Investigative Science Fiction

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I like to think of the Exode Trilogy as Investigative Science Fiction. Sadly, the phrase "Investigative Science Fiction" only gets a few hits in a web search, although I've seen a web page where The X-Files is described as Investigative Science Fiction.

The The X-Files was also self-referentially (script) placed in the genre of “non-fiction science-fiction”. I love the idea of a true story being so strange that everyone in the world will reject it as truth and instead assume it is science fiction.

Gohrlay the Neanderthal

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Even before the Exode Trilogy existed, Gohrlay was the first Exode sleuth. Gohrlay was born on the Moon, but her investigation took her to Earth.

Gohrlay's very existence was part of an alien conspiracy. The orbho commander of Observer Base on the Moon had noticed some odd and mysterious behavior among the humans of Earth. In particular, the Neanderthals showed an impressive tendency to live in harmony with their environment, a behavior pattern that had never previously been found among the other tool-using primate variants cultured by the pek on worlds of the Galactic Core.

After growing enamored of the Neanderthals, the orbho then had to watch in dismay when a typically-aggressive human variant (yes, I'm talking about US) arose on Earth and systematically exterminated the more peaceful Neanderthals.

Depiction of a Neanderthal woman.

Long before Gohrlay's time, the Neanderthals would have become extinct had the orbho not created an artificial refuge for them in central Asia. However, the dwindling population of Neanderthals could not be maintained on Earth without violating the Rules of Intervention. Orbho Anagro wanted to find an excuse for establishing a colony of Neanderthals in the Galactic Core.

At the same time, a few Neanderthals were still serving as Observers at Observer Base, although they had almost completely been replaced by the more aggressive subtype of humans who had, by that time, swept across Africa, Asia and Australia. Some of those more aggressive tool-using humans had been freed of their "Brake Nanites" and allowed to develop a technologically-advanced culture at Moon Base. Taking advantage of the relatively low level of empathy among the Lunar scientists, Anagro decided to allow them to target one of the Neanderthals from Observer Base for "destructive brain scanning", then, with a bit of high-tech trickery, that "sacrificial" Neanderthal would then be slipped out of Moon Base and serve as Anagro's "ambassador" to Rain World.

Neanderthal child

Development of electronics and robots was forbidden to all clients of the orbho such as the humans at Moon Base. When the scientists on the Moon started to develop positronics, Orbho Anagro was impressed by their ingenuity and so they were allowed to begin work on positronic robots. Technically, this was against the spirit of the standard practices of the orbho that restricted the technological advances allowed to Observers.

Gohrlay grew up as the designated test subject for Orbho Anagro's little science experiment. Nothing about her life was left to chance. Anagro's plans for Gohrlay piggybacked on the work of some humans who wanted to convert the pattern of neural networks in a human brain into positronic circuits. Within the small community of human scientists who had been allowed flourish on the Moon, a technology for "destructive brain scanning" had been developed, but their scanning method was lethal.

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Anagro created an elaborate plan that would trick the humans into thinking that Gohrlay was a criminal. The human scientists would then be led to believe that they had killed Gohrlay by destructive brain scanning, but in reality Orbho Anagro used advanced alien technology to non-destructively record Gohrlay's brain pattern. As a condemned and dangerous criminal, Anagro would have the right to remove Gohrlay from the Solar System and send her to the Galactic Core.

At the same time, the science of positronics and the development of positronic robots would be advanced.

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Gohrlay's "crime" was that she illegally went from the Moon to Earth, a violation of the Rules of Observation. Of course, Orbho Anagro had to trick Gohrlay into committing this crime. Her entire life was designed and shaped to make sure that she would break the law and volunteer to undergo destructive brain scanning.

When Gohrlay sneaks to Earth as a stowaway on board a spacecraft, she wants to investigate evidence suggesting that the genes of the Neanderthals on Earth have been illegally tampered with. Of course, the tampering had been done by Orbho Anagro. Poor Gohrlay is punished for his crime.

Later, when Gohrlay's brain pattern is instantiated in positronic circuits, the resulting positronic robot, who is known as R. Gohrlay, discovers that her positronic brain endows her with telepathic powers. "She" can look into Orbho Anagro's mind and see how he tricked Gohrlay into becoming a criminal. R. Gohrlay's revenge is swift and thorough: she takes control of Observer Base and drives all of the aliens out of the Solar System.

