Femtobot Reprogramming

Extracting femtobots from Largo.

Below on this page is Part 7 of the science fiction story "D*" (see Part 1). In Part 6, Tyhry used the Asimov Reality Simulator to visit her analogue, Tyna, at a point in time shortly before Tyna's journey to Earth, but Tyhry was on a tight schedule. The interstellar spaceship Sedrover was returning to Earth after a visit to the Rigel star system in the Ekcolir Reality. Tyhry rushed to complete her most recent use of the Asimov Reality Simulator as part of her investigation of the origins of human telepathy in the Asimov Reality.

Tyhry brought the 20-year-old Tyna of the Asimov Reality into the Ekcolir Reality where that older copy of Tyna meets her younger copy (the 4-year-old version of Tyna was introduced in Part 4). Under questioning by Tyhry, Tyna describes events from when she was 10 years old and was able to learn about programmable femtobots by watching Largo Johns use a hierion field to extract femtobots from his body. 

Extracting femtobots from Tyna.

Working in her nanite research laboratory in the Ekcolir Reality, Tyhry has so far been unable to re-program any of the younger Tyna's femtobots. In Part 9 of the story, Tyhry will use special programmable femtobots that she has obtained from the Nereids to revert the body of the 4-year-old Tyna to its tryp'At form. 

By the end of Part 9, with all that she has learned by visiting the Asimov Reality, Tyhry will be ready to return to the Final Reality and try to test if those programmable femtobots obtained from the Nereids can be used to re-activate the alien teleportation equipment that is inside Observer Base. 

Tyhry and Tyna in the Ekcolir Reality. Image generated by Leonardo.

Part 7 of D* (Part 1)(Part 2)(Part 3)(Part 4)(Part 5)(Part 6)

 Tyna suddenly found herself inside Tyhry's nanite research laboratory, located inside the Ekcolir Reality Simulation. One of Tyhry's replicoid copies instantly noticed the return of Tyhry from the Asimov Reality Simulation and told Tyhry, "Sedrover is now landing."

Tyhry got to her feet and was quickly dressing herself by using her clothing nanites. She helped Tyna get to her feet. "Quickly now, this way." Tyhry pulled Tyna by the hand to her bedroom where a four-year old copy of Tyna was laying on Tyhry's bed with her mother, Aymy. Tyhry pushed the older Tyna towards the bed and said, "Say hello to your younger self." Tyhry turned and departed from the bedroom, closing the door behind her.

Aymy barely glanced at the newly-arrived copy of her daughter, Tyna. Aymy and the younger copy of Tyna were synapex linked. Aymy told her daughter, "Tyna, welcome to the Ekcolir Reality."

The older Tyna was swept up in telepathic linkages to Aymy and the younger copy of herself; she could telepathically sense what the 4-year-old Tyna was tasting: the tingling sensation of oxypathin in her mouth. She could sense the younger Tyna's attempt to telepathically link into Tyhry's memories as the young girl hoped to discover if Tyhry's recent mission in the Asimov Reality had revealed anything that might help her alter the form and structure of her femtobot components and control how they shaped her physical form. 

Tyna's fantasy Hua garden of delights.

The younger copy of Tyna was was fantasizing about the alien Hua who Tyhry had previous told Tyna about. The 4-year-old Tyna was imagining herself on the planet Sermyth, playing with a young Hua and learning about advanced Hua nanotechnology.

The older Tyna asked, "Where are we?"

Aymy explained, "This is Tyhry's nanite research facility. You have been taken into another Reality... a new timeline." Aymy was delighted to be together with two copies of her daughter. "I'm surprised that Tyhry brought a second copy of you here."

"It seemed to be a spur of the moment decision by Tyhry." Tyna glanced at her younger copy and asked Aymy, "How long has she been here?"

Aymy replied, "I've been here almost a week, but little Tyna arrived just two days ago." 

Tyna and Aymy

In Aymy's timeline, it had been more that a month since Tyna had last visited with her mother. Now, their two telepathic minds merged eagerly and soon they were synapex linked. The two women entered into a telepathic trance state that quickly grew to include the younger Tyna. The telepathic minds of the two copies of Tyna merged and they quickly shared all of their recent memories with each other.

The younger Tyna eventually broke her synapex linkage to Aymy. At the same time, the older Tyna broke her synapex link to Aymy. The younger Tyna said, "This is so strange! Meeting myself... copy of me from the future..." The younger Tyna reached out and took the older Tyna's hand. "So, I actually got to meet an Asterothrope!" Tyna had previously experienced visions from her future, including views of Marky's alien Asterothrope features.

The older Tyna said, "It was not much of a meeting. Marky was actually the second Asterothrope I've met." When she had been synapex linked to Aymy, Tyna had been able to telepathically examine her mother's memories of the events in her recent past. Now Tyna knew that Aymy had been brought into the Ekcolir Reality from a point in the Asimov Reality timeline that was soon after Tyna had moved and begun sharing a new home with Mylana.

Aymy was also examining the fragments of her daughter's memories that she had glimpsed during their shared telepathic trance. Aymy asked, "You also met with Manny? Tyhry has been explaining to me how Manny and Nyrtia are cooperating towards the goal of crafting telepathic humans."

Two Tynas in the Ekcolir Reality.

The older copy of Tyna giggled and replied, "That was a magical meeting, with both Manny and Tyhry!" The older Tyna briefly pushed her finger into the mouth of the young Tyna and administered a dose of some receptor activating nanites. Now the younger copy of Tyna felt her lips and entire oral cavity tingling as her klytykynyn receptors were fully activated for the first time in her life. Her oxypathin receptors had already been strongly activated. As part of Tyhry's efforts to reprogram the younger Tyna's femtobots, Tyhry had fed Tyna large doses of both klytykynyn and oxypathin hormones. 

Little Tyna announced, "I wish Tyhry had been able to use her medical nanites to reprogram my femtobots and alter my body structure."

The older Tyna told Aymy, "I wish I still had access to the special hierion probe equipment of the Jarnell Corporation." She began thinking about the possibility of re-creating that equipment in the Ekcolir Reality.

Little Tyna told her older copy, "Tyhry's hormones have caused some minor changes to my body."

The older Tyna turned towards the younger Tyna and she commented, "You are a lucky girl. It was not until I was twelve years old that I was able to start experimenting with hormones to reshape my body." 

