasons related to a story plot element, then why not bare a breast or two?
Next: the religion of Mosy.
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