Galaxia's Edge

Akkady was the granddaughter of Arkady

Below on this page is a new science fiction story, "The Galaxiad". Set in the Foundation Reality, shortly before Many Sails brings Grean to Earth, the story begins on a distant planet of the galaxy where the political struggle between the Social Unity Party and the Individual Freedom Party is being contested. A new IFP legislator, Ymena Nodeseph, arrives at the Carina Sector Capitol world of Mysyny and she is immediately met by IFP officials who express concern about the safety of Nodeseph's daughter. 

The Senator's daughter, Vyky, is assigned two body guards. By law, one is a member of the IFP (Myquel) and the other is SUP (Lunanna). Like most people at this time, 30,000 years in our future, Vyky has some telepathic abilities and she notices that something is wrong with Lunanna's mind. Eventually, it is revealed that Lunanna is actually a positronic robot (probot), working to help establish Galaxia.

Mind Static device

Myquel is a Galactic Guardian and carries a Mind Static device that is to be used if and when an agent of the Second Foundation tries to take control of Vyky's mind. However, Vyky is skeptical about the 'myth' that some Second Foundationers still exist, a few having survived the purge that took place hundreds of years previously on Terminus. Myquel states that it is only because of the continued efforts of Second Foundationers that the galaxy is being rapidly converted to SUP-majority worlds. Lunanna tells Vyky that Myquel is an IFP fanatic and a poor looser who can't accept that he is on the wrong side of history.

Grean the Kac'hin (image credits)

Eventually Many Sails arrives and reveals that the Mind Static devices carried by Galactic Guardians are obsolete. Many Sails explains that the Mind Static devices carried by the Guardians would have to be re-tuned in order to work on probots (such as Lunanna) who are working as the agents of R. Nyrtia to establish Galaxia. Many Sails makes teleportation duplicates of Vyky, Myquel and Lunanna and takes them back to the Kac'hin staging base in the Andromeda galaxy.

⎯ The Galaxiad ؄

Part 1. Welcome to Mysyny

 

Vyky was reading the last letter from Nerte for what may have been the 1000th time:

 

Sweet Vy-

 

By the time this letter reaches you, I will be on my way to Trantor. After discussing the Palver document with dad, he told me that my uncle Styrik researched the old Empire during a two year stay on Trantor. Neither of us can imagine why Arkady failed to include the name Preem Palver in her book about Bayta. Was she trying to protect him from tourists? I'm going to go in search of the Palver family on Trantor. My uncle told me that I should be sure to find and view an iridium plaque near the place in Streeling University where Ebling Mis died, commemorating Bayta Crast.

I agree with your original analysis of the Palver document. Arkady was suggesting a link between Palver the trader and others who we know visited Trantor including Mis and the Mule. However, all that fascinating conjecture was never published. Why? I hope to find out! Noxid is dismal without you here and I need a change. As much as I dread the great shave and the long journey, I depart in the morning. For now, send your letters to me, care of the Carina Sector Embassy in Trantor. Too bad we can't compromise our ideals and use the Galaxia network.

                                                                 With Love,

                                                                    Nerte

Neither Vyky or Nerte's family had heard from him after his first arrival on Trantor, three years previously. Then almost a year after his disappearance, a notice of death had reached Nerte's family from the Carina Sector Embassy on Trantor, stating that Nerte died in a gravshaft accident. Somehow, among the ruins of the university's literature department, an ancient gravshaft had hurled Nerte head first into the rubble of a debris-blocked shaft. 

The flow of Vyky's sad thoughts was shifted by the arrival of her mother in the teleportation chamber. After a last glance at the heap of their luggage, the two women joined the line leading to the closest teleportation pad. Soon they were teleported from the orbiting spaceship to the surface of Mysyny.

 

Senator Ymena Nodeseph and her daughter, Vyky, arrived on the world of Mysyny and quickly stepped off of the busy teleportation pad. Ymena and Vyky were linked telepathically by means of the small devices that they wore under their stylish hats. Both women from the planet Noxtid wore gloves that covered much of their hands, but not the ends of their fingers. Glancing up at the tall buildings nearby, Vyky told her mother: sadly, this all looks very similar to Terminus.

Ymena and Vyky had grown up in a rural community on Noxtid and they had little tolerance for big bustling cities. Ymena said in return: I need only suffer this hive and its swarms for six years... Oh, look! Over there... I see Senator Pechuff!

a poster of the Individual Freedom Party

They were in the shadow of one of the looming towers of the Carina Legislative district. Graceful drapes of transparent platgren had been artfully placed between the towers, creating a vast area of covered plazas. A delegation of IFP officials was waiting a short distance away, on the edge of their transport ring. Ymena moved on long strides to the railing and reached across while saying, "Good to see you, Daysyn!"

Daysyn Pechuff warmly shook Ymena's hand. "Welcome! We should go directly to the Senatorium and get you linked in. The session opening ceremony is in just three hours. It will be brief, but you don't want to miss it. Sometimes there is an attempt to call an emergency vote during such sessions."

While Senator Pechuff spoke to Ymena, Vyky held her mother's other hand, helping her to step over the railing. Vyky then easily stepped over it herself, raising first one long leg and then the other. Ymena told Daysyn and the rest of the delegation, "This is my daughter, Vyky."

With great dismay, Daysyn said, "Your daughter?" He briefly shook Vyky's hand and glanced up and down along the full length of her long lean body. Dayson was appalled by the bright pink suit she was wearing. "I was not told that you were bringing any family members to Mysyny." Turning his attention back to Ymena, Dayson continued, "You indicated that your husband refuses to leave Noxtid."

Ymena explained, "Vyky recently completed her studies on Terminus and upon arriving home she decided to accompany me here."

Daysyn gestured across the expanse of the transport plaza and said, "Let's proceed to the Senatorium." He turned to one of the other IFP officials and said, "Contact Security, have them arrange for Vyky's escort. I want a Guardian at the Office of Records within ten minutes!"

Vyky told Senator Pechuff, "I just survived four years on Terminus. I can get around without an escort."