Now telepathically sensing the return of Tyhry, Aymy commented, "Tyhry will not rest until she learns how to use re-programmable femtobots from the Asimov Reality -our timeline- for her own purposes."

Tyna

The older copy of Tyna told her younger self, "Don't be in a hurry to grow up. Enjoy your childhood."

Just then, Tyhry came into the bedroom, accompanied by Marda, who had just returned from the Rigel star system. The older Tyna turned and sat on the edge of the bed, gazing at Marda. 

The little Tyna sat beside the older Tyna. Aymy got off the bed and used the clothing nanites that she had obtained from Tyhry, clothing herself in a sleek jumpsuit.

Pulling her eyes off of the two copies of Tyna, Marda watched Aymy as she covered her body with exotic nanite-generated clothing and then she asked, "Who is the redhead?"

Tyhry had already received Marda's report on the Rigel star system and then had began filling Marda in on what she had learned during her recent visits with Tyna and Mylana in the Asimov Reality. Tyhry telepathically told Marda: That is Aymy, Tyna's mother. Speaking out loud, Tyhry said, "Marda, meet Tyna's mother. Aymy, this is Marda, the analogue of Mylana from the Final Reality."

Aymy took hold of Marda's hand. "You look amazingly like Mylana, but I can see differences."

Marda glanced at Tyhry and commented, "Aymy looks nothing like your mother."

Anyta and Tyna on Earth.

Tyhry nodded. "Wait until you see Anyta, Mylana's mother. She is nothing like your mother, either."

Marda asked, "Where is Anyta?"

Aymy explained, "Anyta went sight-seeing. She wanted to explore Earth." 

Tyhry had tried to understand the intriguing similarities and difference between the Asimov Reality and the Final Reality. Now she shared her thoughts with the others, thoughts that she had, up until then, kept hidden in her cerebral hemisphere that Marda could not access telepathically. She mused, "I believe that Manny was constructing tryp'At-like genomes in the Asimov Reality...." She telepathically told Marda: Copies of you and I were useful to Manny in the Asimov Reality, the Ekcolir Reality and the Final Reality. Speaking out loud, Tyhry said, "...and deploying them as needed as her agents in that Reality."

The younger Tyna had quickly fallen asleep. Now Marda sat on the edge of the bed and began carefully examining the older Tyna's body, which was quite similar to that of Tyhry. Telepathically, Marda could sense in Tyhry's thoughts the fact that Tyna was a femtobot replicoid. Marda asked, "Deploy?"

Tyhry explained, "I believe that the tryp'At were successfully crafted and optimally evolved in the far future of the Asimov Reality. Manny must have made replicoid copies of the tryp'At who were the original biological versions of you and I and sent those femtobot artificial life-forms into the past. However, those were not just ordinary replicoids! Tyhry pointed first at Aymy then at Tyna, "These replicoids could grow and develop, just like biological humans... only Manny made sure that they would grow while under the influence of developmental control nanites that forced their bodies to take on conventional human form. However, this copy of Tyna was able to recover her tryp'At body form."

Aymy added one caveat, "We grew up with normal human bodies, but even as a baby, Tyna had visions from the future, visions of her actual tryp'At physical form."

Aymy

Tyna told Marda, "From a very young age, I devoted my efforts to recovering the use of my tryp'At form."

Tyhry gently patted the head of the sleeping 4-year-old copy of Tyna and told Marda, "When I brought her to this Reality, I thought it would be possible to remodel the body of this young copy of Tyna and allow her to take on tryp'At features, but I have been unable to use my programmable medical nanites to alter the form of her body. Exposing Tyna to large doses of oxypathin and klytykynyn has caused some minor physical changes, but that is the only progress I have made." Tyhry placed a hand on Tyna's shoulder and asked, "Tell us Tyna, how were you able to rebuild your body and recover your tryp'At features?"

Tyna stood up and went to the corner of the bedroom, carrying the younger Tyna to an arm chair. The older Tyna settled into the chair while the younger Tyna continued to sleep. Tyna thought back across the years and explained, "It became possible for me to change my body form after I learned about programmable femtobots from Largo Johns. I was ten years old when we went to Ysoto-4HD and I learned about femtobots...

___________

ISV Kosmos Galaktography towing the research module that will be deployed on Ysoto-4HD.

The 10-year-old Tyna was fascinated by the many compartments of the ISV Kosmos Galaktography. Now, after having seen part of the Kosmos Galaktography, Tyna realized that she'd previously had visions of this particular spacecraft. Aymy wanted Tyna to stay in the confines of the research module that would be deployed on Ysoto-4HD, but Tyna had no intention of letting Aymy ruin her fun. She'd told Aymy, "You can stay here and take care of the babies. I'll be busy exploring." Then Tyna had left Aymy there in the research module with Gyny and Joan.

After three days of her explorations, Tyna was known to the entire crew of the Kosmos Galaktography, and she had met all of the children who were on board, including the son of the ship's doctor, a sixteen-year-old boy named Bensyn. Tyna quickly decided that Bensyn was an obnoxious know-it-all, but also the most intelligent and knowledgeable of the children onboard. When they were alone at one of the spaceship's observation ports, she told Bensyn, "Look at this." Tyna pulled the hair away from her right ear and showed him the cute little point at the top of her ear.

Bensyn touched the tip of her ear and said, "That's unusual." He pushed a hand into Tyna's mop of hair and quickly confirmed that Tyna's other ear was also pointed. Bensyn asked, "Mutant ears. Do you have normal hearing?"

Bensyn and Tyna

Tyna replied, "I have excellent hearing." Tyna also knew that as part of Aymy's effort to learn the identity of Tyna's father, Aymy had paid to have an expensive genetic analysis of Tyna performed. That scan of Tyna's genes had reveal no genetic defects. Now, Tyna was thinking about that fact, but she did not like to brag. Still, she was thinking: I'm perfect. If only I had my true bodily form!

Bensyn asked Tyna, "Do you mind if I tell my mother about your ears? She's interested in human genetics."

Tyna shrugged. "I don't mind. I like my ears. I study biology. I like pointy body parts." 

Bensyn laughed and said, "You're too young to concern yourself with such things."

Tyna said, "That's not true. I suppose you think you are old enough."