Investigator Asimov

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Later in Foundations of Eternity, Isaac Asimov appears as a character. In a previous Reality, Asimov was an investigative science reporter. While trying to obtain information about secret government projects, he ends up investigating a spaceship crash site. During that investigation, a damaged positronic robot desperately transfers its memories into Asimov's brain (see).

The origins of Asimov's Universe
Stranded on Earth after Gohrlay's revolution, a handful of Observers, free of "Brake Nanites" and now able to spread their genes on Earth, produced descendants that triggered the developed of technological civilization on Earth.

Mean while, trapped at Moon Base, Gohrlay's tribe of positronic robots discovered that the same "trick" of physics that allowed for positronic brains to have telepathic powers also makes time travel possible.

Exode

A galaxy of primates.

My original idea for Exode was that Hana would be the central character of the story. She was intended to depart from Earth and explore Genesaunt civilization. Hana's journey between the stars became linked to another character, Kach. Within Exode, Kach was intended to be the prototypical Kac'hin, a human variant that had been designed to play a special role in ending the Time War.

Along with Hana, Kach and Parthney go of to the Andromeda galaxy as "investigators", seeking to make contact with the Creators. From the perspective of readers, the question is: who was the Creator of the human species? As a Kac'hin, Kach has a different goal, although it is even less practical.

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In a very real sense, humans were created by the Nereids. However, the Nereids no longer exist. You could say that Kach wants to dig deeper, since she would really like to meet the Huaoshy, but the Huaoshy exist only within the Sedronic Domain.

During her search for the Creators, Kach does not know it, but all her efforts are actually bringing her closer to contact with Gohrlay who was ultimately the one who is responsible for forcing the pek to create the Kac'hin.

Trysta and Ekcolir

Lili's family tree.

Between the "ancient history" that is told in Foundations of Eternity and the contemporary events of Exode is the third part of the Exode Trilogy. Trysta and Ekcolir tells the story of how a bridge was constructed between the Foundation Reality and the Buld Reality (the world as we know it).

Ivory and her "clone sisters" (including Anney) make it possible for we Earthlings to become aware of the secret history of Humanity. Since many of the key events that have shaped human history actually took place in the Galactic Core, it is important for telling the Exode Trilogy that there be a kind of "Rosetta Stone" for providing clues to we Earthlings about the Galactic Core. Resh^Ki plays that role.

Voyage 2

Immortal: Helen of Troy (Crosby)

Clues obtained from Resh^Ki send Kach and Parthney off on their second voyage among the stars, their new destination being the worlds of the Galactic Core where they hope to find Gohrlay and discover her reasons for leaving Earth under the watchful eyes of the typ'At.

Kolchak: The Night Stalker

morgue attendant Gordy "The Ghoul"
(John Fiedler) and Kolchak (McGavin)

One of the major sources of inspiration for The X-Files was Kolchak: The Night Stalker. For me, fantasy and horror-laden television shows like Night Stalker are unwatchable. Darren McGavin (and others such as John Fiedler) brought the same fourth wall-penetrating aura of off-key humor and disdain to Night Stalker as David Duchovny later did in The X-Files.

Epilog: "What fourth wall?"

20th century Helen

However, in one episode of Night Stalker,  "The Youth Killer", Cathy Lee Crosby played the role of an immortal woman who somehow lived off of the "life energy" of young people. This story was "crafted" as fantasy and horror and, since it had to be wrapped up in a neat bundle by the end of the hour, poor Cathy "pissed off the gods" and got herself stoned.

The same basic plot of "The Youth Killer" was also used for the Star Trek episode "Requiem for Methuselah". That Star Trek episode did a fairly good job of adapting the "immortal Earthman" plot to the science fiction genre.

Of course, The X-Files also had to explore immortality (example: "Tithonus"). Long-lived aliens and artificial lifeforms are also an important part of the Exode Trilogy.

Improbable

Mr. Burt, the writer, Annabeth, 3, 6, 9.....

For the 9th season of The X-Files, Chris Carter wrote an episode called "Improbable". What if "the gods" were always watching us and taking special interest in "miracles" like an occasional human gaining "immortality" (oh, damn, that was a mighty temporary form of immortality!) or random acts of "evil", eh, Wayn-o? That would be enough to get most people questioning their own free will.

Parthney

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The more Parthney learns about the pek, telepathy, the Kac'hin, the Bimanoid Interface and (well, etc. etc.) the more he questions his own free will. After all, he plays out his mission to Earth according to script; his actions having been foreseen. "The Editor" inherits Parthney's doubts about free will.

