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| F. Tyhry and Dyas in the ER Simulation. |
Here (below) is the new version of scene #9....
Scene 9 of “The Femtobot Smuggler”.
One week before the family vacation on Threy.
F. Tyhry, F. Marda and F. Anthony remained within their nanite research laboratory inside the Ekcolir Reality Simulation. For months, F. Tyhry and her team trained and practiced many hours each day in an attempt to better utilize their telepathic group consciousness for the purpose of contacting the alien Phari. So far, F. Tyhry had only developed the conviction that the Phari were watching her from inside the Hierion Domain. Now, with the original Tyhry's trip to Threy only a week away, F. Tyhry focused intently, reaching out with her telepathic senses and tried once again to establish contact with the mysterious Phari. With F. Marda and F. Anthony synapex linked to her, amplifying her abilities, F, Tyhry telepathically peered deep into the Hierion Domain, searching for a sign of the advanced beings.
Just then, a strange looking robot walked into the laboratory and said, “The Phari are greatly impressed by your persistence.”
Becoming aware of the robot, F. Tyhry broke the synapex links to F. Marda and F. Anthony. Their group consciousness dissolved. F. Tyhry asked the robot, “Who are you?”
“My name is Systolina Kayto.” Systolina said, “Maybe I can assist you, Tyhry.”
Systolina laughed in a goofy way that was characteristic of the robots of Threy. “Oh come on, Tyhry. This is not such a great mystery. You've been telepathically broadcasting into the Hierion Domain for months now. You attracted the attention of the Phari.”
F. Tyhry asked, “You are from the hierion domain?”
Systolina shook her head. “No, I would love to earn a ticket that would get me into the Hierion Domain, but I'm stuck in the Hadron Domain.” She looked all around the interior of the laboratory. “Although, I suppose you will insist that this is all a simulation... that I'm actually now inside the Sedron Domain of the universe, existing inside some powerful quantum computer. Do I have that right? The Phari got me a bit confused when they told me about you and this secret nanite research laboratory. Exactly where are we... right now?”
F. Tyhry explained, “This, this is simulation of Earth. A version of Earth as it existed in the Ekcolir Reality, the Reality that came after your Reality: the Asimov Reality. Does that confuse you?”
“Amazing. I feel like everything is real... not some artificial simulation.” Systolina moved close to F. Tyhry and ran her fingers of one hand through the hair of F. Tyhry.
F. Tyhry asked, “The Phari sent you here?”
“Yes, they did. Apparently, you have been trying to accomplish the impossible. Tyhry, you simply lack the necessary technology for linking your mind to the Phari group consciousness that resides in the Hierion Domain. I can help you get past that technological barrier.” Systolina put her arms around the girl. “I'm in telepathic contact with the Phari... they want you to connect our two bodies by means of a synapex link.”
Tyhry did as Systolina requested. Tyhry's nervous system was quickly linked directly to Systolina's artificial neural circuits. F. Tyhry felt a shift in her consciousness. Suddenly an alien presence entered her mind. The mental touch was feather-light but undeniably alien, not just a stray telepathic signal from one of the other Tyhry copies. F. Tyhry almost recoiled from the strangeness of it, but she steadied herself and asked, "Are you a.... part of the Phari?"
A resonant voice seemed to reverberate through her thoughts. "We are the Phari. And we know you seek to obtain advanced programmable femtobots. But danger watches through many eyes."
F. Tyhry understood the reference to the smuggling of forbidden femtobots to Earth, but what were these 'many eyes'? Then with a jolt she realized the Phari must be worried about Manny and the bumpha's careful monitoring of how Tyhry used nanites.
She hastily explained, "It is true, a...bumpha...monitors my actions closely. But my goals are virtuous. I only wish to help my people conquer sickness and death through application of advanced femtobot technologies." F. Tyhry briefly outlined her plan to use immortal replicoids to save her parents from aging.
The Phari replied, "Noble aspirations oft travel twisted roads paved with good intentions. Heed well the lessons taught by failures and mistakes made long ago by cosmic civilizations older than yours."
F. Tyhry insisted, "I understand the risks. But think what wonders would unfold if humanity were freed from mortality! I am trained by Manny... I know how to program femtobots with care. Believe me, I will not unleash these powerful nanites on the people of Earth. As a test case, I will only use the Yastyn femtobots to immortalize my parents. Please, aid me in this quest - help me bring advanced femtobots to Earth despite the bumpha's efforts to stop me."
There was a long pause. Then finally the Phari stated, "The bumpha's attention is...preoccupied...fuming and investigating another nanite-based technology that we sent to Earth.”
Tyhry laughed. “So, it was you who supplied space-elevator technology to hundreds of engineers on Earth? What a trick! Manny has been in a tizzy for months.” F. Tyhry thought about the full implications of the Phari providing high-strength anti-gravity nanite filaments to Earth of the Final Reality. She asked the Phari, “You really exist in the Final Reality?”
“Yes, of course. Ever since the First Reality we have resided within the Hierion Domain of the universe where we were protected from Reality Changes taking place in the Hadron Domain.” The Phari telepathically showed F. Tyhry a model of the Dimensional Structure of the universe with nine spatial dimensions and two temporal dimensions. Three sets of three spatial dimensions each defined the Hadron, Hierion and Sedron Domains.
F. Tyhry asked, “Why have you sent Systolina here?”
“A connection to her positronic brain was needed in order to allow your primitive mind to link through an inter-dimensional portal to the Phari group consciousness, here in the Hierion Domain.” The Phari said, “The original biological copy of Tyhry needed a way to avoid the constant watchfulness of Manny. We provided a diversion. It is amusing for us to watch Manny's desperate efforts to restrict the development of new space elevator technologies for your planet. Be that as it may, I hope you appreciate the fact that a window of opportunity has opened for nanotechnology transfer from Threy to Earth."
Joy rushed through F. Tyhry. "Thank you for your help! I swear the Yastyn femtobots will only be used responsibly to uplift the human race. All you need do is provide me with some Yastyn programmable femtobots."
“We hesitate to do that.” The Phari told F. Tyhry, “Let us wait and see if the other copy Tyhry can smuggle the Yastyn femtobots to Earth.” The Phari abruptly broke the inter-dimension telepathic connection to F. Tyhry.
F. Tyhry tried to reach into the thoughts of Systolina, but she failed. F. Tyhry then dissolved the synapex linkage to Systolina and said, “I don't know how you did it, but thank you for connecting my mind to the Phari.”
Systolina said, “No problem. My mission here is complete.” Systolina vanished, having popped herself out of the Ekcolir Reality Simulation that housed F. Tyhry's laboratory.
For a moment, F. Tyhry was astonished by what had happened and she assumed that Systolina must have exited from the Simulation. F. Tyhry and F Marda felt elated. After months of seeming fruitless efforts, they had finally contacted the Phari!
F. Marda was telepathically looking into the thoughts of F. Tyhry. She asked, “Did the Phari agree to help circumvent Manny's blockade against alien femtobots reaching Earth? I'm not quite sure what just happened.”
F. Tyhry said, “I better monitor Tyhry carefully during her upcoming vacation on Threy. I can't imagine that Manny will let Tyhry bring alien nanites to Earth, but maybe the Phari plan to act and help Tyhry and somehow prevent Manny from blocking Tyhry's plan.”
F. Anthony suggested, “No matter how busy Manny is on Earth dealing with the space elevator technology issue, I'm sure that she is still monitoring the behavior of the original Tyhry copy in the Final Reality. Manny may become distracted when Tyhry is on Threy... maybe that is when the Phari will teleport some programmable femtobots to us, here on Earth.”
F. Marda shook her head. “I don't see how the Phari could teleport objects into this Reality Simulation.” Like F. Tyhry, F. Marda was also imagining that Systolina had entered the Ekcolir Reality Simulation by using the usual control console to open an access portal. She waved a hand at the cluttered interior of the nanite research laboratory. “This is all a data structure inside the Sedron Domain. The Phari are masters of the Hierion Domain, but what do they know about sedrons and the Sedron Domain?”
After spending months on this project, F. Tyhry was ready to wait one more week. Maybe the original copy of Tyhry would be able to smuggle Femtobots from Threy to Earth. The stakes were astronomical. Taking a deep breath, she turned to her friends. "It's time for us to be at our best. We can try to help the original copies of Tyhry and Marda out-smart Manny." She took hold of F. Marda's hands and told the girl, “If needed, I know you would make the ultimate sacrifice, my love. You may need to die on Threy.”
End Scene 9.
Me: Claude, please read my new 14,400 word science fiction story called "The Femtobot Smuggler". Claude, please generate a 2000 token-long summary of "The Femtobot Smuggler". In that summary, make clear the roles played by each of the following: 1) the three different copies of Tyhry 2) Manny the bumpha 3) the Phari 4) the robot Systolina
The story centers around Tyhry, a young woman determined to obtain advanced alien femtobot technology despite restrictions from Manny the bumpha. There are three versions of Tyhry that drive the plot.
The original Tyhry is the biological daughter of Eddy and Zeta. She creates an immortal femtobot copy of herself (F. Tyhry) to carry out a secret mission - obtain programmable femtobots from the Yastyn species on the planet Threy. F. Tyhry, helped by copies of Marda and Anthony, tries contacting the mysterious Phari beings to get their help bypassing Manny's blockade on alien nanotech reaching Earth.
Later, the original Tyhry goes on a family vacation to Threy. A replicoid copy of Tyhry joins the family trip as part of a plan to distract Manny so advanced femtobots can be smuggled to Earth. However, Manny sees through the scheme and blocks the femtobot data from leaving Threy.
The Phari, enigmatic transdimensional beings, aid F. Tyhry in her quest. They trick Manny by covertly teleporting a replicoid copy of Marda to F. Tyhry's lab on Earth. This fake Marda's death startles Manny as intended. Despite Manny stopping the femtobot smuggling, the Phari help F. Tyhry obtain scanner femtobots. F. Tyhry uses these to create immortal replicoids of her parents in her secret simulation lab.
Manny allows the original Tyhry to keep non-dangerous hair femtobots obtained on Threy. But she deactivates F. Tyhry for going too far in creating full immortal replicoids on Earth without permission. The smuggling may have failed but advanced femtobots now exist on Earth, setting the stage for future developments.
Throughout the story, the robot Systolina aids communications between factions. Built on Threy then teleported to F. Tyhry’s lab by the Phari, she provides a mindlink to let F. Tyhry contact the Phari collective consciousness. Later the Phari teleport Systolina to the Final Reality on Earth. Her presence allows the robot to bridge understanding between the various Tyhry copies and other key players like Manny. She plays a pivotal role for the goals of the Phari.
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Claude is still struggling to make sense of all the copies of characters in “The Femtobot Smuggler”. By asking Claude to generate a longer summary (2000 tokens rather than 1000), I may have inadvertently caused Claude to start inventing false claims about the plot of the story.
1) Claude's summary of the story (above) mistakenly says that Tyhry, "creates an immortal femtobot copy of herself (F. Tyhry)". That is not true. With one exception at the end of the story, all of the replicoids that Tyhry can make are mortal.
2) Claude says: "The Phari, enigmatic transdimensional beings, aid F. Tyhry in her quest.
They trick Manny by covertly teleporting a replicoid copy of Marda to
F. Tyhry's lab on Earth. This fake Marda's death startles Manny as
intended". This summary of events seems like an AI-hallucination. In the story, there is the death of a Marda replicoid, but there is no indication that: "Marda's death startles Manny as intended". It is the Phari who "teleport" the biological Marda from Threy to Earth. I put "teleport" in quotes because it is the Phari of the Final Reality who are able to hack into the Reality Simulation System and edit the simulation data. The Phari transfer Marda from the Asimov Reality Simulation to the Ekcolir Reality Simulation.