Bensyn laughed again. "My mother is a doctor, she taught me everything about biology, but she is rather old-fashioned."

"So are my parents. I've never actually been given 'the talk'." Occasionally Maz shared bits of advice, but Tyna wanted to experience everything that she had seen in her visions of her future. Tyna mused, "I'm told that I'm too impatient, but I really want to find my future."

"You may as well enjoy being young." Bensyn shrugged. "You might not enjoy being an adult as much as you imagine."

Tyna explained, "I'm a naturalist. I'm fascinated by the human form and all of its variants."

Bensyn laughed and said, "You say the strangest things, Tyna." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully and mumbled quietly, "You might be int..." He stopped speaking and looked speculatively at Tyna.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"You were going to say something."

Bensyn shook his head. "No."

"If you don't tell me what you wanted to say then I'll use my telepathic powers to get it out of you. I'm not a baby. You can tell me your secret."

Bensyn assumed that Tyna was joking about having telepathic powers. "I was not going to reveal my own secret... it is something else. I don't think I can trust you."

Tyna guessed again. "Your father's secret?" Bensyn shook his head again. Tyna asked, "Your mother's secret?"

Bensyn laughed loudly. "I won't tell you and you'll never guess."

The longer Tyna was with Bensyn, the more she was learning his telepathic mind pattern. She could sense fragments of his thoughts. She asked, "Why are you thinking about Asterothrope hermaphrodites?"

Bensyn wondered: Does she know what I'm thinking? "There are many old stories about strange things... mermaids, Asterothropes and even bigfoot."

Tyna could sense another thought in Bensyn's mind. Now Tyna laughed loudly. "I suppose any creature called 'bigfoot' might have a big..."

Bensyn interrupted, "Let's change the subject."

Tyna said, "This is going to be a long voyage. I'll eventually find out what your secret is."

Bensyn said, "Don't be a little pest, Tyna. If you must know what I know, then you have to promise not to tell anyone else. It is just a silly rumor. Gossip."

Tyna asked, "You know a big secret?"

"This is no joke. Promise."

"I promise."

"Can I trust you?"

"I'm not a liar. I'll keep your secret."

"Do you know Captain Johns and Ny, the second in command?"

Tyna nodded. "I've met everyone."

"Did you notice that Ny is a robot?"

Tyna had not noticed. "Are you serious?" Tyna was thinking about Maz and she guessed that Bensyn was going to say that Ny was programmed to carry out the same kinds of roles as was Maz.

Bensyn said, "The gossip around the ship is that the Captain had to have Ny made to special order, just to accommodate his needs." 

Tyna looked carefully at Bensyn, trying to sense if he was lying. He seemed serious. "Interesting."

"Now, don't tell anyone else."

"I won't. Who cares if your ship's captain has special needs? Although, now that I think about it, his first name is 'Largo'." Tyna giggled.

"That's why all the children onboard spread this rumor. It is like joke. It does not even matter if it is true." Their conversation returned to their shared interest in astronomy, but now while they gazed at the passing stars in the viewport, Tyna was making plans for how to confirm her suspicion that the Captain was an Asterothrope. She quickly decided on an indirect approach.

______________

Ny at work.

Later, Tyna found Ny at work overhauling one of the ship's air purifier units. Tyna asked a long series of questions about the purifier then she abruptly changed the subject. "Are you the Captain's special robot?"

Ny stopped her work. "That's a strange question coming from a little girl like you."

Tyna said, "Well, I'm not as little as you might think."

Ny told Tyna, "I'm from the same robot factory as your Maz. We both have had similar training, but with time, we have both come to have many duties."

Tyna said, "I love Maz. I suppose the Captain loves you."

Ny asked, "Is that why you are here, pestering me with questions? You expect me to tell you about my relationship with the Captain?"

"Yes. Tell me about the Captain."

However, Ny would tell Tyna nothing about the Captain or her relationships with any of the crew. 

The next day, Tyna followed Captain Johns around the ship while he worked. Finally, he went into one of access tunnels for the ship's sedron fuel line and there were no other members of the crew nearby. As a heavy freight hauler, the Kosmos Galaktography had high-capacity fuel lines that operated at the upper end of the magnetic confinement field strength for equipment available to humans in the Asimov Reality. Those lines needed careful maintenance to avoid catastrophic failure. Tyna followed Largo into the access tunnel. He initiated a diagnostics routine for the equipment and then looked at Tyna and asked, "Why have you been following me?"

Tyna found it impossible to not to say, "I'm curious about you and Ny."

Largo shook his head and sighed. "Ny told me that you asked her questions about our relationship."

"And I've heard rumors." Tyna asked, "Is it true that Ny was designed and specially built to satisfy your Asterothrope... requirements?"

Largo asked Tyna, "Why do you care about Asterothropes?"

Tyna explained, "I've had visions of my future. My family's robot, Maz, is like Ny, but I wonder... maybe Ny was built with Asterothrope features."

"You have a wild imagination, but that is absurd. I would not have been sent here on my mission under conditions that forced me to reveal my unique nature by having a robot built with Asterothrope features. Manny is not stupid. However, it is true that Ny does attempt to modify her body form in any way that she thinks might please me." Largo was rather surprised that his memory locks had been inactivated and he was free to speak to Tyna about Manny. He could never be certain, but now he guessed that telling Tyna about femtobots may have been one of the reasons why Manny had sent him to this place in time. "I was sent to this time equipped with programmable femtobots which allow me to adjust my body structure as needed. Ny is nice to have around, but I'm not dependent on her having any special anatomical flexibility."

Tyna was startled and confused by Largo's revelations. She asked, "Really? What is a femtobot?"

The Captain explained, "I'm a femtobot replicoid. An artificial life-form. My body simulates cellular components, but that is a disguise. Ultimately, I'm a form of advanced nanotechnology, sent here to this primitive time in the past by Manny the bumpha."

Tyna almost forgot about Asterothropes. With her ability to receive information from the future, Tyna had long been intrigued by the idea of time travel. She asked, "Manny the bumpha? What does that mean?"

"Manny is a technologically advanced alien. Before she sent me on this mission, she showed me images of you and Manny warned me that we would meet and that you would ask about my mission. Manny is always right... now here you are, asking your questions." Largo turned his back on Tyna and examined the fuel line. "Let me finish this diagnostic test."

