Trăvɘlȋng Yōd sh⍜W

Figure 1. Teleportation
   duplication by Mr. Wombo.

 This blog page (below) has Part 11 of my Decade in Review (DiR, see Part 1). All of the blog posts in this series have titles that contain unusual characters. This blog post is called "Trăvɘlȋng Yōd sh⍜W" because after being given access to the Reality Simulation System, Eddy meets up with his wife's clone sister, Yōd, inside the Asimov Reality Simulation so that they can learn about teleportation technology (see "Travelers Aid").

 More Stories from 2022. In this Decade in Review (DiR) I am exploring AI-generated images as alternative illustrations for my old science fiction stories. I'm using software such as Whisk, WOMBO Dream, and Leonardo to generate updated story illustrations. An example of an AI-updated image is shown to the right, in which Mr. Wombo (my 'pet' name for WOMBO Dream) generated an image using a text prompt that specified a woman holding a man, but the AI generated two men, or what I decided could be a depiction of a duplicate copy of a man. 

W.AI

 Teleportation Duplication. In The Historical Archive, Eddy learned that the Reality Simulation System includes equipment equivalent to teleportation technology that can allow for the creation of duplicate people.

Back in early 2023, I began experimenting with WOMBO Dream as a tool for science fiction story illustration (see "Cover Nanites"). WOMBO Dream has undergone several revisions during the past two and a half years. Today there was yet another change to the user interface at https://dream.ai/create. The following banner appeared:

New banner at the WOMBO Dream website.

Figure 2. A nanite network
   future by Mr. Wombo.

Apparently, the folks at WOMBO Dream are trying to get users to link their computers into a network that will allow for a "Global AI Supercomputer" and "Decentralized Superintelligence". There was a time back in the 1990s when distributed computation for projects like "SETI at home" seemed like a new and exciting idea. But do I really want to pay the power bill so that Mr. Wombo can use my computer's CPU while I am sleeping? Would they even be interested in using my 2011 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5 🐌?

Figure 3. Nanite network by Whisk.

The image that is shown in Figure 2 might illustrate the use of nanites to create a network of linked human minds. These are the kinds of imaginary technologies that I like to include in my science fiction stories, but how can you illustrate invisibly small nanites that can pass into and out of people without them even noticing what is happening?

I provided the image from Figure 2 as a reference image to Whisk. Whisk generated the image that is shown in Figure 3.

WOMBO styles

For the past several weeks, the WOMBO Dream user interface has only included the newer "version 3" styles, but today the older styles returned, including ones that are shown to the right.

Figure 4. Using the 'Nightly v2'
   style of Mr. Wombo.

 Hair Nanites. The image shown in Figure 4 was generated by Mr. Wombo using the 'Nightly v2' style. One of the first applications of nanites on Earth is 'hair nanites' that generate cosmetically enhanced hair. It is easy for me to imagine that the beautiful hair in Figure 4 is generated by hair nanites.

 Simulation Experiment. Right at the start of The Prisoner of L2, Eddy performs an experiment with the Reality Simulation System. He is able to enter into a simulation of the Final Reality at a point in time just slightly behind the current time. He now has a way to meet his collaborator, Rylla, anytime he wants to, rather than using video conferencing to allow him to communicate with Rylla, even if she is in Australia and he is in Arizona. 

 The Secret History of Humanity. A big advantage of this new mode of communication is that Eddy can have all the benefits of a discussion with a "copy" of his collaborator Rylla about a sensitive topic without having to worry that the 'real' Rylla (who lives outside of the Simulator) will remember the topic of their discussion. Rylla and Eddy are collaborating to study the history of the human species and how aliens have secretly influenced the course of history.  

Generated by Gemini.

 The French Notebook. Next, Eddy acts on his long-standing wish to visit Alastor Cluster in the Asimov Reality Simulation. This is a particularly good time for him to visit Alastor Cluster because a mysterious document has recently been found by his collaborators at the Writers Block, the French Notebook. The French Notebook hints at a past Intervention by Nyrtia that provided humans of the Asimov Reality with teleportation technology. 

This is surprising because, based on his research, Eddy is quite certain that teleportation was not used (at least not widely used) by people living on the many inhabited planets of Alastor Cluster. Planets such as the capitol world, Numenes, had space elevator technology that was used to transport people between the surface of the planet and orbital space stations.

Teleportation by Whisk.

Eddy enters into the Asimov Reality Simulation and meets Yōd on the planet Numenes, not long after the battle of Yrinna, and then they travel to a government research facility at the Numenes L2 point. Azynov and Yōd have already confirmed that there is a secret teleportation research project at L2 as well as a newly established secret government telepathy project. 