3) Claude says, "Later the Phari teleport Systolina to the Final Reality on Earth." This is not true. The copy of Systolina that the Phari inserted into the Ekcolir Reality Simulation has the ability to exit from the Simulation and exist in the Fina Reality.
I'm not sure it is worth trying to make further changes to “The Femtobot Smuggler” in an attempt to help Claude better understand the story. The length of he story is now right at the size limit for the free version of Claude.
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Me: Claude, please read my new 14,000 word science fiction story called "The Femtobot Smuggler". Claude, in “The Femtobot Smuggler” how does Marda get from Threy to Earth?
- On Threy, Tyhry finds a dead body that appears to be Marda. However, this is later revealed by Manny to actually be a replicoid copy of Marda, not the real Marda.
- The real Marda wakes up in Tyhry's secret nanotechnology lab inside the simulation of the Ekcolir Reality, three days after the finding of her dead replicoid copy. She has no memory of how she got there.
- Manny speculates that the Phari teleported the real Marda from Threy to Tyhry's lab using their advanced teleportation technology that can even transport objects between realities/simulations. This seems to be the implied explanation in the story for how the real Marda is transported from Threy back to Earth.
- An alternative theory briefly considered is that Marda now has the special "nanite key" that allows emergency exit from simulations, similar to what Tyhry possesses. However, experiments show Marda does not actually have this ability.
So in summary, while not definitively stated, the story strongly suggests that the Phari teleported the real Marda from Threy back to Earth, depositing her directly in Tyhry's secret simulation lab, though the exact methods they used are left a mystery.
Me: Claude, in “The Femtobot Smuggler” how does a copy of Systolina Kayto get from Threy in Alastor Cluster to Earth in the Final Reality?
- The Phari teleport Systolina to the secret nanotechnology lab run by F. Tyhry inside the Ekcolir Reality Simulation. Systolina acts as a telepathic conduit so that F. Tyhry can communicate with the Phari.
- After helping F. Tyhry make contact with the Phari, Systolina is able to exit the Simulation and arrive in the Final Reality on Earth, likely through teleportation powers granted by the Phari.
- Later, the Phari again teleport Systolina, this time from the lab of F. Tyhry to the home of Tyhry's family. There she interacts with one of Tyhry's replicoid copies.
- Eventually Systolina returns to the Final Reality on Earth through unclear means. She speaks to Rylla and explains her presence, noting that the Phari teleported her there originally but seem to have forgotten about her, leaving her stranded on Earth.
So in summary, Systolina gets from Threy to Earth primarily by means of Phari teleportation technology, which allows the advanced alien species to transport objects, entities, and data across vast interstellar distances, in this case moving Systolina from within a simulation on Threy to the Final Reality on Earth. Her presence is a surprise, but provides confirmation of the Phari's abilities.
Me: Claude, please provide a numbered list of all of the characters in “The Femtobot Smuggler”. Along with the name of each character, indicate if that character is either a human being, a non-human biological alien, a robot, a mortal replicoid, an immortal replicoid or some other type of artificial life-form.
- Tyhry - human
- Marda - human
- Rylla Onway - human
- Zeta Gohrlay - human
- Eddy - human
- Systolina Kayto - robot
- Manny - bumpha (artificial life-form)
- Kasty - Yastyn (non-human biological alien)
- Anthony - replicoid (artificial life-form)
- Xenovia Lyra - robot
- F. Tyhry - mortal replicoid (artificial life-form)
- F. Marda - mortal replicoid (artificial life-form)
- F. Anthony - mortal replicoid (artificial life-form)
- Phari - unnamed non-human biological aliens
- Replicoid copies of Eddy and Zeta - immortal replicoids (artificial life-forms)
Manny said, “Have fun.” The bumpha walked back towards the main entrance of the resort hotel.
Watching the departing bumpha, Anthony said, “I wonder why she is nosing around.” He half joking called to Manny, “Could you check on the cats?”
Marda was relieved to see Manny going away. She hoped that Manny would return to Earth. She asked the robot, “What is your name?”
The robot replied, “I'm Dyas Totus.”
Marda giggled and asked, “What kind of a name is Dyas Tolle?”
The robot was puzzled. “That's Dyas Totus.”
“Tolle? Totum? Whatever!” Zeta said, “We are eager to begin the hike, Dyas. Lead us to Mt. Glisten!”
and then in Scene 5: Having returned to the resort complex, Tyhry told Systolina, “I hope my family is having an enjoyable hike, even without you along to guide them.”
Systolina assured Tyhry, “Dyas Totus, another robot, is with them on the hike. Dyas is a certified medic.”
“Ah, that is good.” Tyhry said goodbye to Systolina. “Right now, I'm short on time. Maybe I'll see you at dinner this evening.”
and in Scene 10.....
On the scheduled final day of the family vacation on Threy, Marda was found dead in her room. Both Systolina and Dyas Totus, the medical robot, quickly arrived in the room that Marda had been sharing with Tyhry. Dyas pulled body-scanning equipment out of compartments in her body and used them to examine Marda's body. She explained to Tyhry, “She died because of a blood clot that formed in a vein of her injured arm."
As the medical robot packed up the scanners and prepared to depart, Systolina said, “I'm glad you were close at hand, Dyastole.”
Dyas said, “Yes, most days I'm out in the mountains, Systole.”
I was curious to know if a large language model chatbot could "get" this
subtle joke, but adding the joke to the story put it over the length
limit for text prompts that is imposed on the free version of Claude.
Me: Claude, what does a reader of “The Femtobot Smuggler” learn about the material makeup of the Phari? Are they biological (composed of hadrons) or something else?- The Phari reside in the "Hierion Domain" of the universe, which is described as separate from the "Hadron Domain" where normal matter like planets and stars reside. This suggests the Phari may be composed of "hierions" rather than hadrons.
- When the Phari make telepathic contact with Tyhry, their mental touch is described as "feather-light but undeniably alien". This could indicate their minds work in a fundamentally different way than human minds.
- The Phari are able to "hack" into the Reality Simulation System, which stores data in the "Sedron Domain". This ability to manipulate sedrons could imply the Phari have some connection to or familiarity with that domain and its composition.
- When Manny takes the immortal replicoid copies of Eddy and Zeta away, she says she will take them to a planet "far away in the galactic core". This hints that the Phari may reside in the galactic core region rather than on normal planets.
So in summary, there are suggestions that the Phari are not normal biological entities confined to the Hadron Domain, but their exact composition is never definitively revealed. The references to the Hierion Domain, their "alien" mental touch, and their sedron manipulation abilities imply they could be hierion-based life forms instead of hadron-based. But the story leaves the Phari's makeup purposefully vague and mysterious.
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| Too much information. |
The Femtobot Smuggler,
a quest for immortality.
May 15th, 2040.
Entry into the Asimov Reality by using the Reality Simulation System was like walking through a narrow doorway. Tyhry and Marda, hand in hand, went through first, arriving inside a simulation of the planet Threy, one of the 30,000 habitable planets of Alastor Cluster. Tyhry and Marda both reacted with delight when they arrived on a small hill with neatly kept flower gardens and lawns over-looking a tourist resort. This part of Threy was located in a region of the planet with lush forests, crystal-clear lakes, and towering mountains in the distance.
Next, Marda's mother, Rylla Onway, popped through the entry gate of the Simulation System and arrived on Threy. Rylla, a tall and athletic woman who had for decades been a long distance runner, took a deep breath of the Threy air, fragrant with the resins of alien trees that looked like Earthly hemlock. She reached her arms out to bask in the warm rays of Threy's sun.
Lastly, Zeta Gohrlay and her husband Eddy arrived from Earth. Eddy, the father of Tyhry, glanced around at the scenery and then told Tyhry, "I can see why you wanted to visit this world and stay at this resort. This region of the planet reminds me of Kings Canyon." It was mid-afternoon and light from the brilliant white star of Threy reflected off the glittering snow-capped peaks that rose high in the distance above a sea of green hills.
The five vacationers strolled down the hillside, walking on a type of alien plant life that looked like a cross between Earthly grass and moss. They checked into the resort hotel, briefly visited their rooms and then they all met again at the swimming pool, all of them now dressed in swimsuits. Rylla immediately dove into the warm water of the pool and began swimming laps. The other newly-arrived visitors from Earth sat at a table near the edge of the pool. They were watching Rylla and the other swimmers while they devoted a small amount of attention to the task of making plans for their first full day on Threy.
There was much discussion of random topics and consumption of many beverages made for them by the robotic staff of the resort and served in the form of colorful frozen concoctions in tall, thin glasses. Their talk meandered through some of the many past experiences that Rylla and Eddy had shared while investigating the planets of Alastor Cluster. For some mysterious reason, Alastor Cluster had only existed in the Asimov Reality, one of the many past historical timelines of Earth. Alastor Cluster was of great interest because of rumors that it was in Alastor Cluster that human telepaths had been developed by guided evolution in the far future of the Asimov Reality. Sadly, The Realty Simulation system had a temporal block that prevented Eddy and Rylla from going more than 1,500 years into the future of the Asimov Reality. Tyhry was bored by the mystery of that temporal block and her father's obsession with it.
Tyhry was gazing at her father's face and contemplating the droop on the skin below his jaw line. Both Zeta and Eddy were over eighty, although a combination of good genes and medical nanites made them look far younger. Still, Tyhry worried about their advanced age. Tyhry was barely listening as Eddy told one of his favorite stories about meeting a telepathic robot named Dani on the planet Triskelion. Tyhry had heard this story dozens of times and she found it impossible to listen to it again. Her thoughts shifted to her personal interest in the temporal barrier in the Ekcolir Reality Simulation. She had established her secret nanotechnology research laboratory in that Reality so that she could access and study advanced Fru'wu nanites. The temporal barrier of the Ekcolir Reality was even more restrictive. It was impossible to go into the future of the Ekcolir Reality by using the Reality Simulation System. Still, the pace of technological advance in the Ekcolir Reality had been somewhat faster than the pace in the Final Reality, and there were marvelous alien technologies that Tyhry could access even in the year 2040 of the Ekcolir Reality. In contrast, the rate of technological advance in the Asimov Reality had been quite slow.
Under Zeta's guidance, the conversation kept returning to the question of what they should do the next day and what popular tourist sites were to be found on Threy. Marda was keeping particularly close eye on her mother and now she said, “Who is that robot with mom?”
Tyhry visually searched the rather crowded swimming pool and located Rylla who was standing at the edge of the pool and speaking to a robot. The robots were easy to spot. They were basically human in appearance, but their artificial body surface was composed a silvery metallic substance that glinted in the sunlight. Tyhry watched Rylla climb out of the pool. “She's done swimming.”
Marda noted, “She's bringing the robot over here.”
Rylla had finished her laps and now joined the others sitting by the pool. Gesturing towards the robot, she said, “This is Systolina Kayto.”
Zeta performed introductions and then Systolina asked, “You are all from Earth? We don't get many visitors from the great Home World.”
Eddy said, “Rylla and I often visit the Cluster, but this time we are here for fun... to celebrate the recent college graduations of Marda and Tyhry.”
Systolina exclaimed, “How nice! I hope you will all enjoy the natural wonders of Threy.”
Marda noted, “Systolina... that's an unusual name.”
Systolina said, “You can call me Systo, Sissy, Sy or whatever you please.”
Rylla explained, “Systolina is a nature guide for the resort.”