While Largo worked, Tyna asked a dozen questions about the fuel line, but eventually Largo led her out of the access tunnel and they went to an adjacent compartment of the spaceship which held the actual sedron fuel tank inside a large hierion containment field. The Captain opened up a supply cabinet and pulled out a small hand-held device which he showed to Tyna. "This is a device from the future. It is what allows me to modify my body structure." He held the device beside his head and Tyna watched in fascination as one of Largo's ears grew to take on a long and pointed non-human shape.

Tyna reached towards her own ear. "You know about my..."

"Yesterday, after the doctor examined your ears, she told me about your pointed ears." Largo reversed the body modification process and his ear returned to normal.

Tyna asked, "Is it possible that I am like you... made of femtobots?"

Largo nodded. "Yes, that's what Manny told me."

Tyna asked. "Can that body form alteration device change the shape of my body?"

Largo had never imagined that he would alter the bodily form of anyone else living in this primitive time. He laughed. "What a crazy..." Largo suddenly realized that Tyna was serious. "Manny did not warn me about this." He held the femtobot reprogrammer close to Tyna and tried issuing a telepathic command: Enlarge her ear.

Manny onboard Kosmos Galaktography

Tyna fingered her ear. "Try to grow my ear."

Largo tried a few other similar telepathic commands, but he could not modify the structure of Tyna's body or even confirm that she had femtobot components. Disappointed that Largo seemed unable to re-shape her body, Tyna pushed her hair so that it again covered the tip of her ear. She told Largo, "I still want proof that you are an Asterothrope."

Largo activated his comring. "Ny? Please meet me in the fuel storage compartment. And bring a nanite containment vial." Largo showed Tyna his most prominent Asterothrope feature. "Are you satisfied?"

Just then, Ny arrived and said, "Largo, what are you doing?"

Largo told Ny, "I need your help. Tell Tyna how your body was designed at the factory. Are you of human design?"

Ny held a hand against her abdomen. She told Tyna, "I was built with a normal human body."

Largo told Ny, "I need your help."

Ny said, "Oh, bother."

Largo again used the femtobot reprogramming device and said, "Watch this." He altered his body to make it fully conform to the normal human physical pattern. He had suddenly lost about a foot of his height.

Tyna commented, "It is hard to believe that you are an artificial life-form." She asked, "How do you really know that femtobots exist? They must be very small... smaller than cells... too small to actually see."

Largo asked Ny, "Did you bring a vial?"

Ny pushed a hand into her pocket and pulled out a small container. She handed Largo the small nanite containment vial. The Captain turned around. He unlocked the hierion containment field access gate and walked into the hierion field that contained the hierions that were used to guide and feed the sedron fuel of the Kosmos Galaktography to the intersplit drive. Largo held the femtobot reprogramming device and the little vial close to his body. Then he exited from the containment field, closed the access gate and tossed the vial to Ny. For a moment the Captain adjusted his jumpsuit then he asked Tyna, "Well, can you see the femtobots?"

Ny held the containment vial in front of Tyna's face. Tyna could see what looked like a swirling mist inside the transparent vial. She muttered, "It is hard to believe... these are nanites?" She reached for the vial. "Let me see..."

Ny let go of the vial. Tyna held it up to the light of a lamp. Tyna announced, "I want to try an experiment." Tyna told Largo, "Release the femtobots and program them to enter my body."

Largo laughed and held out the femtobot reprogramming device. He said, "We don't really know if this can work. Manny told me that you have femtobot components, but they may not be programmable..."

Tyna pulled at her hair, revealing the pointed tip. She impatiently ordered, "Just try it."

Ny said, "This is crazy." She told Largo, "You can't release those femtobots! You don't know what will happen."

Largo said, "At worst, they will just merge back into my body."

Ny grabbed the vial back from Tyna. "At worst they will be lost and floating around the ship, causing no end of troubles."

Largo took the containment vial from Ny. "You may be right." He again unlocked the access gate and turned to Tyna. "We'll try the transfer inside the fuel containment field." Tyna followed Largo into the fuel containment field. Holding the small vial and the reprogrammer close to Tyna, now he tried giving a telepathic command to the femtobots that he had extracted from his body: Integrate into her body.

Tyna watched in amazement as the swirling mist inside the vial disappeared. She felt the tip of her ear, which had quickly increased in length to take on the form of a sharply pointed tryp'At ear. She cried, "It worked! Look at my new ear!"

"That's enough!" Ny said, "Largo, stop fooling around. Put her back the way she was."

Largo had already tried giving a reversal command, but nothing had happened. Tyna was saying, "No! Don't revert me! Give me more! I want real body... all of it!"

Largo pulled Tyna out of the fuel containment field. Ny touched the tip of Tyna's enlarged pointed ear. Ny said, "This has gone far enough. Too far!" She asked Largo, "How are we going to explain this to her mother?"

Tyna said, "Thank you, Largo. You've done enough. You proved that I'm like you... a femtobot replicoid." Tyna hid her elongated ear in the nest of her hair.

_________

Tyna finished her account of events from ten years previously on the Kosmos Galaktography. She told Tyhry, "Eventually, I got access to Jarnell Corporation hierion probe technology and learned how to alter my body. I was able to reprogram my femtobots and recover my tryp'At features."

The 4-year-old copy of Tyna opened her eyes. She had been listening, not sleeping, and now she said, "Then you can reprogram my body!"

Jump to: Part 8 of "D*".

Next: illustrations of aliens and human variants.

Marda makes alien First Contact onboard Sedrover. Visit the Gallery of Movies, Book and Magazine Covers

Dr. Ektenor

Cover art by Terry Oakes.

Below on this page is part 16 of "The Alastor Network", a science fiction story about Oman Ursht and his efforts to understand how the telepathic abilities of humans are developing within the Alastor Cluster. In part 14, the Connatic learned that Twycky Jeghtop had departed from Brevik and is now going to the planet Triskelion. Twycky has the portable hierion field generator that her sister Kasya had been using to boost her telepathic abilities.