 Investigating Rumors. Those secret military projects and their sophisticate high-tech operations are hidden among the many space stations that form a community of miners for a seemingly mundane commercial asteroid mining facility. Eddy is intrigued by the fact that after centuries of enforcing technological stagnation of humans during the Space Age in the Asimov Reality, Nyrtia is rumored to have begun sharing advanced technologies with the residents of Alastor Cluster.

Figure 5. Bey Paqt by Whisk.

In an attempt to quickly penetrate the secret government facilities at L2, Yōd reveals her telepathic abilities to the Whelm. Soon she and Eddy are on their way to L2 and under the watchful eye of Captain Bolunz. Eddy can telepathically 'see' a woman named Bey Paqt in the Captain's thoughts. In Part 2 of The Prisoner of L2, when arriving at the L2 spaceport, Yōd tries to use her advanced medical nanites to take control of the mind of Bey Paqt, but she can't control the behavior of both Chief of Security Paqt and Captain Bolunz at the same time. Watching from his 'workshop' outside of the Simulation, Azynov devises an alternative plan for Eddy and Yōd.

 Azynov resets the simulation and this time when Eddy and Yōd arrive at L2, Eddy immediately approaches Bey and distracts her while Yōd maintains control of the mind of the Captain and she is taken to see General Wylys.

The L2 immigration protocols.

Eddy pretends to know Elyas Zoffes, a human-alien hybrid who has been identified by Azynov as a resident of L2. Eddy tells Bey, "I'm a writer and Elyas is going to help me do some research on asteroid mining... background information for my next novel." However, Elyas is not really a writer. He is a military intelligence officer who is secretly investigating Bey Paqt as a potential security risk, and in that role he has been living with Bey as her lover.

While Eddy is distracting Bey, Captain Bolunz takes Yōd to see General Wylys at the new telepathy research station. General Wylys has some telepathic ability and can sense that Yōd is a powerful telepath. Wylys explains to Yōd that the new telepathy research facility is primarily devoted to human genetics and most of the people being stationed there are biologists, not telepaths.

Figure 6. Inside the L2 Telepathy research
facility. Image generated by Whisk.

In Part 3 of "The Prisoner of L2", Eddy and Yōd are provided with a helper robot (NBS82734), which is a community service provided by L2. Eddy names   the NBS82734 robot 'Fortran'.

Azynov has arranged for Eddy and Yōd to meet Chief Engineer Dyna Rahwel at the L2 Iridium Processing Station. Dyna shows Eddy and Yōd some of the ore processing facility and then Yōd asks to see the teleportation equipment that is used to send purified iridium to Numenes. Now under the control of Yōd's nanites and telepathic prodding, Dyna shows Eddy and Yōd the teleportation facility. Each teleporter is specifically tuned to the atomic structure of a particular metal. 

Figure 7. Updated by Mr. Wombo.

Eddy and Yōd are told that teleportation was developed centuries earlier by Dr. Frenchyhysur. For a thousand years there has been no success in applying teleportation to the transport of humans. Attempts to teleport animals scramble their atoms, resulting in Death.

All of L2 is in a tizzy because of the recent disappearance of Yurahs, the daughter of the Connatic. Eddy suggests that maybe Yurahs was abducted by means of teleportation. Eddy and Yōd learn that there is a new model of teleporter being used to archive the vast amounts of human genomic data that is now being collected as part of the Connatic's human telepathy research program. Maybe Yurahs is trapped inside a teleportation memory buffer? If so, can she be extracted from the buffer and brought back to life?

Figure 8. Inside the L2 teleportation research
facility. Image generated by Whisk.

In Part 4 of The Prisoner of L2, Eddy and Yōd are extracted from the Simulation of L2. Arriving back in Azynov's workshop, they discover that a copy of Yurahs is there, helping care for Yōd's daughter, Roxzel. Azynov tells Eddy and Yōd, "There are now three copies of Yurahs."

Eddy and Yōd, finally realize that a member of the telepathy research project, Tyffany Maysel is a secret agent working for the Connatic himself. She'd been trained to play the role of a teleportation engineer, but her real job was to make teleportation duplicates for the Connatic.

To advance their exploration of L2, Azynov has used the Reality Simulation System to make duplicate copies of Eddy, Yōd and Yurahs. Tyffany Maysel has a 'helper robot', Anthony.

Figure 9. Major Tyffany Maysel of the
Whelm. Image generated by Whisk.