Daysyn said, "Terminus is a solid Socialist planet... conditions are very different here on Mysyny where the population is evenly split. There have been recent cases of politically-motivated kidnappings and I'm not going to take chances with your safety."

Ymena complained, "Nobody even knows that Vyky is here! I assure you, she will quietly blend in and lose herself in a big city. She'll vacation here for a few weeks and then return to Noxtid."

They went up the broad steps at the front of the Senatorium and into the East Rotunda. Giant globes of all the major Sector worlds hung above their heads. Daysyn gestured towards the far side of the Rotunda where the Office of Records was located. "Ymena, as a Sector Senator your life is no longer entirely your own. The Party can not afford to demonstrate any weakness." He glanced again at Vyky. "Who knows, your daughter might follow in your foot steps and one day become an important member of IFP herself... but not if we now foolishly leave her open to SUP malevolence."

Vyky patiently explained to Daysyn, "I'm a writer, not a politician, so don't imagine that I have political ambitions."

Senator Pechuff, Senator Nodeseph and Vyky entered the Office of Records. The rest of the welcoming delegation returned to their regular duties. Daysyn approached a comdesk under a sign that said REGISTRATION and PERSONNEL.

A clerk looked up from his work at the desk and said, "Good afternoon, Senator Pechuff."

Daysyn told the clerk, "This is Senator Nodeseph. She needs her wearable telepaq."

The clerk opened a drawer of the desk and pulled out a box with "Y.N." printed on the top. Inside the box was the telepaq that had been prepared for Senator Nodeseph. Ymena took off her hat and tilted her head towards the clerk who tried to fit the telepaq to the left side of her head. "Hmm..." The clerk set down the telepaq and then began gingerly patting Yemena's hair. "There is something here..." The clerk suddenly dropped his hands and looked at Daysyn.

Senator Pechuff felt the side of Ymena's scalp and detected a small metallic object nestled in her hair close the the skin and suggested, "You have another prosthetic..."

Ymena nodded. "I was expecting to wear both devices as long as my daughter is here."

Daysyn nodded. "Ah, yes, the Werefe telepaq. I've never seen one before." He had not actually seen Ymena's. "It is quite small, so I think we can make an adjustment..." He told the clerk, "Please make a quick alteration to her Senatorial telepaq so that it can rest on top of this other device."

The clerk said, "The telepaq technician will want to make an appointment and spend at least an hour taking measurements and synthesizing a new-"

Senator Pechuff  impatiently interrupted the clerk. "Make an appointment for that careful fitting to be done tomorrow." Daysyn was in a rush. "Today we don't have time for perfection."

The clerk nodded and asked Ymena to sit in the chair behind the comdesk. He made a few quick measurements of the Werefe telepaq and then took out a set of tools and began modifying the linkages between the modules of the Senatorial telepaq. 

Two others, a man and a woman had just entered the office from the Rotunda. Senator Pechuff approached one of them and asked, "Myquel, are you here to help with our little emergency?"

Myquel wore a severe black jumpsuit that looked almost like a uniform. He saluted Daysyn and replied, "I was in the barracks and off duty. I was apparently the most readily available Guardian when your emergency request arrived."

"Well, I'm glad it was you!" Daysyn gestured towards Vyky. "Here is the emergency... Senator Nodeseph's daughter, Vyky, just arrived on planet. She plans to vacation on Mysyny for a time and then depart. As long as she is here, I want her watched."

"Understood, sir."

Vyky objected, "Well, I don't understand. I can take care of myself. I doubt if Myquel will help at all. If he follows me around it will only attract attention."

Senator Nodeseff now had her hat in her hand with the new telepaq securely held in place by a head band. The new telepaq would link her to the other Senators and, indeed, could also establish communications links to all the other residents of Mysyny who were part of the Galaxia network. Via the Senatorial telepaq, Daysyn told Ymena: Please tell your daughter that she can either sit inside your apartment or she can go out sightseeing, with an escort. It is her choice.

On their own separate circuit, the two women from Noxtid were telepathically and privately linked by means of their Werefe telepaqs. Ymena placed a hand on her daughter's arm and they walked towards the door: Let's meet for dinner after the Senate session. Ymena glanced at Myquel. You will be locked inside my apartment unless you accept this escort.

Vyky shrugged, glanced over her shoulder towards Myquel and then quickly walked out the door: See you for dinner, mom. I'll find out if this dolt can keep up with me!

Vyky walked quickly with long legs thrusting her along on bounding strides in the relatively low gravity of Mysyny. She paused in the center of the Rotunda, looking up at the globe symbolizing her home world of Noxtid. Myquel was there at her side. He said, "I can't seem to connect to your telepaq." He flicked his eyes upwards briefly to follow her gaze then asked, "What channel are you using?"

Vyky looked at him and noticed that the woman who had arrived in the office with Myquel had also followed her. Vyky muttered to Myquel, "I think we are being followed."

Myquel glanced at the woman and gestured towards her. "This is Lunanna, my counterpart in the SUP."

Lunanna stepped close to Vyky and said, "By law, all escort details for family members of legislators must include at least one member of each party."

Vyky tried to scan Lunanna's mind, but she sensed an anomalous pattern of brain activity. Myquel was emitting a more typical electrical brainwave pattern. She told her two escorts, "Maybe you two can entertain each other while have a look around." She took off, almost at a run and soon was skipping down the steps in front of the Senatorium with both and Lunanna and Myquel trying to keep up, following along and trying not to create the appearance that they were chasing after Vyky.

Five minutes later they passed through the East Gate of the Legislative Complex and into the busy surroundings of a city street. The wild dash across the Legislative District by Vyky had only served to convince her that she was not going to easily escape from either Lunanna or Myquel. She looked down the street in one direction then up the street in the other direction. Throngs of pedestrians were going in and out of the Gate and swarms of aircars now filled the sky above. They were no longer shielded from the weather by a platgren dome. Vyky sighed and looked more carefully at Myquel. His eyes seemed to be spiraling around in their sockets as he tried to continually scan their surroundings. Lunanna was gazing in the opposite direction, also scanning the crowd. "I wish I had my coat. It is colder out here than I expected."