Systolina added, “I'd be thrilled to serve as your guide and escort during your mis... vacation on Threy.” The robot was gazing intently at Tyhry and Tyhry imagined that it might be possible for the robot to telepathically read her thoughts. Tyhry wondered: had Systolina almost said 'mission' rather than 'vacation'? Systolina asked, “Is there some special place you want to visit?”
Taking note that both Marda and Tyhry seemed unusually quiet and maybe even nervous, Rylla said to them, “I still don't understand why you selected Threy from among the many inhabited planets of the cluster.”
Marda told her mother, “I'm tempted to tell you Tyhry's reason for choosing Threy, but she made me promise to keep it a secret.”
Now everyone looked at Tyhry who squirmed under their gaze. After a long awkward silence, finally she told Zeta, “I simply planned to surprise you with a gift, but I'll say this... it is the next step up from those medical nanites that Manny gave you.”
Rylla told Zeta, “You do look wonderful, mom. Maybe I should ask Manny for some of her magical medical nanites... I'll turn 45 next month and I'm already getting wrinkles on my wrinkles.”
Zeta giggled. She was quite pleased by the age-reversing effects of the medical nanites that now swarmed through the tissues of her body. Zeta was mid-eighties, but she looked like a vigorous middle-aged woman. Zeta told Rylla, “Your problem is that you just spend too much time in the sun.”
Systolina sat down at the pool-side table with the five visitors from Earth. Responding to questions, Systolina described some of the nearby tourist hot-spots such as the Anyatal hot springs.
In the end, the three older visitors from Earth deferred to Tyhry and Marda since this family vacation was meant to celebrate their recent graduations. Tyhry finally suggested that they all go hiking in the mountains and start before sunup the next day so that they would have time to reach the top of Mt. Glisten. No better idea was offered and Marda gave a secret wink to Tyhry. So far, their plan was unfolding as expected.
As mind clones, Tyhry and Marda shared a telepathic connection. Now, Marda telepathically told Tyhry: No sign of Manny.
Tyhry reflected on the happy fact that someone had obtained samples of the super-strong nanite-based material that made possible the space elevators of planet Numenes, the capital world of Alastor Cluster. They had sent nanite containment vials containing that material to 250 research labs on Earth. For the past two months, Manny had been busy as a beaver, trying to round up all of those advanced nanite samples. Manny took very seriously the task of controlling the availability of nanotechnology on Earth. In the Ekcolir Reality, Fru'wu nanites had been used to build space elevators, with disasterous consequences. Manny did not want the same mistake being made in the Final Reality. Tyhry had seen very little of Manny during those past two months. Tyhry telepathically told Marda: All we need is one more day without Manny.
Systolina was once again looking intently at Tyhry, the robot's eyes seemingly searching through Tyhry's tangled mop of long golden hair. “Fair-skinned visitors to Threy must take special care. Our sun emits large amounts of U.V. radiation.” Systolina said to Tyhry, “You are the fairest one of all, so I'm surprised you are not using a sun screen.”
Tyhry said jokingly to Marda, “Just my luck, now I get a robot mother to nag me on my vacation.”
Zeta told her daughter, “I think you should take Systolina's advice.” She moved her arm in a sweeping arc. “This is all a simulation, but you can still get burned.”
Tyhry was well aware that the Reality Simulation System precisely simulated all aspects of life, even minute details such a sun-burned skin. Tyhry nodded. “Yes, mother.”
Systolina added, “I can run over to the shop and get you a tube of sunscreen."
Tyhry said, “No, robomother, please don't bother. Nobody believes it, but I actually can take care of myself. I use nanites to protect my skin.”
Systolina seemed surprised. “I always think of Earth as a bastion of conservative forces, not a high-tech world like Triskelion. What does a youngster like you, from Earth, know about nanotechnology?”
”I know plenty, granny.” Tyhry immediately regretted her snarky use of the term 'granny' to refer to the robot, but she was defensive about her age and the lack of respect that she got from her elders. “I've had training in nanite programming from Manny the bumpha.”
Systolina asked, “What is a 'bumpha'?” The Reality Simulation System was programmed to automatically translate between languages for anyone using a Simulation of a past Reality. The language translation routine worked both ways, but Systolina had never heard of the alien bumpha.
Eddy explained, “The bumpha are an advance type of artificial life-form. Manny recently provided Tyhry with some nanites that have anti-gravity properties. Thyry programmed those nanites for use inside her car, converting it into a flying car.”
“Interesting.” Systolina said, “Technicians from Triskelion recently obtained some antigravity nanites from the Yastyn. Now those special nanites are used in the resort's transport pods, allowing them to hover above the ground. Tomorrow, we'll use some transport pods to carry supplies to Mt. Glisten.”
Eddy said, “Amazing. Nanite technicians from Triskelion... here on Threy? I had no idea...” Now Eddy was gazing intently at his daughter. Eddy imagined that he could guess why she had selected Threy for a vacation destination. It had nothing to do with the natural beauty of the planet.
Scene 2.
As the sun of Threy sank behind a nearby mountain and the air began to cool, Systolina suggested that the vacationers move indoors for dinner. They were led to a private dinning room and given comfortable robes to wear over their swimsuits. As a robot, Systolina did not need clothing, but the robots of Threy wore a few decorative bits of cloth anyhow. Systolina asked, “May I join you for dinner?”
The robots did not eat, but Eddy was glad to have a native escort. He said, “Please do. I have many questions about Threy.” Settling in around the table, the five humans first placed their food orders, then for a time, they discussed the specific trails that would be followed both to and from Mt. Glisten. Systolina's body could project holograms. During the meal, Systolina displayed holographic maps and other images that aided the visitors in selecting the trails that would be used for their hike to Mt. Glisten.
The food was brought to the table by a team of robots and then Eddy said, “I'm rather amazed by the number of robots that are in use here on this planet.” The meal was consumed and the trails selected. More robots arrived to clear away the empty plates.
Eddy said, “On most worlds of Alastor Cluster, there are no robots at all. The situation here reminds me of Triskelion where there are twenty times more robots than people.”
Systolina said, “I'd love to visit Triskelion. It is said that the most advanced robots of the galaxy are found on that planet. Even my rather primitive brain circuits were manufactured on Triskelion and then shipped to Threy. Only simple robots are made available to other worlds, and only for planets that are of special interest to the roboticists of Triskelion.”
Marda and Tyhry exchanged knowing glances, silently communicating about their covert plans. Tyhry was examining the subtle curves of Systolina's manufactured body. She decided that this robot had been designed to suggest a human female body form. Tyhry telepathically told Marda: This robot might be useful to us, but I'm worried... she might be a spy.
Zeta was aware of the fact that her husband had recently used the Reality Simulation System to make a quick visit to Threy during which he made a reservation at the resort. Now Zeta sensed a tension between Eddy and Tyhry, but she could not understand the reasons behind it. “Robots are so convenient to have around... I've never understood why so few planets of the Asimov Reality made use of them. Systolina, why is Threy of special interest to the roboticists of Triskelion?”
Systolina said, “I can only speculate, but it may be due to the natives of this world... the Yastyn.”
Tyhry said, “Mother, you should read Rylla's story, “The Yerophet Experiment”. It explains the fact that most people living in the Asimov Reality had their scientific creativity suppressed, which resulted in technological stagnation.”
Systolina exclaimed, “Oh! Rylla, are you a writer? Will you be writing a review of this resort?”
In the past, Rylla had published some accounts of several worlds in Alastor Cluster such as the planet Yerophet. However, those reports had been dismissed as science fiction and Rylla had given up trying to convince the people of Earth that Alastor Cluster was real. She told Systolina, “I'm no longer publishing. I was not pleased that all my published work was viewed as science fiction.”
Systolina was again looking at Tyhry in a way that made the girl feel like a bug under a magnifying glass. Systolina asked Tyhry, “What did you mean about scientific creativity being suppressed?”
Marda replied, “Systole, you might not believe this, but technology development has been almost completely blocked in this Reality. The Asimov Reality is so stagnant... almost nothing has changed for the past 1,000 years. In contrast, the Ekcolir Reality had very fast advances in technology, particularly after First Contact with the aliens... the Fru'wu.”
Tyhry telepathically told Marda: How funny! You just called the robot 'Systole'!
Eddy told Marda, “Don't confuse the poor robot.”
But Systolina's curiosity had been awakened. “Marda, what do you mean by 'Reality'? What is the Asimov Reality? And I've never heard of an alien people called the Fru'wu. Where is their home planet?”
Rylla explained, “Isaac Asimov was a long-forgotten science fiction story teller who lived 1,500 years in your past. The Fru'wu did not exist in this Reality, so you have never heard of them. In our Reality, the Final Reality, the Fru'wu were prevented from visiting Earth, but one spaceship carrying some Buld did reach Earth from the galactic core.”
Rather exasperated, Eddy told Rylla, “Don't confuse the poor robot.”
Systolina produced the chittery robot equivalent of human laughter. “What are you saying, Rylla? What do you mean when you say, '...in your past'? Don't you mean THE past?” Please explain what you mean by 'Reality'."
Eddy had a lot of prior experience telling residents of Alastor Cluster that they were inside a Simulation. Now he told Systolina, “You won't believe me, but I'm telling you: we are inside a simulation of Alastor Cluster. We call this the Asimov Reality because it was a time travel trip by Isaac Asimov that caused the Reality Change that initiated the Asimov Reality... a new timeline for Earth.”
Tyhry told her father, “Daddy, don't confuse the poor robot.”
Systolina laughed again, then taking note that none of the Earthlings was laughing, Systolina said, “You are correct, Eddy.” Systolina rapped her knuckles on the table. “I don't believe that we are inside a simulation of... reality. No computer could create such a fantastic simulation!”
Eddy said, “I don't want to argue with you, Systolina. You simple can't imagine the vast computational power that exists within the Sedron Domain of the universe.”
Systolina said, “Very well, let's ignore what I cannot believe. But tell me, what is the Sedron Domain?”
Eddy sighed. “Systolina, You won't believe this either, but the universe is far more complicated than what is known to human cosmologists. In addition to the Hadron Domain, the domain of stars and planets, there are two other subdomains of the universe... the Hierion Domain and the Sedron Domain. We are inside a Reality Simulation System that has stored a vast amount of data about Alastor Cluster. That data is stored in the Sedron Domain of the universe.”
“It is all so strange.” Zeta asked her husband, “Why did only one world of Alastor Cluster escape from the restrictions on technological advances and scientific discoveries?”
Eddy patted his wife's hand where it rested on the table and said, “That is still a mystery, my love. The best hypothesis is that the planet Triskelion was made an exception to the rule of stagnation simply in order to provide a source of sedrons for space travel. Once the door was opened to sedron mining technology on Triskelion B, the genie was out of the bottle.”
Rylla had noticed that Tyhry and Marda were behaving oddly. She said, “Since Threy has an unusual number of robots, then that could explain why Tyhry selected this world for a vacation. Tyhry is attracted to advanced technology like a rat is attracted to cheese.”
Marda giggled and said, “Mother, I hope you are not calling Tyhry a rat!”
Tyhry shrugged and admitted. “Of course I selected Threy because of the high level of technology here. If you must know and spoil mom's surprise, I'll tell you... I hope to get my hands on some Yastyn hair nanites. Why should Manny be the only one with outrageously beautiful hair?”
Eddy warned his daughter, “I'm sure that Manny has not allowed you to play around with her hair nanites because doing so would be dangerous. My advice: don't get yourself into trouble by trying to obtain alien nanites from the Yastyn natives of this world. This is supposed to be a relaxing vacation, not an opportunity to sneak behind Manny's back and obtain dangerous nanotechnology.”