 Tyffany is the latest in a long line of Whelm officers who have routinely made "backup copies" of the members of the royal family by means of teleportation duplication. The duplicates are held in teleportation data buffers in case a member of the royal family is killed.

Eddy also noticed that Anthony was a positronic robot, apparently positioned to control the special teleportation equipment provided by Nyrtia that could make duplicates of the royal family members. At the end of The Prisoner of L2, Eddy contemplates the possibility of entering the Asimov Reality Simulation in the time period when Dr. Frenchyhysur was credited with inventing teleportation.

Figure 10. Updated by Mr. Wombo.

 Part 3 of The Nyrtia Cycle. In Part 1 of my science fiction story The Frenchyhysur Process, Eddy returns to the Asimov Reality Simulation and meets up with the duplicated copies of himself and Yurahs that had been made by Azynov and who had lived "accelerated" lives inside a fork of Asimov Reality Simulation. This copy of Yurahs has given birth to the son of the Eddy copy: Tyryx. Yurahs takes Eddy to see the Connatic. The Connatic admits that Nyrtia long ago provided Anthony the positronic robot who has served for 1,000 years making backup copies of the royal family members.

Eddy learns from Yurahs that iridium can be used to produce hierions which are traded to Triskelion for sophisticated robots. The Frenchyhysur Process makes use of hierions for teleportation of iridium from L2 to Numenes, avoiding any chance that space pirates could intercept iridium shipments. And eventually, the storage of genomes in teleportation buffers helped the people of Alastor Cluster identify genes that could either enhance human telepathic abilities or interfere with telepathic communication.

Figure 11. Generated by Mr. Wombo.

In Part 2 of "The Frenchyhysur Process", Eddy and Zeta visit their "duplicate family" inside the Simulation System where the twins have already been born. They can form synapex linkages to Zeta while they are nursing, allowing them to link their nervous systems physically to her brain. When Eddy also connects, they enter into 'sleep2', a merged group-mind state. The the twins and the two sets of Eddy and Zeta enter into a period of sleep2 and they find themselves in telepathic linkage to Grean the Kac'hin. 

Grean admits to having made the "Yurahs simulation", a Simulation branch of the Asimov Reality where a copy of Eddy and Yurahs could live at an accelerated pace. Grean also admits that she used a positronic robot named Fenick (disguised as Fortran) to help the copies of Eddy and Yurahs. However, Grean refuses to allow Eddy to understand how it is possible to make "micro-simulations" that run at an accelerated rate.

The Mind Clone Network.

In Part 3 of "The Frenchyhysur Process", Grean states the The Technological Trilemma: "... the technologically sophisticated life-forms of the galaxy face a solvable trilemma: don't destroy the ecosystem of their planet, don't cause their own self-destruction as a species and accomplish those first two goals without losing individual freedoms and free will." She adds, "But in the human situation, there is a fourth requirement; that humans be able to have a great adventure, spreading to millions of planets throughout the galaxy."

mind clones

 The Duplication Problem. Nora is dealing with a "teleportation trilemma": the teleportation equipment at Observer Base can no longer be used. She is trapped on Earth on the mind clones also cannot travel between Earth and Observer Base. 

Nora uses the Reality Simulation System that can now be accessed through Eddy's personal computer as a way for her to visit Observer Base in the Ekcolir Reality where she tries to obtain the code for activating the teleportation equipment. Grean refuses to share the code. 

Figure 12a. Forming a synapex    
   linkage. Image by Mr. Wombo.

Manny the bumpha declares that humans cannot have access to working teleportation equipment because, "Earthlings always find ways to get into trouble." In this case, humans would start making teleportation duplicated of people.

 Full Telepathic Press. In Part 4 of "The Frenchyhysur Process", Naj the sy'Paz is given a normal human-sized body for a synapex experiment inside a new micro-simulation established by Manny the bumpha inside the Reality Simulation System. 

With synapse-editing nanites from Naj inside Eddy's brain, Naj and Eddy link their nervous systems using their blastipositors. The Editor is also given a huge dose of oxypathin and Nora, the Editor and Naj find themselves in a shared mind space and a 'synapex-trance', which is distinct from an orgasm trance. 

Figure 12b. The synapex     
   linkage. Image by Mr. Wombo.

Naj demonstrates to Nora and Eddy that they can now link to other minds that are inside the Reality Simulation System including Dysyn, Alpha, Beta and Radhas (the daughter of Nora's analogue from the Ekcolir Reality).

