Cellular Civilization/Yasas

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[edit] Genesaunt

When their little spaceship cleared Earth's atmosphere Lanora set course for the Lagrangian point where a larger spaceship was waiting. Turning away from the ship's controls, she noticed that Charlie was watching her. She asked, "Are you back?"

Charlie tried to clear his throat and replied, "I still feel like I might be dreaming."

Lanora sat down next to him took one of his hands in her hands. "It is no dream. Look out the window. We are in space, above Earth."

Charlie was not sure he liked the black of space. He tried to keep focused on Lanora....she seemed real enough. He asked, "Who are you?"

Lanora had imagined telling Charlie her real name, but now that seemed the wrong thing to do. Why burden him with any more details than necessary? He had always known her as 'Lanora' and it would not help his fragile state of mind to have some other name forced upon him. She replied, "There is a whole civilization out here Charlie. We call ourselves Genesaunts. Mostly we leave Earth alone, but once in a while we take someone like you off of Earth. You have to get comfortable with the idea...you are now Genesaunt." For a few moments she wondered if Charlie might lapse back into his withdrawal from reality, but then he seemed to stabilize here and now and he held tightly to her hands.

Charlie had imagined that there was probably some illegal motive for Lanora's interest in him, but he had not imagined that she had singled him out for something as crazy as this. He asked, "Why me?"

Lanora chuckled and tenderly put a hand to the side of his head. "Silly boy, because you are special. You should feel honored. Earthlings who have found their way into space are a small and select group."

Charlie briefly glanced out the window. "Somehow I'm getting the feeling that I'm traveling on a one way ticket."

Lanora nodded. "Yes, it is very unlikely that you will ever have a chance to go back home. There is really very little travel -in either direction- between Earth and the Genesaunt society that exists out here in space. But do not worry, your parents will be taken care of."

Charlie asked, "Will they know what happened to me?"

Lanora wondered just how much of their hectic departure from Earth Charlie had been able to see, process and comprehend. Lanora had been prepared for what happened, but with Andresklo setting a super-human pace it had all happened exceptionally fast. She asked, "Do you remember the explosion? It was made to look like you and I died in an accident. Your parents will be told that you are dead."

Charlie was also concerned about Stefi and feeling considerable resentment about how Lanora had felt free to explode the structure of his life. He demanded of Lanora, "And Stefi? I suppose you knew all along how your plan would unfold. This whole week you were planning this. Does she know that you took me off of Earth?"

Lanora was impressed that he could make that deduction, but then, Charlie was a natural scientist and a creative thinker. He had spent the past year studying Stefi so it was to be expected that he could intuitively anticipate her thoughts and actions. "That's very clever thinking, Charlie. Yes, Stefi is the one person on Earth who could be told some details about your fate. In fact, it was very important for her to know that you will be taken care of. She was... well, she still is very attached to you. Anyhow, the important thing for you to know is that she agreed: it is best for both of you that you leave Earth."

Charlie was listening carefully, but he had no reason to believe that Lanora could be right about such grandiose statements. It seemed more likely that she was just saying anything that would make Charlie feel better. Charlie was feeling very manipulated. He asked, "But why does she stay and why do I leave? You have not explained anything."

Lanora put a hand on Charlie's chest, over his heart. She tried to gently break the news about his precarious health, "You are not well, Charlie. You inherited a bad set of genes. Had you stayed on Earth you would have died young. Out here we can easily repair your defects and you can lead a long life. Stefi knew this and was happy to let you be taken away and be given a new life out here."

Charlie felt this claim about his genes was something that could be verified, but for now he had to trust her word. But millions of people struggled with their genetic imperfections and most were not taken off into outer space for "repairs". Charlie wanted to know what made him special and he asked, "So, is that your job? To come to Earth so that you can repair my defects?"

Lanora replied, "We have nanorobotic devices that will easily repair your body. I'm most concerned about your brain and your mental health. I want to make sure that you adjust to your new way of life out here. I'm going to help ease you into your new life as a Genesaunt."

Charlie let go of her hand. He stated his unhappy conclusion, "So it is just a job for you."

Lanora took hold of his hands again. She gave him an order, "No Charlie, don't say that."

"Why not, it is true. What possible interest could I be to you, personally? You manipulated my emotions and made me play into your scheme. When you are done with me and collect your bonus pay for a job well done, you'll be off on your next assignment. But tell me, who decides when someone like me will be taken off of Earth? What-"

Lanora touched a finger to his lips to silence him. She warned him to calm down and listen. "You are jumping to conclusions, Charlie. Listen to what I have to say before you let your emotions erupt in a storm. Nobody knew that you would be taken into space until just a few days ago." She was tempted to explain the fact that she had only known Charlie for a day and that the Lanora identity had been created and played by Dexamene at first. But no, there was no point in confusing him with such details. She continued, "The truth is, you were in the way as long as you were on Earth. It was best for everyone to bring you out here."

Charlie asked sarcastically, "Best for my parents?"

Lanora shook her head and tried to explain, "They will not suffer much because of your departure. Their natural pain at your loss will be artificially lessened by our nanite probes. Their emotions and memories will be altered. They will be cared for. This is far better than your natural fate, which was to die young, as your genes would dictate."