Lendhalen and nicotine saga

If we were created, can we really have free will? With someone like Gohrlay around, can we really have free will?

The Δ-Files
Even further back in time, "The Δ-Files" brought investigative science fiction to television. In one Delta episode, "Hannah", a spiritualist, is consulted by a scientist. The plot of that Delta episode reminds me of The X-Files episode "Improbable" in which FBI agent Reyes consults a numerologist.

"Lincoln's ghost"

Seance in the White House 
I previously described a time travel mission that involve Preland Interventionism during Lincoln's presidency. In the Ekcolir Reality, conditions were somewhat different during the Civil War. Anney has been investigating the events that led up to Lincoln's assassination.

In the Ekcolir Reality, The Delta Files was a popular television show. In one set of episodes (the so-called Nicotiana Saga), Emanuel Swedenborg was able to use the Bimanoid Interface as a source of information. His investigation of the Hierion Domain led to him being teleported off of Earth and duplicated in 1743.

Experiments on children

How did Swedenborg gain access to the Hierion Domain? According to Anney, it was all part of a 500-tear-long plan hatched by the Lendhalen Intervetionists. When Pocahontas arrived in England her death was faked in 1617. She was sent on an expedition to South America by Lewis Stukley, in order to bring back a plant that when used in combination with tobacco was able to allow humans to have access to the Hierion Domain.

In raw form, the botanical combination was only effective for those Native Americans who had certain gene combinations. Research into the chemicals involved eventually culminated in the creation of a synthetic version of the naturally occurring "nicotine helper". The breakthrough was accomplished by William Cullen and William Hunter in Glascow, some time around 1740. One of the early test subjects who used the synthetic drug to gain access to the Hierion Domain was Thomas Wright. It was Wright who "turned Swedenborg onto" the drug in 1743.

The Delta Curtain

Experiments begun by Wright led to several children being given access to the Hierion Domain, including Mary Wollnstonecraft (as told in Exodemic). About a century later, Nikola Tesla became another "nicotine child". He was able to learn (by way of the Hierion Domain) that President Lincoln's assassination was made possible by alien Interventionists.

Hierion Domain and Replicoids
Within the Ekcolir Reality, the people of Earth became aware of the existence of the Hierion Domain during the 1860s. Attempts were made to develop nanotechnology and a new science of hierion physics during the 20th century, but rapid industrial development and fossil fuel use caused the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets to melt, resulting in catastrophic sea level rise.

In the Ekcolir Reality, during the golden age of television science fiction, the entire Lendhalen and nicotine saga was played out in prime time. In the final episode of the saga, the Delta investigative team was sent back in time to prevent Lincoln from being assassinated.

In that episode of Delta, two different timelines were shown. In one, Lincoln "returned" from the Hierion Domain when his replicoid was able to contact his widowed wife on Earth.

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Nereids Are Us

The Arbiter Tales

I've never read any of the works of L. Warren Douglas. However, I'm intrigued by the idea that he wrote stories about "the seven mutated races of humanity".

Sadly, finding the term "mutant" in the description of a science fiction story is often a sign that some cringe-worthy biological plot device is lurking nearby and will soon be used to introduce a freakish character.

When I was first discovering science fiction novels, one of the first that I read was Orphans of the Sky. In fact, that might have simultaneously been the first of Heinlein's writings that I read and my introduction to mutants in science fiction.

Originally in Astounding, 1941

The cover illustration-worthy mutant of Heinlein's story was the two headed Joe-Jim, a passenger on an ill-fated generation ship. I was only about 12 when I read the story, but I was distracted by the biological implausibility of Heinlein's "muties".

From that point on, I've steered clear of any story about fictional mutants, including the vast array of comic book mutants.

However, given the wide-spread use of mutants in science fiction stories, it was natural for me to make use of the term "mutant" when I needed a quick "cover blurb" to describe Parthney.

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So, for the back cover of Exode, I wrote that Parthney, as a human, was a rare mutant of the Buld. Of course, there is no truth behind the idea that Parthney is a mutated Buld. However, that is a convenient "excuse" that can be used to "account for" Parthney's existence on the planet Hemmal.