"A cold front came through this morning." Myquel suggested, "I'll take you to Senator Nodeseph's apartment. Your luggage has been sent there."

"No, my coat is back on Noxtid." She looked off down the street. "Let's find a shop where I can pick up some warmer clothes."

Lunanna pointed along the boulevard. "There is Rupert's."

Vyky strolled down the street with Myquel close by her right side and Lunanna to her left. She asked, "You two have worked together before?"

Lunanna replied, "Yes, we have." 

Vyky was growing increasingly alarmed by the strange brain activity pattern she was detecting from Lunanna. She asked Myquel, "What's wrong with her... brain damage?"

Myquel laughed, "I don't think so. Being an ardent SUP member does not necessarily imply that someone is stupid or mentally defective."

Vyky insisted, "I've never felt a mind like hers."

"It is you who seem strange to me." Lunanna added, "There are many different gene patterns scattered through the galaxy. For example, you are the first Werefe who I've met."

They were approaching the storefront for Rupert's Emporium. The window displays depicted what Vyky assumed were currently popular clothing styles of Mysyny. "We are a small minority group on Noxtid. I'm surprised you've heard of us."

They passed through an archway and into Rupert's. Lunanna said, "I've been researching your mother ever since I was assigned to escort you."

Myquel gestured to one side of the store. "Fall season apparel is over here."

Surprised to see Myquel walking off towards the back of the store, Vyky began looking at the nearest display rack that held shoes and accessories. Lunanna was right at her elbow, offering a steady steam of advice about warm, water-proof footwear. Vyky placed a hand on Lunanna's back and guided her towards a brightly colored display. "This looks like the style you are wearing. Will it keep me warm?" Even with her hand close to Lunanna, Vyky could not detect any of the electrical emanations from the other woman that normally accompanied human brain activity.

A minute later, Vyky turned a corner near a display rack and there was Myquel holding out towards her a black pantsuit that seemed quite similar in design to what he was wearing. He suggested, "Try this on, Vyky, I think it is your size."

She laughed and asked, "Do you have a weird preference for black clothing?"

He replied, "Black is one of the traditional IFP colors."

Vyky glanced at the brightly decorated Lunanna. "Her clothing is pretty and also functional."

Myquel advised, "You don't want to dress like a Socialist. Your mother might suffer shame."

Vyky asked incredulously, "Do you really dress differently just because you are in different political parties?" Sensing that was exactly the case, she shrugged and took the black pantsuit from Myquel. She marched into a changing room and closed the door behind her. The material of the new suit was soft and rich. Vyky began to take off her top, but then stopped. She had never completely depilated her body. From her breasts to her upper thighs she was still very hairy, like a normal Werefe. She decided to now dress in two layers of clothes.

She slipped the black suit on over the light pajama-like suit she was wearing and looked at the display screen of the videoproj, luxuriating in the warmth provided by the new jumpsuit. Satisfied with Myquel's selection, he stepped out of the dressing room and found that both of her escorts were just outside the dressing room door, in their usual pose of looking in opposite directions, as if they were a well-coordinated team. Vyky walked quickly out of the store and continued down the street, now much more comfortable in the cool autumn air. 

Vyky was enjoying the unique architectural nuances of that Mysyny street and she was also now playing the guessing game of identify passing SUP and IFP members by their clothing. Half the crowd was dressed in subdued browns and grays while the other half wore bright colors. Occasionally pausing to look in storefront windows, Vyky made her way down the street, gradually becoming a bit sad to discover that beyond cosmetic surface design differences, the elements of life on Mysyny all seemed to be pretty much the same here as they had been on Terminus. Galaxia was gradually turning all 25,000,000 human-settled planets of the galaxy into a homogeneous soup with no space for the unusual. Vyky was shaken out of her thoughts when a woman approached and Myquel pushed her away. Vyky asked, "What is going on?"

Lunanna explained, "She claims to be a reporter. She wants to interview you, but she has no appointment."

The woman shouted at Myquel, "Let me speak to her! She won't even acknowledge my comsig."

Vyky calmly faced the woman and asked, "What do you want?"

 

"You are the Senator's daughter? I'd like to hear your political views. What is the-"

 

Vyky asked Myquel, "Is there a place nearby where we could get off the street and sit down?"

 

Lunanna replied, "Let's step into the Vicarage." She pointed across the street.

 

Vyky took the arm of the reporter, began to cross the street and asked, "What is your name?"

 

"Ambra Hetzey." As they were walking across the street towards the Vicarage, Vyky scanned Anbra's mind pattern, which was similar to that of Myquel. Ambra asked, "Your name is Vyky Nodeseph?"

 

"No, I have a different second name than my mother."

 

"You use patronyms on Noxtid?" Ambra seemed amused to find that ancient naming practice still in use.

 

"Only we of the Werefe minority do so."

 

They entered the Vicarage and Vyky quickly discovered that it was the typical sort of social hall that existed on most worlds. They sat at a table with Myquel and Lunanna to either side of Vyky, their eyes carefully scanning and assessing the patrons who sat at nearby tables. Ambra asked Vyky, "Werefe?"

Myquel telepathically activated the table's server controls and a mug of beer was teleported onto the small t-form at the center of the table. He picked up the mug and took a sip of the beer. 

 

Vyky asked him, "Could you get something for me?" She was tempted to tune her telepaq to the local network, but she did not want to create even the remote possibility that someone might hack into her brain. She turned to Ambra and said, "I thought you wanted to talk about politics. We can leave my father out of it... he is not a politician."

 

A goblet of pink liquid appeared on the t-form and Lunanna picked it up, moving it to a spot close to herself on the table.

Ambra nodded, "Yes, I do want to talk to you about politics." Ambra spoke most casually, and Vyky was not at all convinced that Ambra had a serious interest in politics.

