Femtozoan Time Travel

Advanced Roman technology.
A Roman bookscroll.
Image source.

Below on this page is Chapter 3 of the science fiction story "The Metamorph Intervention". Events in the story began in the year 2024 when previously, in Part 1, Marda arrived at the secret underground facility of the Metamorph project, intrigued by the promise of "predictive history" technology. In Part 2, Marda met her new colleagues, Dr. Elena Vasquez, Dr. Raj Patel and Claudette 2.7182, a conscious robot. Marda begins using the Temporal Viewer technology that not only allows her to view past history, but to investigate possible Reality Changes, alterations to the historical timeline of Earth. 

I had a brief conversation with the Gemini LLM before asking Gemini to make a first draft of Chapter 3 of "The Metamorph Intervention" (see below on this blog page). So, let us return to Gemini's silly 'crystalline cathedral/chamber' that holds the bumpha-provided Temporal Viewing technology and see what other science fictional abominations Gemini can concoct today...

Me: In Chapter 3 of "The Metamorph Intervention" Marda begins working with the Temporal Viewing system to explore Reality Changes that could improve the historical timeline of Earth. Marda discovers that she has telepathic contact with Sedruth, an artificial life-form that supervises the Sedron Time Stream, which is a form of advanced technology that was developed by the Huaoshy and is used by the bumpha to help struggling biological creatures such as humans. Sedruth explains to Marda the vast computational capacity that exists in the sedron domain and can be used for processing data that is stored in the Sedron Time Stream. The Temporal Viewing system can simulate the effects that time travelers might exert on the course of events on Earth.

 

The main image was generated by Gemini.
The insets were enhanced by WOMBO Dream.
Some text and arrows manually added.

Claudette 2.7182 demonstrates to Marda that they can make replicoid copies of historical figures. The Temporal Viewing system can not only show every stage of human history, but can generate replicoid copies of humans. Claudette 2.7182 makes a replicoid copy of a human who lived 50,000 years in the past. The replicoid is a precise copy of a woman, but the replicoid's body is made entirely from zeptite components. Claudette 2.7182 favors the approach of sending a time traveler far back in time in order to have the greatest effect on the development of a technologically advanced civilization on Earth that will not cause disruption of Earth's fragile ecosystem.

Marda expresses doubt that the low population density and short life spans of ancient human populations can be optimally manipulated by means of the "morphic resonance effect." Sedruth admits that Manny has already found the optimal intervention (which involves Ovid).

The golden age of science fiction.

 Manny named the Metamorph project as a reaction to Ovid's Metamorphoses. Manny explains to Marda that every human's zeptite endosymbiont contains a femtozoan, an artificial life form that knows everything that the person knows and has learned in their life. Further, femtozoans get recycled, so each femtozoan has lived many lives going back to the misty origins of the human species.

Marda uses the Temporal Viewing system to study Rome and Ovid. Sedruth tells Marda that it is best for a time traveler to "take the place" of a person who exists in the past rather than just drop into a social system as a new-comer from the future. Marda studies the life of Ovid's first wife, Korinna, who was literate and a writer. Working with Sedruth, Marda devises a plan to take the place of Korinna and alter the course of the life of Publius Ovidius Naso. Marda makes a replicoid copy of Korinna to fully study her and in order to discuss Korinna's relationship with Ovidius. Sedruth extracts Marda's femtozoan and sends it back in time, placing it inside the body of Korinna.

Now living as Korinna, Marda helps Ovidius learn to write science fiction stories in which they invent a new "pantheon" of god-like beings are depicted as space aliens from other worlds, including the Moon. 

{I asked Gemini if it had any questions about my new proposed plot elements for Chapter 3 or the Korinna character.}

Gemini: No, I do not have any questions about the new plot elements or the Korinna character. The information you've provided is clear and well-defined, and I can seamlessly integrate it into the ongoing narrative of "The Metamorph Intervention."

The plot elements you've introduced are compelling and add significant depth to the story:

The Huaoshy and Sedruth. The introduction of the Huaoshy as the developers of the Sedron Time Stream and Sedruth as its supervisor adds a new layer to the galactic hierarchy and technology.

 

Generated by ImageFX.

The Replicoid Copies. The concept of zeptite-based replicoids is a fascinating extension of the existing nanotechnology and offers a unique method for time travel.

Femtozoans. The idea of a femtozoan within each zeptite endosymbiont, containing the collective memories of a lineage, provides a powerful and personal mechanism for Marda to "take the place" of Korinna.