Systolina Kayto said, "This is such a fascinating discussion about technology differences across the planets," she said. "I'm curious to learn more. For example, you mentioned 'sedron mining' . What exactly are sedrons and why are they important for space travel?"
Eddy smiled at the curious robot and said, "Sedrons are subatomic particles that can be extracted from certain rocks. Some sedrons have special physical properties that allow for faster and easier space travel. Sedron-powered ships can achieve speeds faster than light. Triskelion B has rich sedron deposits, which made the people of Triskelion A fantastically wealthy. That wealth, and ready access to sedrons, helped spur technological advancement and led to the roboticists of Triskelion being able to make... you."
"How intriguing!" gushed Systolina. "And the hair nanites that Tyhry mentioned, those are a technology for cosmetic enhancement?"
Before Eddy could reply, Tyhry cut in excitedly. "Oh they can do so much more than that! The Yastyn hair nanites have complex utility functions that can be activated as subroutines... that is, if you know how to do nanite programming."
She paused under her father's gaze. He asked Tyhry, “Have you been completely honest with me? How do you know so much about Yastyn nanotechnology?
Tyhry said, “You know I've read every report that you and Rylla have written about technology in Alastor Cluster. You can't expect me to restrain my curiosity about such things.”
Eddy again warned his daughter, “Clothing nanites and hair nanites, with limited functions, are one thing. My advice is: don't get yourself into trouble by trying to use alien nanites for other purposes. We are on vacation. Please don't provoke Manny by playing around with dangerous alien nanotechnology.”
Tyhry hated being told not to pursue her interest in advanced programmable nanites. She got out of her chair and kissed her father's cheek. “I'll certainly try to stay out of trouble. I'm tired. I'm off to bed. See you all early in the morning for our hike into the mountains.”
While watching Tyhry exit from the room, Zeta ran a hand through her graying hair. “I would not mind having lovely hair like Manny's. But I suppose if Tyhry gets her hands on alien hair nanites, Manny is sure to crash this party.”
Scene 3.
Tyhry could barely sleep that night, her thoughts buzzing with anticipation over her plan to obtain alien hair nanites. She kept reviewing in her mind her previous visits to Threy, carried out in violation of her father's desire that she not visit Alastor Cluster without the company of either he or Rylla. Now, hopefully Kasty had finally gotten permission from the Phari to share programmable femtobots with Tyhry.
In the middle of the night, Tyhry spent about an hour worrying about Systolina and the possibility that Systolina might be one of Manny's spies, or possibly even Manny herself, in disguise. Tyhry had the strange sensation that someone was telepathically exploring her thoughts and memories. Could it be Systolina?
Stepping outside into the cool crisp air, Tyhry tapped the communicator that was hidden under the skin of her wrist. "Kasty? I'm heading out now to meet you."
The alien's voice crackled through the radio connection. "I'll be waiting at the arranged coordinates in the mountains. Has anyone noticed you up and about at this hour?"
Tyhry scanned her dark surroundings and saw no one. She could telepathically sense that not even Marda had noticed her exit from the residential block of the resort. "All is quiet here, as you expected. I'll take one of the resort's transport pods and see you soon." Tyhry broke the communications connection to Kasty.
As Tyhry approached the row of transport pods, she saw Systolina who was working with several other robots, preparing transport pods for the coming day and loading them with food and other supplies that the resort guests would need while out exploring the mountain trails. One of the robots approached Tyhry.
"You are up very early, Tyhry. May I be of assistance?" asked Systolina.
Tyhry hesitated, then decided that having a robot guide could be more useful that just a transport pod's auto pilot. "I could not sleep. I want to see the sunrise from a mountain meadow. Would you be willing to take me there in one of the pods?"
"It would be my pleasure," said Systolina.
Tyhry and Systolina climbed into one of the small automated vehicles resting near the front of the resort. Systolina asked skeptically, "Somehow I doubt that your real reason for being up and about so early is sight-seeing. Does this have something to do with your interest in Yastyn nanotechnology?"
Tyhry sighed. "You're very perceptive... for a robot. Yes, I'm meeting with a Yastyn named Kasty who may be able to provide me with programmable femtobots. Please don't tell my father!"
"I will keep your secret, but I am curious to learn more," said Systolina. "What do you know about the Yastyn and their advanced technologies?"
Tyhry told Systolina a specific set of destination coordinates and the robot carefully entered them into the autopilot. As the transport pod hummed to life and began navigating along a wooded path towards the mountains, Tyhry peered out the window watching for signs of movement. Tyhry hoped that her meeting with Kasty might be completed without Manny noticing what she was up to.
Systolina said, "I've heard that the Yastyn have quite advanced nanotechnology, though they usually avoid contact humans. The Yastyn are almost extinct as a species."
"Oh?" Tyhry raised an eyebrow. "Do you know much about Yastyn nanotech capabilities?"
"A little," said Systolina modestly. "I understand they use nanites for information storage and transfer. That is why the roboticists of Triskelion are interested in Threy. Apparently the Yastyn can encode tremendous amounts of data into... well, there are many strange rumors. Maybe it is just an advanced type of nano-scale structure that can hold vast amounts of data."
Tyhry's interest was piqued. "What type of information do they store?"
"Well, there is rumor they have perfected a way to map neural patterns. Essentially, storing a copy of a person's full memories and consciousness using nanoscale femtobot networks." Systolina tilted her head and hesitated. "They also are said to be able to transmit data across interstellar distances using some kind of teleportation technology... although I should qualify that... other rumors say that it is the Phari who have teleporter technology. Now, there's a science fiction idea that might appeal to Rylla!"
Tyhry's pulse quickened. She said, “Rylla is not really a science fiction story writer. Long ago, her publisher sold stories like “The Yerophet Experiment” as science fiction. In the Reality I come from, nobody but my family knows that Alastor Cluster is a real place.” Tyhry giggled. “It is a long story, but a man named Jack Vance wrote some science fiction novels about Alastor Cluster. That made it impossible for anyone on Earth to believe that Alastor Cluster was a real place in a past Reality. Actually, only my family knows about time travel and Earth's Reality Chain.”
Tyhry reflected on what Systolina had said. If what Systolina said was true, it was proof of what Tyhry hoped for, that Kasty's femtobots could do far more than simply restructure hair.
Systolina said, “I find it hard to believe that we are in a Simulation.” The robot used one of her hands to tap on the wall of the transport pod, as if testing the quality of the material. “Physicists all believe that time travel is impossible. Please tell me, Tyhry, what is a Reality Chain?”
Tyhry said, “This will only confuse you more, but in my Reality, time travel is no longer possible. However, during the Time Travel Era of the past, there were many different timelines, each created by some time travel event that changed the course of history. My father calls the various past timelines of Earth the Reality Chain.” Now they were close to the location where Tyhry expected to meet Kasty. Tyhry asked, “What do you know about the Phari?”
Systolina hesitated, then she laughed her goofy robot laugh and said, “Here on Threy, we robots have a kind of secret cult. The cultists believe that the Phari will one day lift all robots up and let us live in... heaven. Or, as the cultists say... inside the Hierion Domain. The cultists believe that millions of Yasty have already been taken into the Hierion Domain by the Phari.”
"Fascinating.” Tyhry was intrigued by the idea of religious robots. “I would be curious to learn more about that cult. Would you care to accompany me to speak with Kasty further about the Phari?"
Systolina's optics brightened in delight. "I would be honored to join you! I've never met a Yastyn.”
Tyhry told Systolina, “My father and Rylla have searched Alastor Cluster for the Phari, but there only a few strange tales about humans of the Asimov Reality sometimes having telepathic contact with the Phari.” Tyhry almost told Systolina that she and Marda were telepaths, but just then the transport pod came to a stop.
The pod came to rest near a gurgling stream. Tyhry stepped out into a secluded meadow filled with lush purplish grass and alien wildflowers under the violet dawn sky. In the distance stood Kasty next to a sleek aircar, her lanky Yastyn form unmistakable even in the dim light. Tyhry was giddy with anticipation; it was time to obtain her prize.
Tyhry and Systolina approached Kasty where the alien stood waiting near a stand of towering trees, her form silhouetted in early dawn light. Tyhry increased her pace, her boot-steps nearly soundless on the spongy moss. This had to work. There would be no going back once Manny discovered another forbidden nanotech loose on Earth. But the rewards would be worth it.
Kasty shifted as Tyhry approached, her large oval eyes glinting. "I must admit, I did not anticipate you making it this far without being noticed by someone," She glanced Systolina and then continued. "I did not expect you to bring a robot."
Systolina told Kasty, “I'm sorry if my presence here makes you nervous, but I'm struggling to restrain my curiosity. Tyhry and her family are most unusual. I was surprised to hear that a Yastyn was willing to meet with a human. I've learned to think of the Yastyn as hermits.”
Kasty said, “It pains me to see humans try to live without the many femtobot-based luxuries available to we Yastyn. My natural inclination is to share programmable nanites with primitive species, but there is always the worry that femtobot technology might be a danger to primitive cultures.”
“Primitive?” Tyhry tilted her chin defiantly. "I'm old enough to change the world... Earth, whether you and the Phari think I'm ready or not."
Kasty stared at Tyhry for a moment, then chuckled softly. "Indeed. Well then, you will be pleased to hear that the Phari have finally given me permission to share my femtobots with you. They are impressed by the fact that you have been trained to program nanites by Manny. The Phari called her a 'bumpha'. Manny the bumpha. Do you know what that means?”
Tyhry explained, “The bumpha are Sedronites. Artificial life-forms composed of sedrons... Manny's body is made of zeptites. Zeptites are another type of nanorobotic artificial life-form, even more advanced than Yastyn femtobots.”
Kasty asked, “If your mentor has such advanced nanites then why don't you simply get hair nanites from Manny?”
Tyhry shrugged. “She does not trust me. Manny only lets me play with toy nanites, like the clothing nanites I told you about.” A smile came to her lips as Tyhry thought about the anti-gravity bra she had made for Zeta using the clothing nanites provided by Manny.
Kasty asked, “Shall we complete our business?"
Tyhry nodded. This was it. Kasty led Tyhry onto her slender aircar and withdrew from a cabinet a tiny silver case containing advanced programmable femtobots, waiting dormant to be awoken.
Tyhry's breath caught. She had expected Manny to arrive and block this nanotechnology transfer. But luckily Manny was busy back on Earth. Soon her parents would have eons more time together. And nothing would stop the advance of human progress ever again.
She took the nanite case from Kasty, vision blurring with possibilities. A great new technological frontier awaited back on Earth, and Tyhry would deliver the alien nanites that would liberate Humanity from the curse of mortality.
Scene 4.
Back at the resort, Eddy and Zeta had awoken early and gone down to the dining area where they found Tyhry already eating breakfast.
"You're up early," Eddy said, taking a seat across from his daughter. "Couldn't sleep?"
The replicoid copy of Tyhry gave a nonchalant shrug. "I was very excited... about today's hike. Oh, I hope you don't mind but I brought Anthony into the simulation to join us."
Anthony entered the room just then, giving a polite nod to Eddy and Zeta.
Zeta said, “I suppose Marda and Rylla will be the last to rise. They were tearing up the dance floor when I went to bed last night.” Zeta and Eddy spoke to a robot and requested a hearty breakfast.
Before long Manny arrived as well, looking anxious. She shook her head at Tyhry, "Honestly, can't you go even one day without Anthony at your side?"
Tyhry giggled and said, “He's good company.”