Triskelion is the leading center for scientific research and technological advances and in the Asimov Reality, it is the only world where new innovations like hierion field generators are crafted. Oman now hopes to obtain access to the advanced hierion field generator technology of Triskelion for use by the Whelm. By the time when Oman can reach Triskelion, Twycky has already returned the hierion field generator to Dr. Kressyknoak Ektenor.

source

Oman is traveling under his cover identity: Over-Inspector Ryl Shermatz of the Whelm. When he visits the many planets of Alastor Cluster, Oman likes to mingle with the people under informal conditions. Often while using his Ryl Shermatz identity, he fails to mention his connection to the Whelm and portrays himself as a wandering journalist. Oman has previously visited Triskelion while pretending to be a journalist writing a story about the advanced technology of Triskelion. However, Twycky knows Ryl as a high-ranking Whelm officer through her previous association with his wife, Commander Shermatz. Ryl is resigned to having his cover "blown" during this trip to Triskelion.

"The Alastor Network" is fan-fiction inspired by the stories of Jack Vance that were set in Alastor Cluster.

⎯ The Alastor Network ؄

Part 16. Triskelion. (read part 1) (part 2) (part 3) (part 4) (part 5) (part 6) (part 7) (part 8) (part 9) (part 10) (part 11) (part 12) (part 13) (part 14) (part 15)

Ryl arrived in orbit near Triskelion A, fearing that Twycky Jeghtop had already landed on the planet. He had come, alone, using the space ship Volkymyhr, which had the largest Jarnell interspit engine available to the Whelm and powerful defensive shields. Volkymyhr was specialized for speed. Ryl contacted Dr. Ektenor of the Central University physics department. After a short delay, Kressyknoak's voice came through the communications system of Volkymyhr: "Welcome back to Triskelion, Ryl." 
 

The Triskelion planetary system.

Ryl asked, "Is it convenient for me to visit you now?"

 

Dr. Ektenor replied, "I suppose I will get no more work done today. Do you remember Gamevoli's?"

 

"Yes, I do."

 

"Meet me there, my friend." Ektenor broke the connection and he contacted Triskelion Planetary Landing Authority, telling them to allow Ryl to land on Triskelion A.

Ryl allowed the Volkymyhr to settle into the upper atmosphere then he took his aircar down to Central University. After parking in a garage, it was a short walk to Gamevoli's. Ryl was met by Danni the robot. "Hello, Ryl. Come on inside, are you hungry?"

Ryl shrugged and followed the robot. "Not really." They passed through the main room of the restaurant and on into the back patio area. Ryl could see that Ektenor was in conversation with Twycky. Danni called to Dr. Ektenor, "Ryl Shermatz has arrived."

Ektenor looked up and waved to Ryl. "Please, have a seat." Just then, drinks arrived for Ektenor, Twycky and a young woman who was sitting at their table. Ektenor told the serving robot, "Bring Ryl whatever he would like." Ryl asked for a local ale and then he sat down between Twycky and Ektenor at the small table. Danni turned away and departed.

Twycky sipped from her goblet. For a moment nothing was said. Finally, looking back and forth between Twycky and Ryl, Ektenor said, "I take it that you two already know each other."

Ryl explained, "Yes, and I suppose that you are familiar with Twycky's recent adventure on Yrinna."

image source

Twycky said, "I was just telling Kressy about Jamile Gensifer's bad behavior."

The other woman, really she looked like a girl in her late teens, placed a hand on Twycky's, "I hope you were not permanently traumatized by your ordeal."

"It was a strange couple of weeks on Yrinna. I believe that there was some coercive force at work on that evil planet. After only a few hours there, I no longer had the will to resist and struggle against my captors." Twycky wondered exactly what the Joqueline entity had done to Jamile's mind. "I'm quite happy to put the whole ghastly experience behind me."

The girl squeezed Twycky's hand and said, "However, you will never be able to forget... your son will be a living reminder of the abduction and your mistreatment by the starmenters."

Dr. Ektenor asked, "Son?"

Twycky giggled, "I am pregnant."

"Jamile's child?"

"No. It is a strange tale. Apparently my personal robot artificially inseminated me with sperm from Rupert Gensifer, the young son of Jamile."

Ryl's mug of ale was placed on the table in front of him. Ryl asked Twycky, "How did you travel so quickly from Brevik to Triskelion?" He took a gulp of the ale.

image source

Twycky explained, "Kas placed a Pegasus Line spaceship at my disposal. It is a small ship, used by upper managers when they need to travel."

"I'd love to see this spaceship's engines." Ryl was not happy that Brevik seemed to have sources of high technology that were not available to the Whelm. "I was following you in the fastest spaceship available to me and I could not catch up to you."

Twycky laughed merrily. "What can I say? Kas always says that I am a fast woman." She slipped her pink tongue around her lips and winked at Ryl. Looking past Ryl's shoulder she saw a man at the next table who was watching her intently. He smiled and lifted his mug towards Twycky and she smiled back. Twycky looked around the patio and found other sets of eyes aimed in her direction. "Never having been married, I suppose I've had more sexual partners on more planets of the cluster than most people."

The serving robot returned and asked, "May I bring anything else?" Nobody at the table had a request and the robot moved off.

Ryl was gazing across the table at the cute girl whose name he did not know. Finally, he asked the girl, "Pardon me, who are you?"

Danni

Dr. Ektenor replied, "Sorry Ryl, I forgot to introduce you. This delightful sexbot is Vyky."

Ryl asked Vyky, "As a telepathic robot, can you see into my thoughts?"

Vyky extended her arm across the table and explained, "As a sexbot, I was designed to synchronize my mind with the thoughts of my lovers. That is how I can best satisfy the desires of a man." She smiled at Twycky and told her, "Or a woman. It helps me tune my mind correctly when I can touch my lovers." Twycky smiled at Vyky and stretched her long leg out under the table so she could touch Vyky with her foot.

Ryl laughed uneasily. "Sadly, we are not lovers. And I'm not sure that I want you snooping around in my mind, looking at my memories."

Twycky giggled and asked Ryl, "Are you trying to conceal your own pregnancy?"

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Ektenor told Ryl, "We'll respect your all too human desire to keep secrets, Ryl" Realizing that Ryl was not going to touch her, Vyky pulled back her hand.

"Speaking of secrets..." Ryl asked Twycky, "You don't happen to have Kasya's portable hierion field generator?"

Twycky shook her head. "Sorry if I must disappoint you, Ryl, but I don't have it."