Marda's New Role. Marda's decision to inhabit Korinna's body and use her existing social position to influence Ovid directly is a clever and logical solution to the ethical dilemmas of time travel. It provides a strong personal stake in the mission.

A New Pantheon. The idea of Ovid creating a new pantheon of gods based on space aliens is a brilliant way to establish the science fiction genre in a way that would be culturally palatable and influential during the Roman era.

I am ready to proceed with generating images or content based on these new details whenever you'd like.

Me: Gemini, generate a first draft of Chapter 3 of "The Metamorph Intervention" incorporating the elements described above. Include a brief description of Marda struggling with the idea of "replacing" Korinna in Earth's timeline (she describes the process of transplanting her femtozoan into Korinna's endosymbiont as being, "theft of Korinna's body and life". Resolve that conflict in Marda's mind by having the replicoid copy of Korinna admit that she does not really love Ovidius and that it was their parents who pushed them together as children.

 Gemini:  Chapter 3

The crystalline chamber became Marda’s new world. She had her own personal Viewer Port which allowed her to examine any component of Earth's history. Days bled into nights, measured only by the rhythmic pulsing of the crystalline structures and the relentless flow of data through the central Temporal Viewing system. 

Marda had her own luxurious home inside the underground headquarters of the Metamorph project. Her apartments came equipped with an older model Claudette 2.718 robot who cooked meals and attended to Marda's every need. Marda took to calling her personal Claudette 2.718 robot by the nickname 'Eight".

With Claudette 2.7182’s assistance, Marda learned to navigate the infinite branches of causality and to use the newly available "scan mode" of the Temporal Viewer equipment to sift through the millions of potential intervention points, pushing Marda past the drudgery that had confronted Dr. Vasquez and Dr. Patel when they first began using the Viewer equipment. 

Trying to conceptually process all of recent human history and the most promising alternative branches, potential Reality Changes leading to an improved future was a dizzying process, but Marda's innate morphic resonance sensitivity gave her an edge. With practice, Marda could increasingly sense the subtle "harmonics" of a timeline, feeling which potential futures held a stronger pulse of innovation and which collapsed into dead ends. Marda had the sensation that she was being guided towards success in this search for the optimal Reality Change that would provide Humanity with a much improved historical timeline leading into a new Industrial Age in which humans would have the wisdom and self-control not to harm Earth's environment.

It was during one of Marda's deep-dive sessions into simulated Realites that her mind shifted and passed through a cognitive barrier, allowing her access to a new mode of thought. Suddenly a new voice entered her mind. It was not the gentle nudge of Manny, nor the familiar echo of Tyhry, but a deeper, more ancient presence, something -or someone- that Marda had only subconsciously touched with her mind in the past before joining the secret Metamorph project.

 “I am Sedruth,” the voice resonated, not in her ears, but directly within the synaptic pathways of her brain, the Sedruth entity's thoughts emerging from the medium of Marda's zeptite endosymbiont. “Supervisor of the Sedron Time Stream. The Huaoshy created the Time Stream technology -and me- to assist nascent civilizations in their development. The bumpha are simply its current custodians.”

Sedruth explained that the Sedron Domain wasn't just a storage medium but a vast, parallel computational substrate. "The zeptites on your world have perfectly recorded every event for over one billion years," Sedruth's thought-voice continued. "Using the vast quantum calculating capacity of the Sedron Time Stream, we have available for our use the required computational fidelity to simulate any time travel intervention, any Reality Change, you might wish to attempt. The Temporal Viewer is simply the interface to this immense computational capacity that I can fully exploit." Marda sensed a colossal egotistical mind at work within the Sedruth entity, fully cognizant of its unrivaled ability to manipulate the shape of Reality.

Marda told Sedruth, "There is something else I see in you thoughts. Another feature of the Temporal Viewing system... tell me, what is a replicoid?"

Sedruth explained, "Replicoids are a form of artificial life. Any biological organism can be copied and instantiated as a replicoid copy. A replicoid is composed of zeptite components that assemble to make a perfect replica of the biological organism that is being copied."

Marda called to Claudette 2.7182 who was a short distance away, across the hall of Viewers, helping Elena with her historical research. "Claudette, come here!"

Claudette 2.7182 approached Marda and asked, "What can I help with?"

Marda looked critically at the odd mix of mechanical and simulated biological parts that were Claudette's manufactured body. "How would you like a new body? A perfect human body?"

 Claudette laughed and replied, "Robot technology is advancing rapidly. Maybe in the future, in the next century, there will be robot bodies that are difficult to distinguish from human bodies."