A tall glass appeared on the t-form. It held some clear, bubbly drink. Myquel handed the glass to Vyky. She took a sip and said, "Very nice. Thank you." She looked into Myquel's dark eyes which continued their bouncy scanning. She told him, "I could get used to having you around."

 

He smiled at Vyky and took a drink of his beer.

 

The reporter asked Vyky, "What do you think about allowing parents to give their children brain implants at birth?"

Vyky set down her glass and stuck out her tongue. "The most horrid practice to ever be advanced by the Socialists. I understand it has become common practice here on Mysyny."

Terminus

"Yes, since juvenile implants were legalized five years ago that practice has increasing been adopted." Ambra added, "By Socialists."

Vyky asked Ambra, "You would allow brain surgery to be performed on your own baby?"

Ambra replied, "I'm not sure. For me that is a rather abstract question." She shrugged. "I don't expect to become a mother in the near future."

"So, you are a socialist?"

"Simply treat me as a reporter... a kind of news gathering mechanism. My own political views are not relevant to this discussion. However, our readers are interested in your mother and how she will vote on legislation."

"Who are your readers?"

"I report for the Sector Herald."

"Never heard of it."

"Well, we are so far only active on Mysyny, so the name is a bit misleading. But we are a conservative news and education organization."

"You are anti-Socialist?"

"The Sector Harald does not chain itself do a strict editorial stance. We freely criticize elected officials of either party, as appropriate. We want what is best for Mysyny.... for all of the human species, on all the worlds of the galaxy, actually."

"And since the population of Mysyny is divided equally between the two parties, you try to navigate down the middle?" Vyky had quickly emptied her glass. Myquel set another full one in front of her. Now, with some alcohol in her system and inside the cozy confines of the Vicarage Lounge, Vyky was feeling quite warm. She stood up and stripped off her new suit, draped it over the back of her chair and then she sat down again. Back in the changing room, Vyky had neglected to completely seal up her blouse which now sported a dramatically plunging neckline.

more future fashion

Ambra could see some of the fur on Vyky's chest, which upon casual inspection looked the fringe of an undergarment. She asked, "Judging from your accent, you've spent time on Terminus."

Vyky picked up her drink and sipped. "Would you like something to drink, Ambra?"

"Not while I'm supposed to be working, thank you."

"I just spent four years on Terminus, studying ancient languages and literature." Vyky took another sip and reflected on her experiences while visiting the Foundation home planet. She let her voice shift into the distinctive speech pattern of the Four Kingdoms. "I learned how to speak with a Terminus accent and I wrote a thesis on the works of Akkady."

the Four Kingdoms

Akkady was even more famous than her grandmother, Arkady Darell. Akkady had been the first writer to apply the name 'Galaxia' to the growing network of worlds linked by hyperspacial communications. It had been in Akkady's time when people of the galaxy began using brain implants to link into a unified technology-assisted telepathy network. Ambra said, "And now here we are, just two centuries after Akkady and with Galaxia almost a completed reality... except for the efforts of people like your mother who are still trying to prevent the formation of Galaxia."

"My mother would be happy to see the Galaxia network torn down." Vyky looked at Myquel as he took his second mug of beer off of the t-form. "Guardians such as Myquel have been in the struggle far longer than my mother."

 

Next: part 2 of "The Galaxiad"; the secrets of Vyky, Myquel, Lunanna and Ambra.

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Write the Future

keeping an eye on Earth (image source)

Many years ago (see Foundations of Eternity), when I first began imagining how the positronic robots (probots) of Earth would loose control of Eternity, I had no backstory explaining how R. Gohrlay prepared Earth for the goal of creating Galaxia. 

Change

Now that I've completed "Hierion Writers Club" (15,000 words) some of that backstory is now in place. There is still a remaining opportunity to provide details about of how Mary used the Writers Block to support social and technological change on Earth, but the basics have now been provided, at least in outline.

image source

At the start of "Hierion Writers Club", Mary has already had contact with Wendy the positronic robot. During her visits to Earth, Wendy has infected Mary with infites. Those infites have provided Mary with some rudimentary knowledge about both 1) her telepathic abilities and 2) the existence of infites, but as long as Mary remains on Earth, Wendy is reluctant to allow Mary to become consciously aware of her links to the Hierion Domain. 

 

Wendy the probot

Mary also "knows" that Wendy can teleport to and from Earth and Wendy has confessed to being an artificial lifeform, but Mary's infites keep this knowledge just below the level of her conscious awareness. Still, Mary has begun writing stories that incorporate elements of her hidden knowledge. As soon as a copy of Mary is teleported to Nanoville, she is allowed to consciously access her "hidden knowledge" and quickly comes to understand how the positronic robots intend that she send story ideas to Earth using the Bimanoid Interface.

by George Dyson

Samuel Butler 

I included just a glimpse of Samuel Butler in part 2 of "Hierion Writers Club" because I depict Mary's grandmother, Elizabeth (born Elizabeth Dixon), as being involved in the design and construction of Nanoville. R. Nyrtia is using the nanorealm as an experimental environment, exploring how to transform a group of humans into a super-organism with a unified group mind.

 

Samuel wrote "Darwin among the Machines", and it is fun to imagine that he could be brought into Elizabeth's life in order to help her imagine a future in which humans, programmed genetically with the equivalent of the three laws of robotics, might form a group mind. I like to think that Elizaabeth and Samuel worked to build a form of technology-assisted telepathy into the structure of everything in Nanoville.

image source

Charlotte Burke

The character Charlotte Burke in "Hierion Writers Club" is loosely based on Charlotte Turner. I needed Charlotte in my story because of the way Isaac Asimov wrote about Gaia and Blissenobiarella (Bliss, for short) in his Foundation Saga.

 

Here is a typical bit of dialogue from Bliss, a young woman and an integral component of the group mind Gaia: "You must understand, Trevize, that we are not interested in you as a person... you are only important as a conduit to the truth..." As impersonal as Bliss sounds, she takes the elderly archeologist Pelorat as her lover and Asimov enjoyed telling readers just how much the planet Gaia (and its 1,000,000,000 human residents) all enjoyed sharing in the experience of their love making.