Later, Eddy tries to recreate the required conditions for a telepathy-amplifying synapex-trance and discovers that this type of telepathy amplification must take place inside the Reality Simulation System. Making use of the Marda-Tihri nodes of the Mind Clone Network, while Zeta and Eddy are synapex linked and inside a Reality Simulation of Arizona, Eddy can telepathically communicate long-range with the Rylla who is in Australia. By linking together all of the Earthly nodes of the Mind Clone Network, telepathic contact is possible to Yōd inside the Asimov Reality Simulation and to the mind clones who are at Observer Base.

Figure 13. Future Tihri - now    
   Tyhry. Image by Mr. Wombo.

 Niaf! In a March 18, 2022 blog post titled "Hearing From Tihri",  Part 5 of "The Frenchyhysur Process" starts with an autobiographical message from Tihri of the future, after she has changed her name to Tyhry (see Figure 13). The precocious Tihri is also beginning to communicate efficiently by way of spoken language and she informs her parents that Anthony is there with them in the Final Reality. His 'cover' blown by the telepathic Tihri, Anthony alters the configuration of his nanites components and reveals himself to Eddy and Zeta.

Eddy is confused; Tihri refers to Anthony as a naif. Anthony explains to Eddy that in the future, Tihri will coin the term 'niaf' to refer to an artificial life-form composed of nanites. Since Tihri has access to information from the future by way of the Sedron Time Stream, she is comfortable using the term 'niaf'.

image source

While Anthony has been guiding the maturation of Tihri's brain, the artificial life remnant of Nirutam has been doing the same for Yōd's daughter, Roxzel. Tihri insists on visiting Roxzel in the Asimov Reality Simulation. Zeta, Eddy, Azynov and Yōd join up in a synapex trance and are able to telepathically communicate with Nirutam's selfie.

Tihri asks Nirutam: Me niaf? Maturin says: In the future you will cross over and become niaf. Here in 2025 (see the story D*), I have depicted Tyhry as always having been a special artificial life form that can grow through simulated human developmental stages. However, Tyhry does not recognize her artificial nature until she is 21 years old.

Figure 14. Hierion probe    
   experiment. By Mr. Wombo.

 The Origin of Anthony. Anthony explains to Eddy that he originated in the Second Reality as a positronic robot that, like Nyrtia, could grow through human-like developmental stages. After that visit to Zeck in the Asimov Reality Simulation, Anthony went back into "hiding", but when Tihri was a little older, he 'returned' to full size and lived as her companion.

Part 5 (described above) was the final chapter of "The Frenchyhysur Process", but the Nyrtia Cycle continued with a new story set in the Eckolir Reality (called "Edison's Endosymbiont Experiments") when Nyrtia was working hard to make sure that humans were ready and willing to adopt advanced Fru'wu technologies. For Edison's Endosymbiont Experiments, I depicted Azynov as helping investigate events inside the Ekcolir Reality Simulation and hierion probes (see Figure 14) are used as a tool to speed up his research.

hierions

The first part of Edison's Endosymbiont Experiments appeared in a March 21, 2022 blog post titled "Totally Random". Nyrtia has stationed on Earth an Interventionist agent named Reynette who is the Ekcolir Reality analogue of Ray Cummings. In a short six months, Reynette has become the trusted and indispensable assistant to the Ekcolir Reality analogue of Thomas Edison. Using the Reality Simulation System, Azynov arrives and tries to understand the origins of Reynette. However, Reynette is programmed to self-destruct if anyone tried to learn her secrets.

 Global Warming. Azynov tries to warn Edison about the potential problems that could arise from the study and application of hierions on Earth, but Edison is fascinated by the technological opportunities that await from the study of atomic and sub-atomic matter.

Asimov Azynov the time traveler.

Reynette's mission on Earth involves the development of hierion probe technology. Azynov, Eddy and Yōd use all of the tools at their disposal, including synapex linkages, to try to learn the location of the secret base where Reynette was trained before her mission to Earth. After several failed attempts to obtain that information, Azynov makes a copy of Reynette who begins cooperating with Azynov, Eddy and Yōd.

 Dynamic Equilibrium. Manny the bumpha makes a brief appearance in Part 1 of Edison's Endosymbiont Experiments, just long enough to lament the 'death' of one of the copies of Reynette and to tell another copy, "... let it be a warning to you". Nyrtia sent Reynette to Earth, but now Manny is acting to put a limit to the type  of technological advancement that Reynette can achieve on Earth.

Figure 15. Edison Intervention.
  Image generated by Whisk.