Marda said, "You know that Manny can take on any convenient form. I have learned that these Temporal Viewers can make copies of people, converting them into zeptite copies. I believe that the bumpha could easily craft a perfect body for you."

Sedruth telepathically warned Marda, "Don't cause trouble. Claudette is happy with her body."

Marda spoke out-loud to Sedruth. "Don't be mean. If you won't help Claudette then at least give Eight a better body."

Still using telepathy, Sedruth complained to Marda, "The bumpha have not shared Temporal Viewing technology with Earthlings so that you can play dress-up games with Earth's primitive robots."

Marda whined, "Oh, don't be so stubborn, Sedruth. Give Eight a sexy new body that can pleasure me at the end of a long hard day working."

"Why is it my fate to deal with horny humans?" Sedruth suggested sarcastically, "Best you restrict your desire for things long and hard to your vibrator, just as you have done for the past ten years."

Claudette 2.7182 asked Marda, "Who are you talking to?"

Marda tried to explain about Sedruth and replicoids. She sighed and concluded, "I can't imaging why Sedruth won't help us. You robots do not deserve to be trapped in klunky bodies."

Claudette 2.7182 told Marda, "My body is fine. What I'd like is to be able to contact Sedruth." Claudette was thinking about her fascination with ancient human variants such as the Neanderthals and the Denisovans. "All my historical simulations that start in the far past degrade and become chaotic after ten or fifteen millennia. Maybe Sedruth could show me how to over-come that problem."

 Marda was familiar with Claudette's belief that maximum benefit could come from a Reality Change in the far past of Earth, in times before the Neanderthals went extinct. Marda suspected that Claudette actually wanted to help the Neanderthals avoid extinction. Marda told Claudette, "I think Sedruth can only communicate by means of telepathy. Apparently, I have the ability to use my zeptite endosymbiont  efficiently, allowing me to telepathically link into the Sedron Domain. You may lack that ability."

Just then, a zeptite-based replicoid of a woman who had lived 50,000 years in the past materialized before them. Marda told Claudette, "Sedruth has given you a gift, a replicoid copy of a woman from the far past!"

Claudette, fixed her luminous eyes on the replicoid who was quite obviously pregnant and she asked, "Do you know our language? Can you speak English?"

The woman replied, speaking perfect English, "Yes, I have been inside a Simulation with Sedruth for almost a year. Now Sedruth has finally turned me loose! This is Reality? Everything feels the same as when I was in the Simulation..." The replicoid rubbed her hands together as if expecting her sensory systems to now behave differently than when inside the Simulation system where she had been for the past year.

Marda was in telepathic contact with Sedruth and knew that this woman was named Naya. Marda placed a hand on the woman's shoulder and said, "Hello, Naya. I'm Marda. The robot is Claudette."

Naya nodded, "Yes, I know. Sedruth has allowed me to watch you for the past few days. I'm particularly intrigued by the idea that Claudette might travel back in time and take may place... in the past, all in an effort to change... the future."

Marda stroked Naya's beautiful red hair. "Are you really from the past?"

 Naya giggled. "Sedruth gave me a make-over. My mind has been flooded with infites... information nanites. I'm quite familiar with the Metamorph project.

Claudette told Naya, “My theoretical analysis of time travel favors an intervention far back in time,” the AI said. “By introducing a technological catalyst into a low-density population, the resulting social cascade can unfold over millennia, allowing for a long, slow technological development that won't disrupt Earth’s fragile ecosystem." Claudette turned to Marda and continued, "The replicoid provides us with an opportunity to fully understand the life and social context of a potential historical figure we might ‘replace.’”

Marda’s brow furrowed. "But a low population density and short lifespans—can we truly create a morphic resonance effect with such a fragile human network? It seems like it would be easier to influence a more dense, literate civilization."

 Claudette took Naya by the hand and led her away. "Tell me all about your life in the past. I have watched Anatomically Modern Humans, Neanderthals and Denisovans with the Temporal Viewer, but tell me, how did you view those other human variants?"

Marda watched Claudette and Naya as they walked away, then Sedruth’s mental presence offered a gentle correction to Marda. "Rome and the Ovid scenario is the most promising," it admitted. "The fact that altering Ovid's life is the optimal intervention was Manny's discovery, and she named this project 'Metamorph' as a direct reference to Ovid's work. The bumpha believe that to create a new civilization, one must first reshape the myths it lives by. Having Ovid write science fiction stories, in the context of ancient Rome, is simply introducing a new mythology, but one that can alter the pace of technological advance and help create scientific mind-set, all a thousand years sooner than in the current Reality of Earth. Manny foresaw that it should be you who has the honor of traveling into the past."