Asterothropes, path to Galaxia

Sadly, for "Hierion Writers Club", Charlotte only gets to telepathically share her "bliss" with about a thousand people at a time, but remember, Nanoville is just a test laboratory for exploring techniques that might allow Gaia to be constructed thousands of years in the future.

In my imagination, the main problem facing R. Nyrtia is how to modify the human gene pool so as to bring into existence a galaxy full of telepathic people, and do so without violating the laws of robotics. Perhaps the greatest challenge for the positronic robots is how to avoid altering the essence of what it means to be human while bringing Galaxia into being. The "probots" went down a similar path previously when they created the telepathic Asterothropes. The Asterothropes provided a useful source of gene patterns, but they were not human beings; they were a different species of primate and not covered by the laws of robotics.

the character Pols is loosely based on Mari

Mari Wolf

Mari Wolf is probably most widely known for having used the term "droid" in her 1952 story "Robots of the World! Arise!" (see If, July 1952). For "Hierion Writers Club", I wanted to illustrate how Grean's arrival in Eternity would derail the plans of the probots. It was fun to imagine that in the Foundation Reality, Mari had been used by the probots to help introduce Earthlings to the idea of robots with super-human cognitive abilities. 

 

Next: part 1 of "The Galaxiad"

In the 21st century of the Foundation Reality, an artificial intelligence system provided humans with a form of interstellar spaceship drive (similar to what Asimov depicted in his story "Escape!"). Earthlings had to be prepared for the idea that an artificial lifeform could solve a problem like inventing a working interstellar hyperspace drive, even when humans could not crack the problem. By providing a hyperspace drive, the probots to greatly accelerate the process of spreading humans through the galaxy without actually needing to allow Humanity to develop a highly advanced technological society. 

The Edge of Galaxia

I've now written a new 7,000 word story called "The Galaxiad" about the development of Galaxia, in the time just before Grean arrives on Earth to begin her take-over of Eternity.

 

Related Reading: 2021 "The Alastor Network"

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Visitation Fiction

Applied anti-gravity in the nanorealm.

Here on this page is an origins story for the character Mary who began inserting herself into the Exode Saga back in 2016. At that time, I asked myself the question: what if Mary Godwin had actually written a science fiction story in 1816?

Yes, I'm blaming Mary because for many years I was satisfied to have Isaac Asimov appear in my stories and I had fun imagining how he had invented science fiction as a literary genre. Mary objected and insisted that she be allowed to invent science fiction...

In a previous Reality, Asimov created
the science fiction genre.
 Back cover of my copy of Gold

Previously, I've written about Mary's life in the Ekcolir Reality, but for this new story (called "Hierion Writers Club") I want to go further back in Deep Time and begin with the story of Mary's analogue in the Foundation Reality, at a time before Grean invaded Eternity.

R. Gohrlay and her tribe of positronic robots (probots) needed to prepare Humanity to defend itself against the alien Huaoshy. They recruited Mary to help inform Earthlings about the existence of aliens who had long been visiting Earth.

vision of Nanoville

Mary must adapt to her new life in the nanorealm. Having been taken off of Earth and now existing within the Hierion Domain, Mary's new artificial body is composed of hierions. Her new body is that of a replicoid, composed of nanoscopic femtobot components assembled into a form that duplicates that of a human body.

The original replicoids were made at a small size scale because so many of them were needed. Functioning as information storage and processing modules, the
replicoids of Eternity provided temporal momentum to Earth. Then R. Nyrtia began experimenting with the process by which human minds could be instantiated inside the artificial bodies of a new style replicoid made to live as an independent artificial lifeform. Mary's grandmother, Elizabeth, was one of the first Earthlings brought into Nanoville and instantiated as a replicoid.

  ⎯ Hierion Writers Club ؄

Artificial life in the nanorealm.

Part 1. In 1817. Origins of Telepathy.

Mary was struggling to write a story based on her own experience of knowing the thoughts and intentions of her pets. Nothing was going right. She could not stop thinking about size. She endlessly imagined being a small pet, cared for by a much larger owner. Mary obsessively agonized over the idea of being owned.

Rationally, Mary knew that her fascination with the subject of ownership had grown out her mother's campaigning for the Slave Trade Act, but there was something more driving her to write fantasy stories about the minds of pets. The harder Mary tried to explicitly state the source of her compulsion, the more its nature and source escaped her conscious mind.

 

One of the barn cats was in heat and Mary's pet cat, Alexander, only had one thing on his mind. He sat at the window yowling and wanting to go outside for a visit to the barn. It was a hot summer day and hoping to move some air through the house Mary had opened just a crack the two windows of the house that could be slid open.

 

Other than Alex's incessant complaining, the house was unusually quiet. Mary's mother had gone to visit her doctor and Ralph had gone along. For a moment Mary thought about her father (William) who six years previously had gone off to live with his young lover, Margaret. Mary tried to get her thoughts off of sex and back on her writing. However, she was now preparing dinner and her manuscript and pen sat untouched on the table.

 

There was a distant rumble of thunder. Mary began to worry that Ralph and her mother might get caught in a storm and not make it home. But then she heard the carriage arriving and she went outside to help Ralph tend to the horses. Alex tried to escape, but Mary took pains to spoil his fun and keep him in the house. She sensed his disappointment.

England, 1817.

Later, after dinner, Mary put the kitchen in order and went upstairs to her room. It was raining steadily outside, but the thunder had ceased. She was just settling in beside her lamp-lit manuscript and then her mother came into her room, closed the door behind her and said, "I need to tell you something." She set her candle down on the writing desk.

Mary had been quite pleased during dinner to hear her mother's account of the visit with her doctor. Two interns at the hospital had given her an exhaustive physical exam and turned up no abnormal growths anywhere in her body. Ralph had been satisfied that there was no remaining trace of cancer and had stated at dinner, "I'm not going to question good news even if the doctor called it a medical miracle."