On Hemmal, Parthney sticks out like a sore thumb. The majority of the residents of Hemmal are hermaphrodites, either Buld or Preland. Parthney is the only male on Hemmal, and while he grows up believing that he is human, in reality he is a hybrid Asterothrope-Ek'col.

primates of Earth - art by Boris Vallejo

For the Exode Trilogy, I assume that 7,000,000 years ago the pek removed some primates from Earth and subjected them to genetic engineering and artificial selection. Earth remained in its "wild" state as a "Garden World".

Later, Earth was targeted by Interventionists who gradually introduced new gene combinations into the ape population of Earth. The efforts of the Interventionists were constantly monitored and resisted by the Overseers who enforced the Rules of Intervention.

Through the action of the Interventionists and the process of natural selection, eventually the human species evolved on Earth. Once again, the pek took some primates from Earth, transferring some of the early humans to worlds of the Galactic Core. The pek fashioned the Prelands from that early human stock.

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Nanite Braking
The Overseers, devoted to keeping Earth as a Garden World and preventing it from being over-run by humans, flooded the Earth with Brake Nanites. All human brains on Earth develop under the influence of these nanorobotic devices that exist within our brains. Using their control over these nanites, the Overseers prevented the development of a technological civilization on Earth.

However, the pek "managers" of the Overseers (known as the Orbho) became intrigued by the unusual social behavior of humans and allowed the human residents of Observer Base to escape the nanite-imposed restrictions on brain and culture development that were rigidly applied to Earth itself. As told in Foundations of Eternity, the sciences of robotics and positronics were developed by humans on the Moon. In a strange twist of fate, the Orbho brought into existence a telepathic robot known as R. Gohrlay. R. Gohrlay became the leader of a tribe of positronic robots who were bound by the Laws of Robotics. Driven by their need to protect Humanity, these telepathic robots took control of Observer Base and eventually drove the pek out of our galaxy.

The End of Eternity

Time Travel
The same quirk of sedronic physics that gave positronic robots their telepathy also made time travel possible. Using time travel and their telepathic abilities, the positronic robots of Earth were able to hold off the pek and counter their technological advantages in the areas of nanotechnology and space travel technology. However, the Huaoshy eventually realized the basis for positronic telepathy and devised a means to block or "jam" telepathic signals. Later, the Huaoshy also realized that time travel was possible and they constructed their own "Eternity devices".

At the same time, Gohrlay studied the descendants of Earth's primates that had been taken off to the Andromeda galaxy. Gohrlay realized that although her initial reaction had been to distance the humans of Earth from the pek, that might have been a sub-optimal strategy for meeting her need to serve Humanity. Gohrlay began experimenting with her own genetic modifications of the human species.

An Ek'col male and an
Asterothrope female

Gohrlay eventually constructed a new primate species, the Asterothropes. Asterothropes had an interesting mixture of human and "alien" genes and the ability to control the most advanced sedronic nanite technology that the positronic robots had developed. Gohrlay selected and trained one particular Asterothrope female (Trysta) and sent her back in time to fundamentally alter the relationship between the Huaoshy and the humans of Earth.

Eventually, after much effort, the Huaoshy and Gohrlay found a way to put an end to the Time Travel War. That "solution" involved a complex Reality Change and the design and creation of several more primate variants: the Ek'col, the Kac'hin and the Buld. The Ek'col were specifically designed to make possible Ek'col-Asterothrope hybrids. Genetically, Parthney is such a hybrid primate.

Similarly, the Kac'hin were designed to be interfertile with hybrids like Parthney. For example, Parthney and Kach have a son, Boswei. In turn, Boswei is interfertile with Earth humans and he fathers children with Hana including Izhiun.

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Kach and Parthney are sent on a space ship to the Andromeda galaxy. In Parthney's account of that quest, Kach's search for the Creators was depicted as being unsuccessful. However, after they reached Andromeda, Kach was lost to Parthney and the ending of the Andromeda Saga was not included in the collection of infites that I received from Izhuin.

And now, the rest of the story.....
Eventually, Kach found her way to the Solar System and she played a role in First Contact (the arrival of the Buld spaceship at Earth). As far as I can tell, Kach, Anna and Anney all left Earth on the Buld ship together. Like Izhiun, Anna and Anney are primate hybrids: part human and part Preland.

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Anney and her clone sister Angela were the first humans on Earth who were ever allowed to fully escape from the influence of Brake Nanites, allowing their brains to work with their endosymbiotic nanites to allow access to the Sedronic Domain.  Their access to the vast information resources in the Sedronic Domain is what is allowing the secret history of Earth to be revealed to we Earthlings. Apparently Anney spent some time away from Earth, but she later found a way to return to this world.