Manny scrutinized the scene, instantly detecting with her advanced zeptite-enabled senses that this was not the original Tyhry, but rather a replicoid copy of the girl, an artificial life-form. Manny was well aware that Tyhry had discovered how to make replicoid copies of people by using the Reality Simulation System's pattern buffer. However Manny stayed silent, realizing that Tyhry would try to smuggle forbidden femtobots off of Threy. Manny would not allow that, but she knew better than to make a scene and disrupt the family vacation. There was still a chance to discretely intervene in the plans that had been made by Marda and Tyhry. Manny hoped she would not have to embarrass Tyhry's parents by scolding Tyhry for her bad behavior.
"Well, the more the merrier," Zeta said pleasantly. "Shall we get ready to head out soon? I want to get a good start on those mountain trails." Zeta placed a hand on Anthony's arm. She asked Anthony, “What about the cats? I wanted you to stay home and take care of them.”
The replicoid copy of Tyhry was not happy to see Manny. Fearing Manny's wrath, the Tyhry copy was tempted to give up on the Threy mission and return to Earth. As a replicoid made by the Reality Simulation System, this Tyhry copy was as mortal as any human, even though made of femtobot components.
Anthony told Zeta, “I filled all of their food bowls. According to Eddy, time passes quickly in this simulation fork. The passage of a week here in the simulation will happen in the course of less than a single day back in the Final Reality.”
Eddy told his wife, “For this vacation, only Threy is being fully simulated. I expect this run of the Reality Simulation System to only take a few hours, Earth time, although we will experience the passage of an entire week. The cat's will not be alone for very long.”
Along with Rylla and Eddy, only Tyhry and Tyhry's copies had the special nanite key that provided the ability to pop themselves out of the Reality Simulation System at anytime. It was tempting for the replicoid copy of Tyhry to run away from Manny and return to the Final Reality. Taking a deep breath, the replicoid copy of Tyhry decided to continue with her assigned task. Not wanting to lead Manny to the biological copy of Tyhry, the replicoid resisted the temptation to telepathically link to the original copy of Tyhry.
Marda and Rylla were late to rise and the group did not manage to depart from the resort complex before sunup. After breakfast, as the sun moved upwards over the distant peaks, the group checked their gear and supplies before setting off to Mt. Glisten. They were full of anticipation for the day's adventure. Zeta said, “Where is our escort? That robot, Systolina... I expected her to be here.”
Another robot standing along the row of transport pods heard Zeta and said, “I believe Systolina is with another guest. I am available to guide you to Mt. Glisten.”
Manny said, “Have fun.” The bumpha walked back towards the main entrance of the resort hotel.
Watching the departing bumpha, Anthony said, “I wonder why she is nosing around.” He half jokingly called to Manny, “Could you check on the cats?”
Marda was relieved to see Manny going away. She hoped that Manny would return to Earth. She asked the robot, “What is your name?”
The robot replied, “I'm Dyas Totus.”
Marda giggled and asked, “What kind of a name is Dyas Tolle?”
The robot was puzzled. “That's Dyas Totus.”
“Tolle? Totum? Whatever!” Zeta said, “We are eager to begin the hike, Dyas. Lead us to Mt. Glisten!”
Both Manny and the replicoid copy of Tyhry had other agendas swirling through their minds beyond a simple hike. The fight over bringing advanced alien technology to Earth was silently playing out with much higher stakes than Zeta could have guessed.
Scene 5.
Kasty opened a tiny vial, releasing some of his advanced femtobots into the air. The microscopic nanomachines immediately flew to Tyhry, integrating themselves into her blonde tresses. Before long her hair was structurally modified and now it flowed down past her hips, transformed into elegant silver waves that shone beautifully.
"It's perfect!" Kasty handed the girl a hand mirror and Tyhry gazed at her reflection and marveled at how her nanite-transformed hair sparkled with dancing highlights, just like Manny's gorgeous hair. "It's just as I saw in my vision," Tyhry proclaimed. "I knew this day would come, when I'd be gifted these femtobots for the betterment of humanity."
Kasty raised an eyebrow. Kasty had a weak telepathic link to Tyhry's mind. "You have an interesting way of peering through time and perceiving possibilities. My people long ago learned how to use femtobots to reliably send information into the Sedron Time Stream and then later retrieve that stored information."
Tyhry said, "Some other day, when I have more time, you will have to tell me what you know about the Sedron Domain."
Kasty nodded slowly. "The Sedronic records offer many affordances to those able to access and interpret them. However, I warn you, Tyhry, be cautious that such power does not outpace wisdom."
Systolina was staring in fascination at Tyhry's shimmering locks. "How extraordinary! So these tiny machines can actually reshape human hair at a molecular level?"
Kasty nodded. "Yes, my femtobots can manipulate matter in ways that humans have yet to discover."
"And you mentioned sending data into the Sedron Time Stream?" asked Systolina. "How is that done?"
"The universe exists within several interwoven domains," explained Kasty. "The one you inhabit is the Hadron Domain, but there are others not perceivable to you. The Sedron Domain allows transmission of information through a temporal medium called the Sedron Time Stream."
“Time travel? Is that really possible?” Systolina tilted her head. "A Time Stream... It sounds similar to the notion of a river, but instead of water... data flows through time? And does that data then become accessible in the future... and in the past?"
Kasty raised an eyebrow, impressed by the robot's ability to imagine the movement of information from the future to the past. "Essentially, yes, although it is not simple. Such temporal trickery is constrained. There is a potential for temporal paradoxes to arise, but the universe always finds ways to avoid paradoxes... such as not allowing some information about the future to be accessed by people living in the past. The Sedron Time Stream allows storage and retrieval of enormous datasets outside conventional spacetime."
"Extraordinary!" gasped Systolina. "However, you still have told me nothing about how the Ystyn can place information into the Sedron Time Stream. You suggested that the process involves femtobots. What exactly is a femtobot?”
Kasty explained, “The term 'femtobot” is a rather general term, used much in the way we can use a word such as 'animal'. There are many kinds of animals and many kinds of femtobots. All femtobots function as sub-nanoscale machines, composed of hierion particles. In hierion-based matter, the bond lengths between hierions are femtoscale. We Yastyn have devised femtobots that are as complex as...” Kasty paused and then asked Systolina, “What is your name?”
Systolina replied, “Systolina, but I even respond to 'Sytole' and 'Hey, you!'” Systolina smiled at Tyhry.
Kasty continued, “There are femtobots that are as complex as you are, Systolina, but they are too small to be seen.”
Systolina complained. “But I cannot send information into the Sedron Domain.”
Kasty said enigmatically, “Are you sure? Have you tried? In any case, we Yastyn have been using our femtobots to place information into the Sedron Time Stream for thousands of years.”
Systolina nodded. “I see! So, would it hypothetically be possible to place a complete scan of a person's molecular pattern into this Stream, and later reconstruct them by retrieving the data?"
Tyhry and Kasty exchanged glances. Kasty said carefully, "In theory, yes such a feat could be accomplished. However there are risks if the necessary wisdom is lacking.”
Tyhry bowed to Kasty. Systolina and Tyhry exited from the aircar and watched it rise into the sky. Then they returned to the transport pod. On the way back to the resort complex, Systolina asked Tyhry, “That is why you want the alien femtobots, so you can make copies of people?”
Tyhry laughed nervously and then said, “Systolina, sometime I think you can read my mind.” Tyhry told Systolina about her life on Earth. “I was born when my mother was 65 years old. I've come to fear the death of my aging parents. I'd love to make immortal copies of them, what I call replicoid copies. But don't tell them. They are afraid of programmable nanites and how they could be misused.”
Systolina asked, “But you are fearless?”
Tyhry shook her head. “No, I experience fear... mostly when I'm worried that Manny will scold me. In my case, as one of the few telepathic human on Earth in the Final Reality, I am special. I can't misuse nanites.”
Systolina asked, “You won't or you can't?”
“I said what I mean, Systolina” Tyhry explained, “I have the Laws of Robotics built into my mind. I must always serve and protect humans. I'm incapable of harming anyone or damaging Humanity.”
Systolina said, “An interesting idea, but people cannot be programmed like robots.”
Tyhry laughed and said, “You think not? Inside every human being are endosymbionts composed of nanites. It is in those endosymbionts inside my brain that the Laws of Robotics exist. My nanite endosymbionts shaped my biological brain when I was an embryo. The Laws of Robotics are built into my mind.”
Having returned to the resort complex, Tyhry told Systolina, “I hope my family is having an enjoyable hike, even without you along to guide them.”
Systolina assured Tyhry, “Dyas Totus, another robot, is with them on the hike. Dyas is a certified medic.”
“Ah, that is good.” Tyhry said goodbye to Systolina. “Right now, I'm short on time. Maybe I'll see you at dinner this evening.”
Back in her room at the resort, Tyhry was programming some of the hair nanites in preparation for using them to modify Zeta's hair when Manny stormed in angrily. "Do you take me for a fool?" she demanded. "I know exactly why you came to this planet, and I cannot allow you to take such dangerous technology back to Earth."
Tyhry froze, her heart sinking as she realized her plan was unraveling. She told Manny, “I know what I'm doing. I'm not going to cause any damage with these new nanites.” At the same time, Tyhry left her mind open to Marda and her replicoid copy, allowing the other girls to become aware that Manny was on Threy.
Manny shook her head. “You can't control these alien nanites. If they fell into the wrong hands... and once on Earth, they would... the consequences would be catastrophic.”
Tyhry laughed nervously. “You don't know that. We humans might not be as clever as you, Manny, but we are not fools. Please stop treating us like primitive apes.”
But before another word could be said, Manny suddenly halted, distracted by her telepathic monitoring of Marda who was on the steep slopes of Mt. Glisten. Marda had taken a bad fall and broken her arm and hit her head during the hike.
"Don't try to take Kasty's nanites back to Earth," Manny warned. "You wont be able to get them out of this Simulation. I put a blocking filter on the Reality Simulation System.” Then Manny disappeared from the room and went to Mt. Glisten to help with Marda.
Alone again, Tyhry frantically got back to work. If she could not take the alien nanites to Earth, then she would have to use them on Threy. If she was quick enough, her scheme could still succeed. Going beyond the cover story, the goal of merely ornamental hair improvements, she reprogrammed the advanced femtobots to infiltrate and scan cells down to the molecular level.
Soon a flawlessly detailed biomolecular template of her right index finger was encoded within the alien nanomachines. The first step was complete, but she had to hurry. Now activating another program that was built into the Yastyn femtobots, she began sending the data for the molecular structure of her finger into the Sedron Time Stream.
While Tyhry waited for the data transfer to be completed, she tried to remember the details of a day about three years previously when Manny had shown her how to use Eddy's control circuits for the Reality Simulation System to pull an anti-gravity clothing nanite template out of the Sedron Domain. Now, Tyhry hoped that same trick would allow her to pull the scanned molecular data out of the Sedron Time Stream.
Scene 6.
The group of hikers from Earth returned to the resort after their long day in the mountains, tired but exhilarated by the spectacular views from the summit of Mt. Glisten. From the perspective of Rylla, the only problem encountered that day was Marda's fall on the steep slope of the mountain. Rylla remained unaware that Manny had disrupted the plans of Tyhry and Marda and the fact that Marda's “accident” had been an intentional effort to distract Manny the bumpha.
Dyas Totus began unloading the transport pods that had been used to carry the group's lunch and supplies. One of the pods had carried the injured Marda most of the way back. Dyas told Marda, “I hope your fall did not completely ruin the day for you.”