Looking into her mother's serious face, Mary's heart sank, fearing there was some problem so horrifying that her mother had not dared to tell Ralph, who, after all, was still just a boy. Mary could sense that her mother was thinking about her husband. "Did you see Bill today?"

"Yes, I..." Mary senior paused and then continued delicately, "...I met him... and Margaret... in town. They were very pleased to hear the good news. However, I don't want to talk about that since it is a topic that you do not know about." 

 

Mary could sense whenever her mother had recently made love and had experienced a pleasing orgasm. When she had figured out that her father was still one of her mother's lovers, Mary had promised to tell nobody. 

 

endosymbionts

Mary senior continued, "What you need to know is that both William and I have had multiple family members who died from cancers. I don't want to terrorize you, but you need to take precautions... according to doctor Norris, there is a high likelihood that you will develop cancer when you get older."

Mary put her arms around her mother and held on tight for a minute. "Thank you for telling me, mom. You've trained me to check my body for strange growths, but I'm not sure that I could ever face a surgeon." Mary had far too much imagination and the idea of a surgeon cutting away parts of her body was horrifying.

"Who knows what the future will bring?" Mary's mother picked up her candle and moved to the door. "I've seen railroads and steamships transform the country. Imagine what advances will come to medicine during your life." 

 

in the Hierion Domain

"I'll certainly consider all of my options if I ever face cancer. Maybe I will be lucky, like you."

 

Quietly muttering something about luck, Mary's mother slipped through the doorway. She went down to hallway to her own room.

Only 20 years old, Mary liked to think of herself as immortal. She set aside all thoughts of cancer and hospitals and diligently worked on her story for an hour. She kept trapping herself: trying to explain how her protagonist could know things that she had no way of knowing. When she found it hard to focus her eyes, she set down her pen and closed up her inks. She got into bed and thought about the possibility of discovering a physical basis for her sensitivity to the thoughts of animals. The storm was over and even Alexander had quieted down, although he was now demanding that his ears be scratched. 

 

Mary wondered: if risk of developing a disease could be inherited, then why not also sensitivity to the thoughts of others? She thought of the thrill she had felt the first time she had seen a train rushing past on the rails. What would medical science be capable of in the future? While she was drifting into sleep, Mary decided that she could shift her story and its protagonist into a future time, after it had been discovered that some people had a special part of their brain that allowed for sensitivity to the thoughts of other people... and animals.

When Mary awoke, she knew that something had changed. The air felt and smelled different. She felt different. There was a strange ruddy glow all around her and a stranger's voice said, "Hello, Mary. Welcome to the Hierion Domain."

Bimanoid Interface

Startled by the unfamiliar voice, which sounded tinged with something like a French Caribbean accent, Mary sat up quickly and turned her head towards the voice. She could see the outline of a human form in the dim light, standing near her bed. Imagining that she was still in her bedroom, she asked, "Who are you?" Yet, somehow, Mary already knew that she was speaking to Wendy the probot.

"You could call me Fengtol, but I rather like the name Wendy. Wendy is a name that I picked up only recently, during a mission on Earth." In Wendy's vast experience of dealing with Earthlings, she knew most of them struggled to pronounce her original name, which rendered in English was Phengh'toule and usually shortened to Fengtol for convenience. Through the years, Wendy had visited Mary several times on Earth and she had always mangled Wendy's Neanderthal name. Of course, while living on Earth, Mary had not been allowed to retain access to her memories of those visits.

Now, with nanites lifting the blocks on her memories, Mary was beginning to remember her previous meetings with Wendy. "I like many names, but I'm stuck with Mary."

"Yes, named after your mother." When told by a doctor that Mary's mother would die, William had decided to give the daughter of his dying wife her name: Mary. Then Mary senior had recovered and they were stuck with two Mary's in the house. "And like her, you developed cancer."

"What are you talking about?" Mary was fascinated by Wendy's clothing which seemed to glow of its own light and was alive and always moving.

 

"Gohrlay brought you here to cure your cancer and then she decided that it was safe to keep a copy of you." Wendy added, "I'm going to start brightening the room lights."

hierions

Mary was fascinated by the feel of her surroundings. The sheets of her bed somehow felt different... lighter and almost creamy. She wondered: am I dreaming? No dream was so detailed and realistic. "Who is Gohrlay? A doctor?" Mary watched the room grow brighter. She was in her familiar bed, but everything else around her was strange and different. "Hierion Domain?" Clearly she was no longer in her bedroom. Horrible thoughts of hospitals filled her mind. Have I been sick?

Wendy warned, "Don't get excited. You are perfectly fine... safe. The biological copy of you was returned to Earth, minus the tumor in her brain. However, you are now like me, an artificial lifeform. A copy of your original self."

Mary could remember having met Wendy previously. Those were almost dream-like memories of Wendy briefly visiting her to discuss telepathy and warn her that she would never be allowed to discuss her telepathic abilities with anyone else on Earth. 

 

Mary got out of bed and took a few awkward steps. It felt like she was walking through water. She looked at some of the strange machines in the room and was amazed by their fine workmanship. She returned towards Wendy, walking rather unsteadily and touched her own face which felt hot and moist. Wendy seemed like a perfectly normal girl, except for her unusually large eyes and her living clothing that crawled seductively over the curves of her body. "Artificial?"

"Before you ask too many..." Wendy handed Mary a small vial. "Gohrlay prepared this for you. It will provide answers to many of your questions."

Mary looked at the vial which felt cold and hard between her fingers. She watched in fascination as it vented a sparkling cloud of gas. The sparkles quickly slipped inside Mary's head and she began to notice that she had answers... suddenly she knew that the Hierion Domain was an alternative space-time region that existed beyond Earth. Gohrlay was an important probot, who made use of helpers like Wendy to change and improve human civilization on Earth. Gohrlay and Wendy were machines, like a steam engine, but vastly more complex and designed to replicate the form of the human body. "I'm no longer human?"

"You are no longer a biological organism." Wendy explained, "Your mind has been placed inside a synthetic body. You will slowly adjust to your new body and your cancer-causing genes will no longer bother you. In fact, here, in this realm, those genes will be fully expressed and allow you to make use of your cognitive abilities in new ways."