Previously, I've received hints that there is a "new type of Overseer" on the Moon. Ivory insisted on that in her transmissions from the Moon, but she never explained the motives and mission of the new Overseers.

I've now received an account of what the new Overseers take to be their mission. This new story is told by Anney and includes a description of the goal of Kach's new space journey.

Frontman

See Black Cat 9 and ReBORN

Not long ago, I was asked by Ivory to create a new website about the Dead Widower Society. The members of that secretive group are living on Earth, but due to the fact of their unusual genetics (Earthlings would classify them as human-alien hybrids) they are reluctant to reveal themselves and be exposed to public scrutiny. They are using me as their "frontman".

A big THANK YOU to Miranda Hedman (www.mirish.deviantart.com) for the DeviantArt stock photograph "Black Cat 9 - stock" which I used to make the illustration shown to the left.

I've been given access to a "memoir" that seems to have been written by Anney. I've never met Anney (as far as I know), so the illustration shown above for Searching Earth is rather whimsical.

In Searching Earth, Anney describes her interactions with Kach and what she has learned about the Nereids. I'm not sure if Kach and Anney met physically or if they interacted by way of their shared access to the virtual reality of the Hierion Domain.

Kach

In any case, Anney says that Kach has been able to learn the true nature of the Creators, although she has recently gone off on a new journey into deep space in a second attempt to actually meet them.

Apparently, 7,000,000 years ago the pek took some primates from Earth to other worlds of the Galactic Core. There, by using genetic engineering, artificial selection and a healthy swarm of nanites, a new species of primate was crafted. Anney refers to them as the "Sedronites". The Sedronites had the ability to transcend into the Sedronic Domain.

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According to Kach, the primary function of the pek is to visit worlds like Earth, find promising species and move them into the Sedronic Domain where they can continue to evolve as artificial life forms. As far as the pek were concerned, they had done there job and they had little remaining interest in the primates of Earth.

However, there was a dissident faction of the Sedronites who wanted to continue their existence in the Hadronic Domain. Those Sedronites took it upon themselves to create a "de-evolved" primate variant that we Earthlings refer to as the Nereids. Thus, in some sense the Nereids were aliens, but they were an Earth primate off-shoot group.

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The Nereids took on the task of transferring some of their gene combinations into the primate population of Earth.  Thus, the Nereids became what are known as the Interventionists and their efforts were countered by the pek who enforced the Rules of Intervention.

The Nereids also continued their efforts to de-evolve and they gradually created a new kind of primate that Kach calls the O'typ.

Even more startling is Kach's suggestion that the Fru'wu are also not a true alien species, but rather, they are another descendant lineage of the Sedronites.

The twelve tribes: the Sedronites, Nereids, Fruthwa,
O'typ, Fru'wu, humans, Buld, Prelands, tryp'At,
Ec'kol, Kac'hin, Asterothropes. The Pla are Buld.

The images that I provide are fanciful depiction of the Fruthwa and the Nereids. Apparently we humans have only ever had interactions with their "descendants", the Grendels and the Fru'wu.

Until recently, the Overseers who lived at Observer Base on the Moon were Humans and they were actually the puppets of the Orbho. According to Kach, the current Overseers at Observer Base "on" the Moon (actually located in the Hierion Domain) are members of another primate variant called the tryp'At.

The tryp'At were created from the O'typ by means of transferring human genes from Earthlings into the stem O'typ population. Genetically, the tryp'At are very similar to we Earth humans. However, they have advanced nanite technology and they have taken charge of Observer Base on the Moon. 

art by Boris Vallejo

According to Anney, they intend to enforce the terms of the Trysta-Grean Pact and keep Grendels from returning and further accelerating the pace of technological development on Earth.

I'm still struggling to cross-check this tale of the Sedronites and the tryp'At with other available sources of information. I wonder how Kach was able to learn about the Sedronites and their descendants without actually meeting them. According to Anney, Kach and Parthney recently went off in search of the O'typ or what ever they have now become. They also hope to learn the location of the tryp'At home world.

Related Reading: Origin of the Nereids

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Black Cat 9 - source

Image credits. Of course, I have no idea what the Sedronites looked like. I used two stock images from deviantART to make the cover illustration for The Sedronites (above). I modified Black Cat 9 - stock by Mirish (Miranda Hedman) to make the imaginary Sedronite and I used ReBORN by Ponnavoy Guillaume for the background.

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