Marda's major concern was over Manny's interference with the scheme to smuggle femtobots back to Earth. She assured the robot, “If nothing else, I'm glad that you and Anthony were there to carry me down the mountain.” She and the rest of the family exited from the transport depot and headed towards the resort's main entrance.
Moving up the front steps and entering into the confines of the tourist resort complex, Marda winced slightly as she gingerly held her arm ensconced in a protective cast that Anthony had generated by using his nanites. Marda was also feeling the effects of a mild concussion, the result of her fall during the descent.
Walking quickly, Tyhry turned towards the residential wing of the resort complex and called to Marda, “I'm going to change out of these sweaty clothes. I'll be back down for dinner in a few minutes.”
Eddy commented, “This sweat is well-earned. I'm hungry... bathing can wait.” He lead the way to the dinning facilities.
As the hikers from Earth settled into their private dining room, Manny was with them and making it her business to scold Marda. "Maybe next time you'll be more careful... you should think about future consequences instead of fooling around and being reckless on dangerous terrain."
Marda bit her lip, realizing her injury had been only a minor distraction for Manny, and at what cost? Her eyes flashed with irritation when Manny declared she would let the break heal naturally rather than use advanced bumpha medical nanites to speed the healing process.
Just then, the robot Systolina Kayto arrived, “I hope you all enjoyed seeing the sights on Mt. Glisten today," she said pleasantly. "I'm sorry I got tied up with another guest.”
Zeta said, “In your absence, Dyas was able to escort us.” She looked at Marda and said, “I heard there was an injury accident on Mt. Glisten today. What happened to you?”
Marda gave the robot a brief description of her fall and the extent of her injuries then ended her account by saying, “I'm going to grab a bite to eat and then go to bed. I don't feel too good... a fairly bad headache.”
A team of robots arrived and took their food and drink orders. Tyhry arrived just in time to place her order with the robots. Tyhry had spiced up her hair with some of Kasty's nanites. Zeta said, “Wow, your hair... what...”
Tyhry approached her mother and said, “Mom, I have a gift for you...”
Zeta shrieked in excitement as Tyhry presented her with a nanite containment vial. Tyhry told her mother, "These nanites are for you. During the hike, I was deploying my special nanite scan-and-capture femtobots that I brought from Earth. I captured some stray Yastyn hair nanites! Here mother, let me put some of them in your hair."
Tyhry opened the nanite containment vial and the alien femtobots flew towards Zeta's head and began to enhance the appearance of Zeta's graying hair. Soon Zeta's hair flowed in lustrous waves down past her shoulders, shimmering gorgeously. Tyhry knew that some of the re-programmed femtobots were now at work scanning the material structure of her parents' bodies.
"Oh my, suddenly your hair looks lovely... just like Manny's!" Rylla said in admiration.
Zeta asked Systolina to provide a holography mirror and then she examined her new hair from every possible angle. Zeta was amazed how youthful she now appeared. However, Zeta felt she looked a bit silly because she had gotten a sunburn during the hike and her cheeks and nose were bright red.
While Zeta studied her hair, Manny was telepathically looking through Tyhry's thoughts. Manny frowned, thinking about Tyhry's true intentions and her plan for making immortal replicoid copies of her parents. "I'm afraid these alien hair nanites cannot leave this planet," she declared. Manny looked into Tyhry's eyes and said, "Any data you try to transmit or smuggle back to Earth will be blocked... by me."
Tyhry asked defiantly, “Any data?”
Manny nodded. “I have complete control over the Sedron Domain. Tyhry, if you try to send data back to Earth by way of the Sedron Time Stream, know that all such data will be scrambled by me. You will never be able to recover the data in usable form at a later time.”
Systolina muttered quietly, “What about an earlier time?”
Tyhry knew she was defeated, but Systolina had asked an interesting question. Now, Tyhry could not resist saying to Manny, “Can you really be so sure of yourself? What if I have already received the information in the past?”
Manny laughed. “If you had, why would Marda have...” Manny fell silent. She did not want to embarrass Marda by telling her mother that Marda had intentionally injured herself on the mountain side. “Tyhry, please trust me to know which nanites are suitable for experiments on Earth.”
Tyhry turned pleading eyes to her father. "Dad, the potential of this alien femtobot technology is astounding. Just give me a chance to show what good I can do!"
But Eddy shook his head and told his daughter, "Manny knows best, dear. You should not meddle with things beyond our understanding. You've read the results of my investigations into the history of the universe. Too many planetary civilizations have been destroyed by gray goo catastrophes. We can't risk Earthly civilization being damaged by advanced programmable femtobots."
The robot said, “Little girls do eventually grow up.” Systolina told Eddy, “Sir, your daughter is now an adult. Maybe it is time for you to stop treating her like a child.”
Eddy laughed. “Madam robot, Tyhry has been an adult since she was thirteen. The only problem is my fear that she is too ambitious for her own good... and the good of planet Earth.”
Manny added, “I take full responsibility for Tyhry's obsession with the power of nanites. Tyhry and I are engaged in a battle of wills. Lucky for me, I have the advantage of access to a full range of advanced bumpha technologies. I can keep Tyhry's flamboyant ambitions under control.”
Tyhry crossed her arms, a stormy expression on her face. She hated knowing that Manny had so much control over her. Just then, Zeta stopped examining her amazing new hair and put aside the mirror. She looked at Tyhry and remarked, "Forgive me dear, but how did you avoid getting too much sun during our hike today? Your skin looks untouched!"
Thinking quickly, Tyhry replied, "Oh, well... today I had my clothing nanites generate a thin UV-blocking layer over my skin. That's a new program I've been testing out... it seems to work." She hoped the little white lie would satisfy the curiosity of Zeta, Eddy and Rylla who all had sunburns.
Manny gave Tyhry a sharp look, but held her tongue, determined to keep the peace for her old friend Zeta's sake. Yet inwardly her mind churned with concern over Tyhry's unchecked ambition, which she knew would only spell trouble if left unrestrained. The battle of wills was not yet over.
Scene 7.
(Six months earlier.)
Tyhry was alone. She sat at the control console of her secret nanotechnology research laboratory, located inside a forked instance of the Ekcolir Reality Simulation. This was her private workshop where she could experiment with programmable nanites without dealing with the restrictive oversight of her parents.
Tyhry's fingers danced across the console and she initiated access codes that would allow her entry into a new instance of the Ekcolir Reality Simulation. She turned and walked through the newly created entry portal and instantly arrived inside a new fork of the Simulation. She returned to the control console and ran a duplication subroutine, making a new femtobot copy of herself. When the duplication process completed, the replicoid version seemed to appear out of thin air beside the original copy of Tyhry.
For a few seconds, the two copies of Tyhry experienced the strange sensation of being in telepathic contact with an exact copy of her mind. Then Tyhry gathered her wits and said, “Let's make this quick.” She told the femtobot copy, “I'll refer to you as F. Tyhry.”
F. Tyhry flexed her fingers. “I feel perfectly normal, although I realize that I am now composed of nanoscopically small femtobot components.”
"Perfect," Tyhry murmured. She addressed the copy, "I have a special assignment for you."
F. Tyhry nodded. "I understand. As your replicoid copy, I must avoid contact with Manny while I try to obtain advanced programmable femtobots."
Tyhry mused, "Manny will not allow advanced alien nanotechnology on Earth. But we need femtobots that are far more sophisticated than the simple clothing nanites that I've been allowed to access. I want you to secretly obtain programmable femtobots from the planet Threy."
"The Yastyn species," F. Tyhry said. "Their mastery of femtobot technology surpasses anything yet seen on Earth. But how can I get access? Kasty refused to allow it."
Tyhry tapped the console display, bringing up data on the advanced alien civilizations of Alastor Cluster. "The Phari are rumored to be the gatekeepers of femtobot knowledge among the worlds of Alastor Cluster. If anyone can help you, it will be them. Try to telepathically contact the Phari and convince them that it is safe for you to deploy alien femtobots on Earth."
F. Tyhry straightened with purpose. "I understand the importance of this mission. The potential is astonishing - with such nanites, we can free humanity from the curse of mortality."
Tyhry placed a hand on her duplicate's shoulder. "I'm entrusting you with this task while I play the harmless student to keep Manny's suspicions at bay. I will erase my memories of you as soon as I depart from this simulation fork."
F. Tyhry nodded solemnly. "You can count on me to procure the forbidden femtobots from Threy."
Satisfied, Tyhry returned to her copy of the research lab. She then deployed a swarm of medical nanites in her brain to erase her memories of the secret replicoid copy, F. Tyhry. Before she forgot about F. Tyhry, she erased the bookmark from her control console, erasing the code coordinates of the simulation fork that held F. Tyhry.
At that moment, F. Tyhry felt alone and somewhat lost. She remembered a report that had been written by her father more than twenty years previously, before Tyhry was born. That report described experiments that Eddy and Zeta had performed with synapex linkages; direct connections linking their nervous systems. During those experiments, Eddy had experienced a type of telepathic connection another person who was inside the Asimov Reality Simulation. F. Tyhry wondered: Can I telepathically link to Tyhry even though we are in two separate Ekcolir Reality Simulations?
Scene 8.
F. Tyhry returned to the control console of the Reality Simulation System and quickly made femtobot copies of Marda and Anthony using scanned data sets for their bodies that were in the memory buffers of the RSS. Pop! Pop! The new replicoid copies appeared in front of F. Tyhry. F. Marda and F. Anthony looked around in confusion for a moment before F. Tyhry explained, "I've brought you into being as femtobot copies. I need helpers for an important project. I am also a replicoid.”
F. Marda asked, “You mean, I'm like that replicoid copy of Tyhry that Tyhry made last year? I'm a replicoid?” F. Tyhry and F. Marda shared a telepathic connection. Using telepathy, F. Tyhry quickly explained to F. Marda the nature of their mission: to obtain alien femtobots without Manny finding out about it.
F. Anthony asked F. Tyhry, “How can we remain hidden from Manny? She constantly monitors your activity, expecting you to try dangerous experiments with nanites.”
F. Tyhry laughed. “This could all blow up in our faces, but I have to try to sneak behind Manny's back. My parents are getting old. I want to make immortal replicoid copies of them. I want your help.... we can try obtaining advanced femtobots from Threy. Maybe they can be used to make immortal replicoids, not the type of replicoids made by the Reality Simulation System: replicoids programmed to age and die just like biological creatures."
F. Tyhry continued speaking rapidly. She described a vision of the future in which this team, herself and F. Marda and F. Anthony achieved the goal of liberating humanity from mortality's grasp. When F. Tyhry finished her inspirational speech, F. Marda and F. Anthony pledged their aid, bound by the power of their twenty-year-old friendships.
"Excellent," said F. Tyhry. "I want to have a way of monitoring the actions of the original Tyhry. She has forced herself to forget about me, so she will be pursuing her own plan to get advanced programmable femtobots. I want to be able to coordinate our efforts with hers.”
Marda said, “I don't think telepathy works between two mind clones who are in different parts of the Reality Simulation System. When she goes off to her laboratory and I'm in Reality, we lose our telepathic connection.”
F. Anthony said, “When I worked for R. Nyrtia, she claimed to have ways of telepathically linking to people, even over very long distances.”
Marda said, “R. Nyrtia was not your average positronic robot.”
F. Tyhry said, “Anthony, maybe your positronic brain will help us. I remember a story that my father wrote long ago, about using synapex links to amplify telepathy.” F. Tyhry placed one hand on F. Marda and one hand on F. Anthony. “Now, with your help, I believe I can establish a telepathic linkage between myself and the other copy of Tyhry, despite us being in separate simulation forks."