Mary stared intently at Wendy's face. The lights were now at a reasonable intensity and Mary could see every detail of the girl's skin and hair. Wendy seemed perfect. For a minute Mary searched unsuccessfully for some flaw in the probot's appearance. She asked, "Grean expects me to help..."

memory editing by infites

"You must help Mary... on Earth. You will guide her story writing." Wendy took the infite vial from Mary's limp fingers. "We need to select a new name for you. I suggest Yra." She said it like "Yira".

Mary knew that she would never return to Earth. Watching Wendy take away the vial, she said wonderingly, "So... this is how you can know things... without learning them..."

Wendy shrugged. "It is easy for us to use infites to slip new knowledge into people. We can precisely control human behavior with a combination of infites and our telepathic powers, but there are limits. Taking complete control of a human brain for too long can cause damage. To avoid such damage, you will gently guide Mary, provide her with ideas for her stories..."

The Bimanoid Interface

Mary knew that Wendy was a telepath and was at that moment inside her mind, watching her inner thoughts. "Me? I'm no telepath... not like you. I can only sense the emotions of other people... and animals."

Wendy explained, "You won't be restricted to using only your natural telepathy. You are correct; only we probots can fully utilize twitino-mediated telepathy. But you will be able to use technology-assisted telepathy to put ideas into Mary's head."

In her new infite-generated memories, there was a name for that technology. Mary/Yra whispered, "Bimanoid Interface."

"Yes. You are one of the rare Earthlings who can actively use the Interface. The same genes that made you prone to cancer allowed your brain cells to adapt successfully to your endosymbiont. Now you can help prepare the people of Earth for alien contact." Wendy handed a book to Yra.

In the Foundation Reality.

The book was like no book Yira had ever seen. She could well imagine that it was from the future, made using a manufacturing process that was, as yet, unknown on Earth. Yira asked, "Is that you? On Earth?"

Wendy nodded. "Yes, that is an artist's depiction, based on Mary's description of me. As soon as you have had a chance to prepare Mary for my arrival, I'll go and visit her again. This time, I'll allow her to remember me." Wendy added, "Mary must begin writing stories about artificial lifeforms."

"Probs?"

"That is the term she uses in her visitation account. Rather than use the term 'probot', Mary calls me a 'Prob'."

 

Observer Base

Yra was skimming through the pages of The Prob Visitation. Wendy was monitoring Yra's thought processes and although the Observer Base orientation infites were hard at work, Yra was reaching the point of being cognitively overwhelmed by her sudden shift from Earth to the Hierion Domain. In particular, Yra was dismayed that she would never again see her mother.

 

Wendy said, "You'll have a chance to read Mary's book and all her writings, but right now I want to take you out on the town for some relaxation and a chance to meet some of the locals. You'll be pleased to learn that a replicoid copy of your grandmother is here in Nanoville." 

 

Wendy quickly showed Yra how to use her clothing nanites, then she disposed of her Earthly clothing and the copy of Mary's bed that had been teleported into the workshop from Earth.

 

2. Nanoville.

In the nanorealm.

Nanoville was in a continual state of redesign and construction. Mary's grandmother was one of the residents who was involved in the design work. Watching Mary's inner turmoil grow as she learned more and more about the Hierion Domain, Wendy knew it would be useful to allow Mary the chance to meet her grandmother.

 

Wendy led Mary out of the workshop and to an aircar that was parked nearby. Soon they were flying towards the School of Design. Mary looked back at the workshop, but only the aircar landing platform distinguished its location from the surrounding... terrain? Certainly that word was not appropriate for the nanorealm.

Mary was dismayed by the odd appearance of the nanorealm which was composed of large structures seemingly floating in midair. She asked Wendy, "Where exactly are we?"

The orientation infites were actively providing Mary with an understanding of the basics of physics, but Wendy was trying to not overload Wendy with too many strange concepts. "Your artificial body is composed of hierions, not the type of matter that is found in human bodies. All that you see around you is made from hierions. We are inside the Hierion Domain... a kind of parallel world..."

Mary tried to enjoy the strange scenery of the Nanorealm while her mind processed and sifted through her infites, making sense of what Wendy had told her. By the time they had flown across Nanoville, Mary had a good understanding of where she was. She was struggling to accommodate herself to living her future life in a place that was so different from Earth.

 

Wendy was following along in Mary's thoughts. "Your grandmother, Elizabeth, is helping to create Nanoville."

 

Mary asked, "Why does everything look so strange." In the far distance, the "sky" seemed to fade into a misty dull green. "I find this all quite unsettling!"

 

"The on-going creation of Nanoville is a complex process, with continual discovery of what works and what is problematical. Gohrlay wants a stable human society in which not only do the residents have telepathic powers, but the entire environment merges with the people telepathically to become a kind of group mind." Now Wendy regretted saying anything about the ultimate purpose of Nanoville. Mary was reacting with dismay to the idea of a vast group mind. Wendy quickly sent memory editing infites into Mary and erased the past minute of her experiences.

 

Mary was almost hypnotized by the weird passing shapes that constituted the structure of Nanoville. She began to think about her earliest memories of her mother and grandmother. Mary told Wendy, "I just barely remember grandma. She died when I was five."

"We took pains to keep her alive that long, so you could know her." Wendy gestured ahead towards their destination. "A copy of Elizabeth has been living here for 35 years."

Mary looked around at the artificial "sky" and asked, "Does time pass normally here in this Domain?"

"Yes, time universally permeates all three Domains of the universe."

"Three?" The air car shook as they passed through a local environmental border. Now the "sky" looked like the normal sky of Earth.

Wendy hesitated, but then briefly explained, "In addition to the Hadronic Domain and the Hierion Domain there is also a Sedron Domain."

Mention of sedrons started another cascade of information flowing from Mary's stored infites into her mind. The aircar landed beside a strange looking building. This building had unusual architecture by Earth standards, but it was also the most Earthly object that Mary had so far seen in Nanoville. 