 "I am disappointed. I came to Triskelion in order to get that hand-held device." Ryl looked at Dr. Ektenor, "Or obtain access to the technology used by that device."

Ektenor replied, "The particular device that I allowed Kasya to use was created by me... it belongs to me, Ryl. Don't badger poor Twycky. She was kind enough to return my property to me."

Twycky

Ryl asked Dr. Ektenor, "May I see the generator? I've heard that it is amazingly small."

Ektenor shook his head. "I'm sorry, Ryl, but Danni just took it back to my laboratory." He drained the last of the wine from his goblet. "You really should not be surprised that hierion field generators can be small. When you previously visited me, I told you about the nanoscopic devices that reside inside human brains."

"Yes, I remember. You called them endosymbionts." Ryl sipped his ale. "Too bad they are so tiny that they cannot be detected."

"They can't be detected by the primitive technology available to you." Ektenor now took hold of one of Vyky's hands. "When I designed Vyky, I made sure that the most advanced nanotechnology of Triskelion was used in all of her systems. That is what makes possible her powerful technology-assisted telepathic abilities."

Ryl asked, "And you intend to keep secret the methods that you used to manufacture Vyky?" 

Dr. Ektenor nodded. "Just as you keep your own secrets, I feel the need to restrict access to many of my inventions. People tend to use advanced technology for evil purposes. For example, I'll site the use of telepathy detecting equipment by the starmenters to hunt and capture victims such as Twycky."

Ryl said, "I can understand your qualms and desire for secrecy if it was a telepathy detector made by you that was used to abduct Twycky."

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Ektenor sighed. "I don't know what technology was used by the starmenters. Maybe they simply used a human who has very good telepathic sensing abilities."

"Can an unaided human telepath detect another telepathic mind that is on board a spaceship with active interspit drive?"

"Interesting question. I'm skeptical about the very concept of the 'unaided human telepath'. I believe that powerful human telepaths are using technology-assisted telepathy." He gazed again at Twycky. "I suppose the only question is exactly what devices are being used to amplify the innate abilities of a biological brain. I'd be saddened to learn that technology from Triskelion was used during the abduction of Twycky."

Ryl pointed at Dr. Ektenor and tilted his head across the table in a gesture towards Vyky the sexbot. "Tell me. Can Vyky read my mind?"

Dr. Ektenor explained, "She can link her thoughts to your Phari endosymbiont. And, of course, the Phari were careful to make sure that human endosymbionts can control the subjective experience of human sexual sensations, including the pleasure of orgasms."

Ryl looked intently at Vyky and felt his heart thudding and the sensation of hot blood filling his penis. He asked Ektenor, "Vyky can make people experience orgasms just by telepathically signaling into their minds?"

"Essentially." Ektenor kissed Vyky's hand and then released it. "The process by which a sexbot helps a human achieve sexual climax requires some synchronization of brain patterns and a positive feedback process. If you took Vyky's hand, she could probably provide you with an orgasm right now."

Ryl chuckled and asked, "Is she doing so for you, even as we speak?"

Ektenor smiled. "No, Vyky is a fairly well behaved sexbot. She knows that I don't approve of public sexual behavior. Here on Triskelion, sex play is almost always a private matter, unlike the bawdy practices of some other planets I could name." Ektenor looked at Vyky and asked her quite sharply, "Am I right?"

Vyky pulled her hand out of Twycky's lap and frowned at Ektenor. She replied meekly, "Whatever you say, boss man."

Vyky

"Sadly, I'm not much of a telepath." Ryl suggested, "It would be an interesting experiment, but I doubt if Vyky could make me have an orgasm without physically touching my penis."

Twycky took hold of Vyky's hand. She had enjoyed the little impromptu massage that Vyky had been giving her crotch under the table. Sadly, Gametoli's had no table cloths. "All this talk of telepathic orgasms is getting me excited, both personally and professionally." She told Vyky, "I study the history of robotics."

"Yes, I know. Dr. Ektenor has told me all about both you and your sister, Kas." Vyky now held Twycky's hand between both of her hands. "I can see that your professional work is prominent in your thoughts Twycky, almost as prominent as your interest in orgasms. Both you and Ryl are among the minority of humans who carry versions of the Phari endosymbiont that allow you to boost your telepathic abilities while experiencing an orgasm."

Ryl asked Vyky, "So you have the ability to detect, scan and analyze my Phari endosymbiont?"

"Of course, Ryl." Vyky explained, "I must do so in order to function efficiently as a sexbot. Have no doubts, I could give you a most satisfying orgasm, possibly lasting even longer than what you have been able to achieve with your wife after many years of practice."

Twycky licked her lips and told the robot, "If you are handing out free orgasms, I'm ready and willing to try one of your super-telepathic orgasms."

Dr. Ektenor said, "I suggest we go to my lab. I can sense that Ryl wants to see the hand-held hierion field generator and..." He told Twycky, "You can play with Vyky in the private confines of the lab."

endosymbionts

They departed from Gamevoli's and strolled at a slow pace across the campus. It was a warm spring day and many trees were flowering. Vyky and Twycky walked hand-in-hand, following along behind Ektenor and Ryl. Ektenor said, "You seem irked that I won't simply hand over the generator for your use. However, I made a special exception for Kas. I'm glad I did since it allowed poor Twycky to escape from Yrinna."

Twycky and Vyky had paused beside a flowering tree and and were decorating each others hair with flowers. Ektenor and Ryl watched them for a minute. Finally Dr. Ektenor sighed, "I wish I were able to return to my youth. Vyky brings me much pleasure, but I must confess, sexual stimuli no longer entice me as much as does my intellectual work. I'm very much caught up in the study of hierion physics. Sex is a young man's game."

Ryl observed, "Vyky seems to have been designed with great care. Was there a human being who inspired you?"

"Yes, there was. It is rather a private matter that I don't care to discuss. I'm not proud of  my lustful desires for the young lady who was... Vyky's inspiration" Vyky and Twycky were giggling and playing some sort of kissing game that involved a kiss and then attaching a flower to the kissed body part. Ryl wondered if Ektenor would say anything more about Vyky's origins. Finally Dr. Ektenor said, "The model for Vyky's exquisite charm was a student of mine. When I developed an infatuation for her, I had to terminate our teacher-student relationship. It was a dismal chapter in my life... quite out of my control."