In Part 2 of Edison's Endosymbiont Experiments, a copy of Reynette becomes interested in the question: how did Manny put n early end to Reynette's mission on Earth? Part 2 is told by Rylla, who upon arriving in Arizona for a visit, has been witness to Zeta experimenting with oxypathin (Rylla has brought with her from Australia the first purified oxypathin) and the creation of synapex linkages to her daughter, Tihri. At this point in time, Zeta is seven months pregnant with Gamma. With the help of Gamma's unusual telepathic mind, Zeta can now make weak telepathic contact to Eddy while he is inside the Ekcolir Reality Simulation.

Figure 16. Rylla and Rey.
  Image generated by Whisk.

Eddy takes Rylla into the Ekcolir Reality Simulation. They visit Reynette at her home in Florida where Reynette has just been visited by the copy of Reynette that was made by Azynov. The two copies of Reynette soon found themselves in a telepathic feedback loop which they responded to by engaging in sexplay 💕.

1914 of the Eckolir Reality. Reynette explains that in advance of the Interventionist mission on Earth, she was crafted as a mind clone; half of her brain pattern matches that of Edison and the other half of her brain is match to Mina, Edison's wife. Reynette's telepathic manipulation of the Edisons has allowed her to quickly become a trusted employee of Tom Edison. Azynov appears and reports that by looking into the future, he has identified Manny's secret agent on Earth as Angel Suarez.

1918: Florida is part of Espanola in the Ekcolir Reality

 1918. Azynov shifts Rylla, the copy of Reynette and Eddy to Raritan, New Jersey, in the year 1918, the site of Edison's main research lab, commonly described as being located in Menlo Park. Reynette says, "This is the mansion of Mickey Suarez, the sugar cane magnate from Cuba."

Eddy soon discovers that there is a copy of himself in New Jersey who has been living there happily with Yōd for the past four years inside the Ekcolir Reality Simulation.

When Eddy reports that Angel Suarez is Manny's agent who will put an end to Reynette's mission on Earth, the copy of Yōd who has been living in Menlo Park for the past four years mentions Angelique. 

Figure 16. Rylla and Rey.
  Image generated by Whisk.

Yōd explains that Angelique is the new wife of Mikey Suarez. The copy of Eddy who is living in Menlo Park says, "I now work at the Edison Electronics research facility. We are getting close to having a hierion detector that might allow us to detect the femtobot endosymbionts that are hidden inside people." Reynette has become known as the tyrant of Menlo Park, controling every aspect of Edison's empire and throwing vast sums of Edison's money into the hierion detector project.

The copy of Reynette who is helping Eddy gets herself and Rylla an appointment to meet with Mikey and she tells Rylla, "He's got quite an eye for young ladies and now you must play the role of my cousin. You are now a dancer, an apprentice in the Boston Ballet, here visiting for a week." Reynette hopes to meet Angelique and learn how she will put an end to hierion detector project. When they arrive at the mansion of Mickey Suarez, Mina is already there, working with Mickey to bring ballet to New Jersey.

Figure 17. Menlo Park Mystery.
  Image generated by Mr. Wombo & Whisk.

Rylla quickly learns that Angelique has a daughter, Angel, who is an electrical engineer working for Edison. Mina invites Rylla and Angel to dinner that night.

In Part 3 of Edison's Endosymbiont Experiments, Rylla and a copy of Reynette Cummings must confront the mysterious Angel Suarez, one of the first computer scientists on Earth and the secret agent of Manny the bumpha. Angel puts an end to Reynette's hierion probe project, but not before Tom Edison has seen evidence that human bodies all contain an hierion endosymbiont. He is left with the belief that living organisms contain, and are animated by, sub-atomic scale structures hidden inside their bodies.

Figure 18. The Rey Duplicated.
  Image generated by  Whisk.

After discovering how Angel put an end to hierion probe research in the Ekcolir Reality, the copy of Reynette is taken out of the Reality Simulation and into the Final Reality.

In the Final Reality, Manny the bumpha explains that to stop Reynette's interventionist mission, she had to get Nyrtia to re-program Reynette. Manny laments the fact that Nyrtia has learned aspects of advanced hierion technology from the Phari that even the Huaoshy cannot understand.

Figure 19. Write Me A Replicoid.
  Image generated by  Whisk.

Several months passed before I wrote Part 4 of "Edison's Endosymbiont Experiments". As a kind of follow on story, Rylla returns to a simulation fork of the Ekcolir Reality in which the daughter of Reynette, Lyza, displays telekinetic powers. In this case, the telekinesis involves Lyza's ability to control programmable medical nanites telepathically. Manny has arranged that simulation fork containing Lyza as a warning of the kind of problems that can arise for powerful human telepaths.

Next: Part 12 of this Decade in Review.

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