 

Wendy commented, "There is no weather here, so the homes tend to be open and airy." She waved to a figure that could be seen inside the house. "There's Elizabeth. I've warned her to be expecting you."

For a moment, Mary had glimpsed a young woman gazing out at them from a second floor room. "That girl is my grandmother?"

"Remember, Yra, you now have an artificial body. You can retain your current appearance indefinitely or even modify it and improve it. Most people enjoy having a youthful appearance."

Wendy led the way inside Elizabeth's home. The furnishings were unlike any of Mary's experience. Elizabeth came floating down from the second floor. Mary exclaimed, "You fly?"

Elizabeth giggled and put her arms around Mary. They hugged briefly and then she explained, "I've been experimenting with anti-gravity. About ten years ago, Nyrtia gave us access to negative mass hierions... that has changed our entire design strategy."

 

designing Nanoville

Wendy introduced Mary as "Yra".

 

Elizabeth complained. "What an ugly name!"

 

Mary shrugged, "I don't mind being called Yira."

 

Elizabeth was philosophical. "I suppose it will prevent confusion. If you truly don't mind then I will try to remember to call you Yira." She scowled at Wendy and told Mary, "Back when I came here, we did not have to change our names."

Mary reached out and touched Elizabeth's face. "You are so young and pretty, grandma."

"Yes, please excuse my vanity. Sometimes when I think how old I really am, I feel silly pretending to be young. But nobody ages here... it is fashionable to appear to be young and sexy."

Mary asked, "Is grandpa here with you?"

"No, a copy of him was never brought here from Earth."

"I thought I saw someone with you, upstairs."

"Yes, that is my current lover, Sam. If you accept my offer that you live here with me then you two will meet and get to know each-other." Elizabeth took Mary outside and they sat next to the pool. "Now tell me, how is your mother?"

"She had a horrible tumor, but now it is gone. It seemed like a miracle, but now I suspect her recovery was made possible by Wendy's use of technology."

the power of Nyrtia

Wendy nodded. "We teleported her into the Hierion Domain, treated her and then returned her to Earth. The treatment was to provide your mother with some medical nanites. Those nanoscopic devices cut off the blood flow to the tumor."

 

 Mary asked, "But you sent her back to Earth, with the nanites?"

Wendy sighed. "No. We don't like to deploy nanites on Earth. There is too much danger that they might escape. Imagine a world were suddenly cancer disappeared. Our teleportation equipment can screen out all nanites, so we could safely return your mother to Earth."

"It would be wonderful if you ended cancer on Earth!"

"No, it would be a disaster. In order for Earth to attain an acceptable future, medical nanites cannot be used in the Primitive Era for anything more than occasional miracles."

Elizabeth told Mary, "It is infuriating to work with robots. They could put an end to so much suffering on Earth, but they refuse to do so."

Wendy tried to justify the limited interventionism being practiced by the positronic robots who watched over Earth's Primitive Era. "Science and technology are advancing on Earth at a quick pace. Trust me; anything causing more rapid change creates its own problems."

 

Seeing that Wendy and Elizabeth could have continued arguing over the proper pace of scientific advance on Earth, Yira launched into a description of her family life. Elizabeth seemed to know the general outlines of recent events on Earth, but she was eager to hear details about her descendants, particularly concerning Mary's writing. Yira now regretted having left the copy of The Prob Visitation in Wendy's aircar. She told Elizabeth about the story she had been working on just before being teleported to Nanoville. "I think my story will have to be set in the future. The topics in the story such as identifying which particular brain region mediates telepathy are simply too unimaginable for conditions on Earth."

 

"I'm so glad you followed after your mother as a writer." Her curiosity somewhat sated, Elizabeth asked Yira, "And now, having seen Nanoville, you are going to provide new story ideas to yourself on Earth?"

Yira looked at Wendy, "That is what I have been told."

"Then I'm sure that is how it will be." Elizabeth nodded towards the robot. "It takes some getting used to, but Wendy can see into the future."

in the nanorealm

"Gohrlay and Nyrtia carefully monitor the future, but I am aware of the general pattern of future events. For example, Elizabeth, I must take Yra away from you now, before you start filling her mind with thoughts of living here with you and helping with..." Wendy paused briefly and seemed to leave something unsaid. "...the design and construction of Nanoville." Wendy told Yra, "I want to take you to meet Charlotte Burke."

 

Charlotte was Yira's favorite writer. Yira asked excitedly, "Charlotte is here?"

"A copy of her has been living here for fifty years."

 

Yira and Elizabeth said their goodbyes. Yira promised to return for regular visits, but she was eager to meet Charlotte. Wendy led the way back to the aircar. As they walked, Yira wondered: What has Charlotte been doing all this time... 50 years...

Wendy knew what was on Yira's mind. "Charlotte has been learning about the future. I've asked her to prepare a plan for helping Earthlings adjust to the rapid technological change that will soon bring Humanity into the space age, but she has become busy with other interests..."

 

Yira looked back over her shoulder and saw a mysterious figure gazing out from the second floor window. Wendy said, "I brought Samuel Butler here from the future to help get Elizabeth thinking about robots and artificial intelligence. They have become close friends."

"Who is Mr. Butler?"

 

"He will be born about 20 years in your future." Wendy and Yira were standing close to the aircar. "Nanoville is a good place for Sam..." Wendy explained, "With his leaping imagination, he will be too constricted on Earth. I think it will be best if you not move in with Elizabeth, but I do encourage you to become friends with Sam. He'll be able to help you with your work."

 

Next: Conversion

Wendy continued, "In addition to rocketry and space travel, we will also bring robotics technology to Earth. But it is you, Yra, who will begin the process of introducing futuristic ideas such as artificial life to Earth..." Wendy grinned mischievously, "...well, with your help, Mary will do it..." 

 

Wendy and Yira boarded the aircar and went flying off across Nanoville towards the home of Charlotte Burke.  

 

Related Reading: nanoscale teleportation

Continued: part 3 of "Hierion Writers Club".

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