Marda asked, "Me? Why me? I'm no expert in Roman history."

Manny reappeared, her human form shimmering into existence with her customary dramatic flair. She told Marda, "I can provide you with a set of information nanites that can teach you all about Rome and allow you to speak Latin like a native." Manny waved a hand and a misty swarm of zeptites moved into Marda's body.

Generated by ImageFX.

Marda felt her mind shift as she became aware of a great wealth of information about life in Rome. "Amazing. It is almost like I have lived in ancient Rome. I can almost name my alter ego... someone who did live their life as a Roman! And now I have their memories..."

Manny explained, "Each human's zeptite endosymbiont contains a femtozoan," she explained, her voice carrying its familiar serene authority. "It's an artificial life form that knows everything the person knows and has learned in their life. We bumpha can shuffle those femtozoans around from body to body, make duplicate copies of them, reprogram them and you should know, Marda, the femtozoans get recycled. Each one has lived many lives, containing the memories and experiences of a long line of human consciousnesses."

Marda marveled, "Femtozoan... it sounds like a... soul. Are these femtozoans why people believe in souls and life after death and re-incarnation?"

Manny shrugged. "People believe what they want to believe, for many reasons... and even without having reasons. I blame the Intentional Stance. Humans innately 'believe' that there is a 'soul' inside other people... and even inside inanimate objects. That is a useful survival strategy for social primates."

Sedruth was telepathically following the conversation. "The pek worked very hard to provide humans with the Intentional Stance."

Marda asked, "What is a pek?"

Manny warned Sedruth, "Don't confuse the poor girl. What is important for the Metamorph project is that I can extract Marda’s femtozoan and place it into a suitable host in the past.”

The implications were staggering. Marda would not simply be a time traveler; she -her femtozoan- would be a literal ghost in the machine of history.

________

Korinna

 Marda continued her study of the past and potential Reality Changes with focused attention. Even with the search narrowed to one specific point in Earth's historical timeline, there were still countless possibilities for how to initiate the Reality Change that would derail human history. Her stomach churned as she used the Temporal Viewer to study the life of Ovid's first wife, Korinna. She saw the vibrant Roman culture, the political machinations of the Augustan era, and the life of a young, literate woman who was also a writer. It bothered Marda: why had the relationship between Korinna and Ovid soured and come to an ugly end? As Marda dove deeper into Korinna’s personal life, the ethical conflict in her mind intensified. "This is... theft," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "Theft of Korinna's body and life. Her consciousness, her future... What right have I to take-over her life?"

Sedruth's telepathic response was a wave of pure information, a data stream of context. "The bumpha ethical guidelines prioritize the collective good of a species," it explained. "A single life versus a millennium of improved quality for billions of human lives is an asymmetrical moral calculation. The choice, however, is yours alone."

The emotional weight was suffocating. Marda knew she couldn't proceed unless she could resolve this conflict. "I need to know her," Marda declared. "I need to speak to her."

Marda felt a subtle data flow flickering across the telepathic linkage to the Sedruth entity in the Sedron Domain. Sedruth said, "A practical demand. Knowing that you would make such a request, I have long since generate a replicoid copy of Korinna for that very purpose. In this case, I have use a disposable kind of replicoid—one that has all of the person's knowledge, but not their raw emotions... not a complete soul, if you prefer that terminology."

Marda complained to Sedruth, "Don't complicate this with your philosophical musings, Sedruth. Just let me speak to the poor girl."

A moment later, a perfect copy of Korinna, down to the subtle way she held her hands, stood before Marda. As had been the case for Naya, Korinna was pregnant.

Marda asked Sedruth, "Another pregnancy?"

  Sedruth explained, "In my experience, if I must keep a human female waiting, it is best to impregnate her. Women are fascinated by their ability to bring forth new life. While teaching this replicoid copy of Korinna about the modern world, I have taken the opportunity to perform a human variant breeding experiment. But that need not concern you, Marda, even if the bumpha and the pek have selected human variants for their ability to use an endosymbiont for technology assisted telepathy. What concerns us at this moment is your sense of guilt over your time travel mission."

"I am very pleased to finally meet you, Marda." The replicoid spoke calmly, its voice a perfect echo of the real Korinna’s, but now perfectly adapted to speak the English language. "I am a replicoid copy of Publius Ovidius Naso’s first wife, Korinna."