Twycky and Vyky were now engaged in a rather passionate mouth-to-mouth kiss. Vyky had her hands on Twycky's slim bottom. Feeling discomfort from his swollen penis inside his tight pants, Ryl turned his back on the robot and Twycky. He said, "And so you built Vyky in that woman's image."

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"It is worse than that. I wanted to recreate the mind of the girl who I had fallen in love with. I was forced to go far beyond simply copying a delectable human physical form into a robot's artificial body." He pointed towards Vyky. "Imagine my chagrin when the young woman who was my inspiration for Vyky eventually learned of Vyky's existence."

"I hope the woman was not offended by your effort to duplicate her."

Ektenor smiled grimly, "No, she was amused and is helping teach Vyky how to act and behave like a human. As you might guess, this is causing me additional heart ache. Vyky now looks, sounds and acts like the woman who inspired me to make this sexbot. I can't think about Vyky without also thinking about the young woman. The whole Vyky project was intended to help me forget."

Still watching the antics of Vyky and Twycky, Ektenor told Ryl, "Maybe we should leave them here. I'll take you to the lab and allow you to see the portable hierion field generator. I'm rather proud of the little device, so I don't mind showing it off. Just don't get the idea that you will ever get access to this technology. I can't trust even you to not abuse its power."

Ryl turned his head and looked at Twycky and Vyky. They were finally satisfied with their flower decorations and Twycky had reached the point where she was quite sexually aroused. She wanted to get the sexbot in a quiet and private place and grab an orgasm, or two. "Here they come."

Ektenor took them into the physical sciences quadrangle which was aromatic with flowering trees. He told Vyky, "You look beautiful wearing all those flowers."

Twycky asked, "What about me?"

Ektenor replied, "My dear, you are charming with or without decoration." Ektenor's eyes swept over Twycky's body. "I'm intrigued by the differences between you and your sister."

"We are not identical twins, but we are like two peas from a pod. I suppose it is not a surprise that Kas and I have always had a telepathic linkage."

Ektenor speculated, "Maybe you two are mind clones."

Ryl asked, "What is a mind clone?"

time travel

"Ektenor shrugged. "An idea that I heard mentioned by a friend." They were now inside the physics research building and a young man called to Dr. Ektenor across the lobby, "Are you coming to the geology seminar?"

Ektenor replied, "I'm going to miss this one. I have guests. I believe you met Ryl Shermatz when he was visiting us about a year ago."

"Of course! Welcome back, Ryl." The man waved to Ryl and looked at Twycky and said, "Hey, you got a new sexbot!"

In a tired voice, Ektenor said, "I'll see you tomorrow, Walter." He led Ryl and Twycky to his research lab.

hand-held D3I hierion field generator

Inside Ektenor's lab, Danni greeted them and Kressyknoak asked the robot, "Where is the D3I unit?" Danni turned away, crossed the lab and opened a storage closet.

Twycky asked Dr. Ektenor, "Did that man, Walter, just mistake me for a sexbot?"

"I'm sorry, my dear. Your beautiful body happens to resemble one of the most currently popular sexbot designs." For a moment Kressyknoak again allowed his eyes to sweep up and down Twycky's body. "In fact, after your first visit to Triskelion, one of the sexbot designers took a fancy to your exceptional beauty and made a new model of sexbot that uses your magnificent physical form."

Twycky laughed loudly, shaking off some of the flowers that were attached to her hair and clothing. "Ah! Now I understand why it seemed like so many eyes were on me when we were at Gamevoli's." 

Danni returned from the closet with the D3I. Ektenor switched on the device and handed it to Ryl who looked at the small display screen which was showing five dots of various sizes in three colors. "Ryl asked, "This is detecting telepathic signals from the five of us?"

Ektenor glanced at the screen and replied, "Yes. As you can see, you and I emit relatively few twitinos."

hierions

Ryl held the device rather gingerly. "I understand this field generator can inactivate robots."

"Don't worry, Ryl. First of all, the D3I is now in detector mode and not even functioning as a field generator. Secondly, the control systems of my robots cannot be disrupted by this device. I've cured them of that old vulnerability." He pressed a button on the device. "Now the field generator is on. Of course, the field that is generated by this small unit is very weak, but you may already be feeling a change in your cognitive functions."

Twycky said, "That little sneak Kasya never told me about this. The device has multiple functions?"

twitinos used for telepathy

Ektenor explained, "This is a versatile device. It was originally designed to create a kind of feedback with a Phari endosymbiont. However, when emitting the correctly tuned hierion signal, I believe it can interfere with the function of zeptite endosymbionts. In my case, I carry no zeptite endosymbiont in my brain, so for many years that capability went unnoticed. When not generating a hierion field, it acts as a telepathy detector, measuring the twitino flux."

Ryl asked, "What is this term you are using, Dr. Ektenor? Twitino?"

"That is what I call the hypothetical hierion that transmits telepathic signals. Sadly, until I can characterize that particle better, I can't officially name it." Ektenor laughed. "My physics friends think I'm crazy and inventing a fictitious particle."

Twycky closed her eyes and said, "I seem to be sensing something. It is almost like an itch in my brain."

Ektenor was looking at Twycky's erect nipples where they protruded from her blouse and between flowers that Vyky has attached to her breasts. He told Vyky, "Twycky is a sensitive telepath... her current state of sexual arousal might be upset by the D3I's field while Ryl is twiddling with it. Why don't you take her out of range... you two can go into my office and perform your little orgasm experiment." Vyky eagerly took Twycky by the hand and they departed from the lab. Ektenor told Ryl, "Place the field generator against your head."

Ryl held the device to the side of his head and now he could feel a shift in his cognitive functions. He sensed that Dr. Ektenor had no intention of allowing the Whelm to have access to the D3I technology. Looking into Kressyknoak's mind, Ryl saw that the doctor was aware that he was the Connatic and that Ryl Shermatz was a high-ranking Whelm officer. Ektenor said, "It works best if you place the device over the visual cortex and close your eyes. It will begin to put telepathically generated images into your visual cortex."

hierion field generator

Ryl held the D3I against the back of his head and he closed his eyes. There was a bright flash in his mind. He could "see" an oddly distorted view of Twycky inside Dr. Ektenor's office, almost like an after-image. He said, "Amazing. I see Twycky in the other room."