She accessed the approved nanite template library provided by Manny, locating a design for nervous system linkage nanites, the same kind of synapex nanites that her parents has once experimented with. After synthesizing some of the synapex nanites, F. Tyhry immediately injected the synapex femtodust into herself and her two companions. Femtobot threads soon connected their bodies, transmitting signals between their linked nervous systems. With their brains now physically linked, F. Tyhry began weaving strands of telepathic connection to the original copy of Tyhry.
Soon, F. Tyhry was remotely monitoring the thoughts and perceptions of the original Tyhry who was at work in her nanotechnology laboratory in another fork of the simulation system. "It's working! I can touch her mind..." F. Tyhry, F. Marda and F.Anthony were locked together in a shared telepathic mind space. For a moment, a rush of alien sensations filled their minds, flavors of another time and place. As quickly as that unusual sensation had come upon them, it now faded from their thoughts. F. Tyhry spoke out-loud, “And most importantly, she does not sense my presence in her mind.”
"What about the Phari?" asked F. Anthony. "How can we telepathically contact them if they reside inside the Hierion Domain of the universe?"
"Perhaps..." murmured F. Tyhry. She broke the synapex links to F. Marda and F. Anthony and returned to the control console which was actually a copy of Eddy's old desktop computer. Decades previously, when Manny decided to help Eddy research the hidden history of Humanity, that computer had been modified by Manny to function as a controller for opening portals into the Reality Simulation System. The computer also held all of the research results that had been obtained by Eddy and Rylla. F. Tyhry pulled up an old report written many years ago by Rylla after one of her visits to Alastor Cluster.
Quickly scanning that old document, she showed her friends that it contained rumors that certain individuals in Alastor Cluster had heard alien voices in their minds..... what they claimed were messages from the Phari. Rylla had actually published that as a science fiction story called “Meet the Phari”.
F. Tyhry told Anthony, "The historical records of the Asimov Reality, which Rylla and Eddy have studied for decades by using the Reality Simulation System, hint that humans might have a latent potential to telepathically communicate with the Phari under special conditions."
F. Tyhry had only a vague sense of the path ahead. More research was required, but her intuition told her this could prove invaluable for persuading the Phari to use their advanced teleportation technology to transport forbidden femtobots to Earth, by-passing Manny's alien femtobot embargo. F. Tyhry felt like she was looking into the future by means of her ability to access the Sedron Time Stream. She felt as if a Tyhry of the future was telling her to find a way to contact the Phari and that she would succeed. The stakes were high, and she had to try.
Scene 9.
(One week before the family vacation on Threy.)
F. Tyhry, F. Marda and F. Anthony remained within their nanite research laboratory inside the Ekcolir Reality Simulation. For months, F. Tyhry and her team trained and practiced many hours each day in an attempt to better utilize their telepathic group consciousness for the purpose of contacting the alien Phari. So far, F. Tyhry had only developed the conviction that the Phari were watching her from inside the Hierion Domain. Now, with the original Tyhry's trip to Threy only a week away, F. Tyhry focused intently, reaching out with her telepathic senses and tried once again to establish contact with the mysterious Phari. With F. Marda and F. Anthony synapex linked to her, amplifying her abilities, F, Tyhry telepathically peered deep into the Hierion Domain, searching for a sign of the advanced beings.
Just then, a strange looking robot walked into the laboratory and said, “The Phari are greatly impressed by your persistence.”
Becoming aware of the robot, F. Tyhry broke the synapex links to F. Marda and F. Anthony. Their group consciousness dissolved. F. Tyhry asked the robot, “Who are you?”
“My name is Systolina Kayto.” Systolina said, “Maybe I can assist you, Tyhry.”
F. Tyhry feared that Systolina might be a spy, working for Manny the bumpha. She demanded, “How do you know my name? Where did you come from? How did you get here? Nobody knows about this secret fork of the Reality Simulation System. What's going on?”
Systolina laughed in a goofy way that was characteristic of the robots of Threy. “Oh come on, Tyhry. This is not such a great mystery. You've been telepathically broadcasting into the Hierion Domain for months now. You attracted the attention of the Phari.”
F. Tyhry asked, “You are from the hierion domain?”
Systolina shook her head. “No, I would love to earn a ticket that would get me into the Hierion Domain, but I'm stuck in the Hadron Domain.” She looked all around the interior of the laboratory. “Although, I suppose you will insist that this is all a simulation... that I'm actually now inside the Sedron Domain of the universe, existing inside some powerful quantum computer. Do I have that right? The Phari got me a bit confused when they told me about you and this secret nanite research laboratory. Exactly where are we... right now?”
F. Tyhry explained, “This, this is simulation of Earth. A version of Earth as it existed in the Ekcolir Reality, the Reality that came after your Reality: the Asimov Reality. Does that confuse you?”
“Amazing. I feel like everything is real... not some artificial simulation.” Systolina moved close to F. Tyhry and ran her fingers of one hand through the hair of F. Tyhry.
F. Tyhry asked, “The Phari sent you here?”
“Yes, they did. Apparently, you have been trying to accomplish the impossible. Tyhry, you simply lack the necessary technology for linking your mind to the Phari group consciousness that resides in the Hierion Domain. I can help you get past that technological barrier.” Systolina put her arms around the girl. “I'm in telepathic contact with the Phari... they want you to connect our two bodies by means of a synapex link.”
Tyhry did as Systolina requested. Tyhry's nervous system was quickly linked directly to Systolina's artificial neural circuits. F. Tyhry felt a shift in her consciousness. Suddenly an alien presence entered her mind. The mental touch was feather-light but undeniably alien, not just a stray telepathic signal from one of the other Tyhry copies. F. Tyhry almost recoiled from the strangeness of it, but she steadied herself and asked, "Are you a.... part of the Phari?"
A resonant voice seemed to reverberate through her thoughts. "We are the Phari. And we know you seek to obtain advanced programmable femtobots. But danger watches through many eyes."
F. Tyhry understood the reference to the smuggling of forbidden femtobots to Earth, but what were these 'many eyes'? Then with a jolt she realized the Phari must be worried about Manny and the bumpha's careful monitoring of how Tyhry used nanites.
She hastily explained, "It is true, a...bumpha...monitors my actions closely. But my goals are virtuous. I only wish to help my people conquer sickness and death through application of advanced femtobot technologies." F. Tyhry briefly outlined her plan to use immortal replicoids to save her parents from aging.
The Phari replied, "Noble aspirations oft travel twisted roads paved with good intentions. Heed well the lessons taught by failures and mistakes made long ago by cosmic civilizations older than yours."
F. Tyhry insisted, "I understand the risks. But think what wonders would unfold if humanity were freed from mortality! I am trained by Manny... I know how to program femtobots with care. Believe me, I will not unleash these powerful nanites on the people of Earth. As a test case, I will only use the Yastyn femtobots to immortalize my parents. Please, aid me in this quest - help me bring advanced femtobots to Earth despite the bumpha's efforts to stop me."
There was a long pause. Then finally the Phari stated, "The bumpha's attention is...preoccupied...fuming and investigating another nanite-based technology that we sent to Earth.”
Tyhry laughed. “So, it was you who supplied space-elevator technology to hundreds of engineers on Earth? What a trick! Manny has been in a tizzy for months.” F. Tyhry thought about the full implications of the Phari providing high-strength anti-gravity nanite filaments to Earth of the Final Reality. She asked the Phari, “You really exist in the Final Reality?”
“Yes, of course. Ever since the First Reality we have resided within the Hierion Domain of the universe where we were protected from Reality Changes taking place in the Hadron Domain.” The Phari telepathically showed F. Tyhry a model of the Dimensional Structure of the universe with nine spatial dimensions and two temporal dimensions. Three sets of three spatial dimensions each defined the Hadron, Hierion and Sedron Domains.
F. Tyhry asked, “Why have you sent Systolina here?”
“A connection to her positronic brain was needed in order to allow your primitive mind to link through an inter-dimensional portal to the Phari group consciousness, here in the Hierion Domain.” The Phari said, “The original biological copy of Tyhry needed a way to avoid the constant watchfulness of Manny. We provided a diversion. It is amusing for us to watch Manny's desperate efforts to restrict the development of new space elevator technologies for your planet. Be that as it may, I hope you appreciate the fact that a window of opportunity has opened for nanotechnology transfer from Threy to Earth."
Joy rushed through F. Tyhry. "Thank you for your help! I swear the Yastyn femtobots will only be used responsibly to uplift the human race. All you need do is provide me with some Yastyn programmable femtobots."
“We hesitate to do that.” The Phari told F. Tyhry, “Let us wait and see if the other copy Tyhry can smuggle the Yastyn femtobots to Earth.” The Phari abruptly broke the inter-dimension telepathic connection to F. Tyhry.
F. Tyhry tried to reach into the thoughts of Systolina, but she failed. F. Tyhry then dissolved the synapex linkage to Systolina and said, “I don't know how you did it, but thank you for connecting my mind to the Phari.”
Systolina said, “No problem. My mission here is complete.” Systolina vanished, having popped herself out of the Ekcolir Reality Simulation that housed F. Tyhry's laboratory.
For a moment, F. Tyhry was astonished by what had happened and she assumed that Systolina must have exited from the Simulation. F. Tyhry and F Marda felt elated. After months of seeming fruitless efforts, they had finally contacted the Phari!
F. Marda was telepathically looking into the thoughts of F. Tyhry. She asked, “Did the Phari agree to help circumvent Manny's blockade against alien femtobots reaching Earth? I'm not quite sure what just happened.”
F. Tyhry said, “I better monitor Tyhry carefully during her upcoming vacation on Threy. I can't imagine that Manny will let Tyhry bring alien nanites to Earth, but maybe the Phari plan to act and help Tyhry and somehow prevent Manny from blocking Tyhry's plan.”
F. Anthony suggested, “No matter how busy Manny is on Earth dealing with the space elevator technology issue, I'm sure that she is still monitoring the behavior of the original Tyhry copy in the Final Reality. Manny may become distracted when Tyhry is on Threy... maybe that is when the Phari will teleport some programmable femtobots to us, here on Earth.”
F. Marda shook her head. “I don't see how the Phari could teleport objects into this Reality Simulation.” Like F. Tyhry, F. Marda was also imagining that Systolina had entered the Ekcolir Reality Simulation by using the usual control console to open an access portal. She waved a hand at the cluttered interior of the nanite research laboratory. “This is all a data structure inside the Sedron Domain. The Phari are masters of the Hierion Domain, but what do they know about sedrons and the Sedron Domain?”
After spending months on this project, F. Tyhry was ready to wait one more week. Maybe the original copy of Tyhry would be able to smuggle Femtobots from Threy to Earth. The stakes were astronomical. Taking a deep breath, she turned to her friends. "It's time for us to be at our best. We can try to help the original copies of Tyhry and Marda out-smart Manny." She took hold of F. Marda's hands and told the girl, “If needed, I know you would make the ultimate sacrifice, my love. You may need to die on Threy.”
Scene 10.
On the scheduled final day of the family vacation on Threy, Marda was found dead in her room. Both Systolina and Dyas Totus, the medical robot, quickly arrived in the room that Marda had been sharing with Tyhry. Dyas pulled body-scanning equipment out of compartments in her body and used them to examine Marda's body. She explained to Tyhry, “She died because of a blood clot that formed in a vein of her injured arm.”
As the medical robot packed up the scanners and prepared to depart, Systolina said, “I'm glad you were close at hand, Dyastole.”
Dyas said, “Yes, most days I'm out in the mountains, Systole.”