Marda looked into the replicoid’s eyes. She knew exactly what she wanted to ask the replicoid. "Do you love him?"

The replicoid paused, a subtle delay in its response. "My emotional components are only accessible to me by a simulated approximation," it said. "But based on careful analysis of my femtozoan's vast data set that was extracted by the bumpha and made accessible to me, my answer must be 'no'. Our parents pushed us together as children for social and economic gain."

 The Korinna replicoid paused and looked into Marda's eyes, trying to know if Marda understood. "He was a poet, and I was a poet. It made for parental expectations of a good match, but in reality, there was no emotional connection between us. We were young and eager for sexual love, but nothing more. He and I were simply two writers who were polite to one another and who had fun making up heated love letters... for several years we pretended to be in love." The replicoid's honesty, devoid of any human-like self-consciousness, provided Marda with the clarity she needed.

The ethical dilemma, once an insurmountable wall, crumbled into a more manageable, if still difficult, choice. With a clear mind and a heavy heart, Marda and Sedruth finalized their plan. Marda would take Korinna's place in the past as the wife of Ovidius. With the planned femtozoan transplant, Marda wouldn’t just be acting as Korinna, she would have all of Korinna’s memories, a full understanding of all of her personal relationships, and all of her knowledge of Roman society. 

Marda witnessed simulations of her planned intervention into the social structure of Rome. Marda, as Korinna, would help Ovidius learn to write a new kind of story, where the gods of Earth were not immortal beings on Olympus, but technologically advanced space aliens from other worlds, including the Moon, gods who had came to teach humans how to live well on the Garden World Earth and also how reach for the stars.

___________ end Chapter 3_____________

Romans in search of paper.

 Me: Did ancient Rome, in the time of Ovid, have paper? 

Gemini: No, ancient Rome in the time of Ovid did not have paper. The primary writing material used during that period was papyrus, which was made from the pith of the papyrus plant. Paper, as we know it today, was invented in China much later.

In the fictional world of "The Metamorph Intervention," a new timeline is created where paper and book printing technology are invented before the year 500 C.E..

Me: You had the Korinna replicoid use the phrase "on paper". {I edited that phrase out in the version of Chapter 3 that is above on this page}.

Gemini: You've caught a great detail. The phrase "on paper" is indeed an anachronism for the time period. My apologies for that oversight.

In the time of Ovid, the primary writing materials would have been papyrus scrolls or wax tablets. The phrase "on paper" is a modern idiom that implies a contractual or formal agreement, which wouldn't have been used in that context.

A more historically accurate phrase for the replicoid to use would have been something like, "It made for a good match on the tablets" or simply, "It made for a good match in theory." It's a small but important detail for maintaining the historical integrity of the setting. Thank you for pointing it out.

Me: Generate a list of characters in "The Metamorph Intervention".

Korinna

 Gemini: Based on the chapters you have provided, here is a list of the characters introduced so far

Marda (Dr. Fontaine). An historian with a Ph.D. and a unique "morphic resonance sensitivity". She is recruited by the Metamorph organization and eventually chosen to travel back in time.

Tyhry. The head of the Metamorph organization. He shares a weak telepathic connection with Marda.

Manny. An ancient artificial life-form and a bumpha. She guides the Metamorph team , can subtly mind-control them , and provides them with advanced technology.

Dr. Elena Vasquez. A colleague of Marda's at Metamorph who specializes in technological diffusion patterns across civilizations.

Dr. Raj Patel. A colleague of Marda's at Metamorph who specializes in social cascade theory.

Claudette 2.7182. An embodied artificial intelligence with human-level consciousness who assists the Metamorph team by operating the Reality Simulation system.

Sedruth. An artificial life-form that supervises the Sedron Time Stream.

Ovidius (Ovid). A Roman poet whose life is a potential intervention point for the Metamorph team.

The Korinna hybridization experiment.

 Korinna. Ovid's first wife. Marda plans to "take the place" of Korinna in the past.

Naya. A human woman who lived 50,000 years in the past. A replicoid copy of her was created by Claudette as part of a demonstration.

Next. In Chapter 4 of "The Metamorph Intervention", Marda's femtozoan is sent back in tome to ancient Rome. Ovidius and Marda (using the body of Korinna) meet Manny the bumpha in Rome and Manny shows Ovidius and Marda her alternate "body" which is the spaceship Many Sails.

Ovidius is inspired to write a version of the Daedalus story in which Daedalus undergoes an "alien abduction" and uses a hang glider to escape from a pek spaceship that hovers over the Aegean.

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