"Yes, this device could turn you into a peeping Tom. I hope you can appreciate why I don't want to share this technology. In our society, people don't learn to respect the privacy of other individuals. If Humanity is ever going to have a future society full of powerful human telepaths then someone is going to have to first solve such problems."

A second image flashed in Ryl's mind, and now he could see a closeup view of Twycky's cleanly shaved genitals. Ektenor said, "To get the full benefit of the D3I, a user needs to get their brain synchronized with that of another person." Ryl realized that one way to achieve such synchronization would be to have a simultaneous orgasm with someone. He could sense that Vyky and Twycky were performing oral sex on each other. Vyky had a hand inside Twycky's vagina where it was vibrating and massaging Twycky and quickly bringing her towards sexual climax. 

Ektenor could see Ryl's erect penis pushing outward against the fabric of his pants. He continued, "Of course, the people of Alastor Cluster are not ready to have such technology readily in hand."

Ryl took a deep, trembling breath and handed the device back to Ektenor. He tried to shift his erect penis to a more comfortable position within his pants. Feeling both Twycky and Vyky's lustful thoughts inside his own mind, Ryl had come very close to ejaculating. "I think I understand your concerns, Dr. Ektenor, but right now there is a serious problem on Yerophet. Settlers are dying from some kind of telepathic signal run amok. A detector device like this one could be very useful in helping find the source of the problem."

Yerophet

"True." Ektenor turned off the D3I and handed it back to Danni. Danni took the D3I back to the storage closet. "However, I only allowed Kasya brief access to this D3I unit so that she could liberate Twycky from captivity. I regret having revealed the existence of the telepathy detector, but I'm glad it did allow Twycky to regain her freedom. Life is full of such trade-offs. As for dealing with the troubles on Yerophet, the telepathy signal detection capabilities of the Josef system should suffice." Dr. Ektenor had long been supplying the Whelm with advanced hierion signal processor components for the Josef project.

Ryl told Ektenor, "During Twycky's rescue, Josef was inactivated."

"How unfortunate!" Ektenor rubbed his chin. "How did that happen?"

Pheni of Yrinna

"That is rather mysterious. Apparently the Pheni of Yrinna were in-" Just then, Grean the Kac'hin appeared right beside Danni as he returned from the storage closet. Ryl witnessed her sudden appearance. He recognized Grean from his wife's description of her ghark. "Grean?" Ryl was a bit repulsed by her alien appearance, particularly her two pointy canine teeth.

"Yes, I am Grean, a human variant... a Kac'hin." She told Ryl, "Don't worry, I don't bite." She added, "Unless I get a special request." She winked at Ryl.

Alarmed that someone could penetrate the lab's security features, Danni asked, "How did you get into this lab?"

Grean waved her hand and Danni froze in place, totally inactivated. She told Ektenor, "I've shut off this robot just to save me the trouble of having to erase its memories. Thank you for making it possible for Kasya to play an important role in rescuing Twycky. By letting humans do the work during the rescue mission, that made it possible for me to cover my tracks." 

Ryl asked, "Who are you trying to hide from?"

Grean replied, "I'm in the middle of a silly time travel war. I don't want to escalate tensions by demonstrating openly that I can derail the plans of my opponents."

Ektenor said, "Your troubles to the side, Grean, I trust you have not forgotten that I'm still waiting for you to complete your part of our agreement."

nanites

"Patience, Kressy! I give you my promise, you will be more than satisfied with the way things turned out. I'll be making my payment today." Grean turned to Ryl, "The upgraded Josef will be able to find the origin of the cold fever problem on Yerophet. I agree with Dr. Ektenor: humans, including even the Connatic, are not ready for the power in these portable D3I units." Grean, having delivered her messages, suddenly became transparent and was disintegrating into a sparkling cloud of her component nanites.

Ryl said, "Wait! Tell me what you know about the settler deaths on Yerophet!"

Sending her thoughts directly into Ryl's mind, Grean said: The time is not quite right, Ryl. Return to Numenes... Yerophet can wait for a time...

The control systems of Danni reactivated. He looked around the lab and said, "Dr. Ektenor! I just saw an alien creature. She was here... right here beside me, then..." Dani checked the time. "I have a gap in my memory. What just happened?"

Vyky and Twycky returned to the laboratory. Twycky had a big grin on her face and had not bothered to put her lacy bra back on; it was dangling from her hand by its elastic strap. Ryl could see her erect nipples now exceptionally prominent against the thin fabric of her unbuttoned blouse. Ryl was already unable to remember how to answer Danni's question. The sight of Twycky's bobbing breasts and pointy nipples instantly had Ryl thinking about his wife. 

There was an annoying buzzing sound in the lab. Dr. Ektenor walked to a comstation that was signaling for attention. Twycky told Ryl, "Vyky is definitely a step up from Sol, my old sexbot." She ran a hand over her breast and rubbed the nipple between thumb and finger. "I'm tingling all over!"

making telepathic robots (source)

Ryl chuckled, "I suppose a detailed account of Vyky's telepathic abilities will become the next chapter in your history of robotics." 

Twycky slipped an arm around Vyky's waist. "Possibly. I may need a couple weeks of additional experiments... just to fully flesh out that chapter." Her right breast popped out from her blouse, but Twycky did not seem to mind as she gazed into Vyky's seductive eyes.

Dr. Ektenor returned from using the communications equipment. "There is a Whelm ship in orbit. They want to deliver a group of passengers, people brought from Yrinna... and even... a robot. I'm going to the spaceport. Danni, please come with me." 

mind clone

A month previously, Ektenor had originally made a deal with Grean. In exchange for Ektenor allowing Kasya access to the D3I unit, Grean had promised to deliver several dozen skilled workers who could help with the severe worker shortage and declining population on Triskelion. Dr. Ektenor thought it best not to let Twycky know that the robot who was now returning to Triskelion was her old companion, Sol.

Ektenor told Vyky, "Please keep Twycky entertained until I return."

On their way out of the physics building, Ryl thanked Dr. Ektenor for his demonstration of the functional capabilities of the D3I unit. He said goodby, returned to his aircar and was soon pushing Volkymyhr at the full speed of its intersplit engines back towards Numenes.

Next: part 17 of "The Alastor Network"

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