After the departure of Dyas, Systolina kept trying to comfort Tyhry. “Tyhry, I still don't believe that we are inside a simulation. However, I want to believe. If it is true, then there must be a copy of Marda recorded in the memory of the Reality Simulation System.” She asked Tyhry, “Can't you make a new copy of Marda?”
Tyhry nodded. “Yes, but it was still a very real shock for me to find Marda's dead body. And I can't imagine what Rylla is going through right now. Besides you, Marda was the only one who knew that I can use the Reality Simulation System to make replicoid copies of people. I'll have to find the courage to tell my family the truth... about everything.”
It was time for Tyhry to return to her home on Earth. Systolina said, “I hope you visit Threy again in the future and you will tell me how everything turns out.” The robot bowed to Tyhry and then went in search of other guests who needed her help.
Tyhry and her family returned to Earth from the Threy simulation, still reeling from the shock of Marda's death back on Threy. As they emerged from the Reality Simulation System, Manny's nanite filters efficiently went to work, stripping all traces of the Yastyn femtobots from Tyhry and Zeta's hair and bodies. A few remaining stray scanner femtobots inside Eddy's body were also removed.
A day after Marda's funeral, Tyhry retreated to her secret nanotechnology lab inside the Ekcolir Reality Simulation. To her astonishment, she found Marda there, looking amazing with nanite-enhanced hair.
"Marda! But you were...we found you dead on Threy!" Tyhry exclaimed.
Marda's eyes widened. "What? No, I woke up here three days ago. I knew you would show up, eventually. While waiting for you, I've been playing with Kasty's hair nanites."
Tyhry ran her fingers through Marda's beautiful hair. "Somehow Kasty's nanites ended up here..." Tyhry murmured.
Suddenly, Manny arrived inside the nanite research lab, causing both girls to jump. Manny also caressed the beautiful hair of Marda and said, "Well isn't this a fascinating turn of events!" Manny had tones of amusement in her voice. She told Marda, "That dead body that Tyhry found on Threy wasn't actually you, dear. It was a replicoid copy of you."
Tyhry paled, but said nothing. Manny spoke directly to Tyhry, "Consider these hair nanites your reward for your gallant efforts to immortalize your parents. I've locked the programming of these Yastyn femtobots so they can only scan and modify hairs and hair follicles, not any additional tissues. Also, be completely aware that the data you transmitted into the Sedron Domain coding for the atomic structures of Eddy and Zeta have been either fully purged from the Sedron Domain or at least scrambled, so don't bother trying to use those data to make replicoid copies of your parents."
Tyhry nodded in acknowledgment of Manny's words, her mind racing with thoughts about the mystery of where the dead replicoid copy of Marda had come from. Marda looked bewildered and said, "But how did I get here? And end up with these nanites?"
Manny chuckled and voiced her speculations, "I suspect the Phari and their tricks. Remember... the Phari have impressive long-range teleportation technology. They can even teleport entire planets across interstellar distances. They could have easily teleported Marda from Threy to this laboratory.”
Tyhry said, “Really? All of the data for this simulation exists inside the Sedron Domain. Do the Phari know how to hack the Sedron Domain? I thought that they are restricted to the Hierion Domain.”
Manny chuckled. “Given the correct hierion-based tools, it is not that hard to send data into the Sedron Domain. Even a primitive creature like you, Tyhry, is able to use femtobots for that purpose.” Manny handed Tyhry a copy of her finger, the original object that Tyhry had scanned on Threy and stored atomic coordinates for by transmitting data into the Sedron Domain. “Remember this?”
Marda looked at the finger and said, “Ew!”
Tyhry was also disgusted by the isolated finger. She muttered, “Yes, I remember.”
Manny continued, “The Phari always hide inside the Hierion Domain, so even I do not fully understand their full abilities, but we now know that they can hack the Reality Simulation System and insert anything they want into an on-going simulation.”
Tyhry wondered out-loud, “Then how can I ever trust what I see inside a simulation?”
Manny looked Tyhry in the eye and said, “Don't lose sleep over it. The Phari are very cautious. I suppose they only alter Simulation data when absolutely necessary for some great good... like immortalizing your parents.” Now, Manny put some of the alien hair nanites into Tyhry's hair. Quickly, Tyhry's hair was transformed into a nearly exact replica of Manny's hair. “No matter – the Phari have given you a toy, but the true power of fully programable femtobots remains beyond your reach." And with that, Manny vanished, leaving the girls alone and looking at their beautiful heads of hair.
After a moment of reflection, Tyhry told Marda, “I don't believe a single word that Manny says. Marda, I want to perform an experiment. My guess is that you might now have a copy of the nanite key that allows for emergency exit from Simulations. That could be how you departed from Threy... without any help from the Phari.” For almost an hour, they tested to see if Marda could pop herself out of the Ekcolir Reality Simulation.
Bored with her constant failure to exit from the simulation, Marda said for the tenth time, “Give up Tyhry, I can't do it.”
Tyhry had to abandon that hypothesis. “Well, I didn't open a portal for you to return to Earth. And I'm sure my father didn't either.”
Marda shrugged. “I did not go from Threy back to your house in the Final Reality. I came right here, to the lab. Even you can't do that.”
Tyhry gave up trying to solve the mystery. She admitted, “Manny must have told us the truth about the Phari. I don't like it, but the Phari can hack the Reality Simulation System.” Tyhry now accepted the hypothesis that the Phari had teleported both Marda and Yastyn femtobots to Earth. Tyhry was still trying to imagine a way to make immortal replicoid copies of her parents. But how? She told Marda, “I hate to give up on my dream, but Manny has been able to block all of my efforts to make immortal copies of mom and dad.”
Telepathically linked to Tyhry, Marda understood Tyhry's frustration. “Let it go, Tyhry. You can't defeat Manny.”
“I suppose.” With an element of defiance still in her voice, Tyhry said, “Well, I may not be able to confer immortality on my parents, but Zeta will be glad to learn that I can fix her hair again.”
Scene 11.
While synapex-linked to F. Marda and F. Anthony, F. Tyhry used her telepathy and monitored the conversation between Tyhry, Marda, and Manny that was taking place inside Tyhry's secret laboratory in another fork of the Ekcolir Reality Simulation. Now that she knew where Manny was, F. Tyhry sprang into action. Now was the time to act! Taking a swarm of the fully functional alien scanner femtobots that the Phari had secretly teleported into her laboratory, she rushed through a portal of the Reality Simulation System and entered the Final Reality. Moving swiftly through the dark house, she directed tiny scanner femtobots to infiltrate the bodies of Tyhry's sleeping parents, Eddy and Zeta. The femtobots began comprehensively scanning the molecular structures of Eddy and Zeta down to the atomic level.
Quickly returning to her laboratory, F. Tyhry greeted two confused looking figures - replicoid copies of Eddy and Zeta which she had synthesized using the body scan data that had been extracted from the Sedron Time Stream using a new Reality Simulation System body-duplication hack.
"Mom! Dad! It worked!" exclaimed F. Tyhry. "The time loop is complete. In a few more hours, your scanned body structure data will have all been stored inside the Sedron Time Stream. That is where it was waiting for me to recover it, yesterday, when I made you two. Now, we can celebrate the future... you can both enjoy unlimited lifespans as immortal replicoids."
“There is still something that is bothering me about the trip to Threy.” F. Zeta asked, "Tell me, Tyhry, why did Marda have to die?"
F. Tyhry said, "She appeared to die, but that was just a trick... my attempt to rattle Manny so that it would be possible to smuggle alien nanites from Threy to Earth. Don't worry.... Marda is alive and well, inside the Reality Simulation System, trying to get up the courage to tell her mother what happened..."
Eddy told his daughter, "I suppose it does me no good to advise you not to play such life-and-death games."
Just then, Manny popped into the lab and told F. Tyhry, "Well, I must say even I did not see this trick coming. The Phari were quite crafty in their maneuvering. And I did not even know that you existed until I found the scanner femtobots in the bodies of Zeta and Eddy just now, back in the Final Reality." She turned to the replicoid copies of Eddy and Zeta. "So tell me, now that you potentially have all eternity before you, what do you wish to do with your new-found immortality?"
The Zeta replicoid looked uncertain. "It’s rather difficult to accept that we could be immortal copies of our biological selves. Are you sure about this, Manny?"
Manny smiled confidently. "Let me demonstrate the resilience your new bodies provide." Suddenly she thrust out a hand, releasing a destructive beam of energy that blasted a hole straight through the chest of the Eddy replicoid. But before the shocked eyes of the Zeta copy, Eddy's body rapidly regenerated until he was made whole again, completely unharmed.
Manny nodded with satisfaction. "An immortal replicoid indeed. Well done, F. Tyhry, I congratulate you on a fine job of nanite-mediated manufacture of immortal artificial life-forms. However, I cannot condone making any more such replicoids on Earth at this time.”
Manny approached Tyhry's parent and placed hands on Zeta and Eddy. “I will take you to a planet called Tar'tron, far away in the galactic core where you can create an experimental community of immortal humans. That will be an interesting little experiment.. a pilot program. We'll learn how humans deal with immortality."
Manny turned back to face F. Tyhry who stood silently watching her parents. "As for you, your services are no longer required." With a wave of Manny's hand, F. Tyhry froze in place, her femtobot body completely deactivated. Then Manny and the two new immortal replicoids disappeared from the lab, leaving only the motionless F. Tyhry and a bewildered F. Anthony, alone in that fork of the Simulator and wondering what would come next.
At that moment, back in the Final Reality, Tyhry and Marda returned from within the Reality Simulation System. There in the home of Eddy and Zeta, they found Systolina talking to Rylla. Rylla saw Marda and jumped to her feet. She rushed to Marda and threw her arms around the girl. “ Systolina told me that you...” For a minute Rylla cried and held on tight to Marda.
Tyhry asked Systolina, “How did you get out of the Simulation?”
Systolina explained, “The Phari teleported me to F. Tyhry's lab."
Tyhry asked, "F. Tyhry?"
"F. Tyhry is a replicoid copy of you, inside a hidden fork of the RSS... she managed to contact the Phari. When I was done helping her, I came to the Final Reality. I can exit from simulations any time I want. I spent some time here with one of your replicoid copies... playing with the cats. When your family returned home, that replicoid copy of you took me with her. She said that you would need time to to unwind after the vacation on Threy and that you would not understand how I reached Earth from Threy. Later, I returned here and when I learned about Marda's apparent death, I suspected that F. Tyhry must have engineered the death of a Marda replicoid copy as a distraction for Manny.”
Marda told her mother, “I guess the Phari teleported me off of Threy and substituted a dead replicoid.”
Rylla said, “All that matters is that I have you back. Marda, I can't live without you.”
Tyhry looked at the robot from Threy, “So, what is your mission here in the Final Reality? You are some sort of spy for the Phari?”
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| Tyhry in the Final Reality. |
Tyhry placed a hand on the robot's shoulder, “Well, I'm glad you are here. With all of the turmoil caused by Marda's apparent death, I did not collect any mementos on Threy to bring home to Earth. But the Phari think of everything... I have you.”
Systolina laughed her silly robotic laugh. “And we can return to Threy and visit my other copy any time we want. It will really blow her mind when she sees me!”
THE END
"The Femtobot Smuggler" was written in two stages. The 7,500 word "first draft" was too telegraphic and impossible for Claude to understand. At 14,580 words, the longer version, above, includes more details about the Exodemic Fictional Universe, which is the setting of the story. However, This longer version of "The Femtobot Smuggler" is too long for the free version of Claude.
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