Charlie still wanted to know if their sweet closeness of the past day was a sham, just part of her act and strategy to manipulate him. "You've avoided my question about your role. What about you, personally? Was I just your mission? Pluck poor Charlie off of Earth...like picking a flea off a dog?"

Lanora found that the answer she had prepared herself to give to this question was no longer what she really wanted to say. She had been warned about the dangers of becoming attached to anyone that she would have power over as a memetic surgeon, but as she examined her own feelings she realized that she had surrendered to the attraction she felt towards Charlie. There was a well known allure and romanticism associated with Earthlings; a Genesaunt mythology had grown up about the supposed strength of raw emotions felt by native humans on Earth...something many believed had been genetically engineered out of Genesaunts. Lanora was horrified to hear Charlie accusing her of having no more concern for him than one might have for a flea. She tried to pull him out of his negativity and deflect him away from his doubts, "I've only known you a short time, Charlie, but I do care about you. Maybe it is mostly my own guilt about taking you away from your family and friends and the life you were making for yourself, but I do care that you make this transition successfully. It is exciting for me to imagine what it must be like for you go through this...Charlie, just think of all the wonders you will see! Scientific and technical advances that you have only dreamed of are a reality out here. I'll show you all of these wonders...and share them and your discovery of them with you...if you will let me."

He muttered bitterly, "As if I have a choice in anything."

She pointed out a fundamental fact, "Well, you had no choice in your genes and I suppose there has never been a more star-crossed pair of lovers than you and Stefi..."

Charlie interjected, "We were never lovers."

"Well, I'm sorry about that, Charlie. I suppose you might have stayed together and further developed your relationship had you stayed on Earth...but then again, maybe not. Even without our interference, Stefi's priority was her career."

Charlie still did not understand why these 'Genesaunts' had focused their attention on Stefi. He asked, "So, what is your interest in Stefi?"

Lanora explained, "That is the heart of the matter. She is a child of the internet....the net is her native environment. She will join a cadre of similar visionaries who will push networking technology to its logical social limits. The people of Earth are making an important technological transition into the information era. Our interest in Stefi is that she be allowed to participate in speeding that transition. Had you remained in her life, your health problems could have become a serious distraction."

Charlie did not enjoy hearing the sum total of his life reduced to 'distraction'. He wondered how there could be a place for him out here in Lanora's culture. He tried to get Lanora to explain that, "So, on Earth, I'm a distraction and an early funeral. Now you are taking me to your technologically advanced society...so I can lead a long life as...what? The primitive Earthman? Will you put me in a zoo, your museum of primitive cultures?"

Lanora wondered if Charlie would just focus on the negatives or if he could bring himself to open up to new opportunities. "Look at me, Charlie, I'm just liek you, we're both humans...I'm not some alien creature."

Charlie did not trust himself to look at her. As she has said when they first met, she was perfect -all the way through. "I do not want to look at you. You have too much power over me." But he could not help himself. He looked at her like he might suddenly go blind. "I've never seen anything so wonderful and I've never seen anything so baffling and intimidating."

Lanora tried to relax his grip where his fingers threatened to crush her hands. She smiled and shrugged, trying to diffuse his anxiety. "Those of us who live out here, off of Earth, in the Solar System, are not very much advanced beyond Earth humans. You can learn about our technologies, it will not be hard for you to catch up with what I know and that is as yet unknown on Earth. You should have no problem adapting to Genesaunt society...as long as you keep your spirit of...adventure. Don't you think it will be fun exploring this new existence with me?"

Charlie relaxed his grip on her hands and noticed the marks his fingers left behind on her perfect skin. He lifted her hands to his lips and gently kissed them. He looked into her eyes and said, "I still do not understand why you should care. Why you should bother with me...you personally or any of you Genesaunts?"

Lanora imagined that with time he would learn to understand Genesaunt culture and Genesaunt ways, but for now he was lost in the surprise of it all. She tried to provide him with some sense of it all, "Maybe just because we can. I don't know, myself. I suppose I was selected for this task in the hope that you would be comfortable with me. Maybe an error was made when I was selected. We get to decide about that now, we do get to make choices now, both you and I. But I like you and I think you like me. Isn't that enough for now? Let's get your body repaired and I'd like to show you my favorite places out here. Let's just see how things go." She resisted using her nanites to push artificially at Charlie's emotions. She settled for just resting her head on his shoulder.

After a minute Charlie sighed and relaxed. He put an arm around her and said, "Okay. This is a battle you won several days ago. But I'm still wondering just what it is that...let me put it this way...Why do you sit out here with the technology needed to cure genetic defects and spaceships that let you fly between the planets...and who knows what else? How did you get out here in the first place?"

Lanora snuggled against Charlie and put her arms around him. "Well, do not get your hopes up. These are all good questions, but you cannot expect me to answer all your questions. Even we Genesaunts are not too clear about some of our own history. Our mythology says that long ago there were visitors who came here from other star systems. Interstellar space travelers originating in a distant star system who came here and started taking Earthly life forms out here...to space bases and to other worlds."

Charlie asked, "Long ago? Just how long are you talking?"

"Well, our own history, human history, goes back a quarter million years. And there is reason to believe that other Genesaunt cultures proceeded ours by millions of years. Some say that there have been a series of Genesaunt cultures out here going right back to the Jurassic. But if so, they each moved on, probably to other star systems."

Charlie could not understand how so much time could pass with humans living out in space yet it seemed they had not really changed and advanced very much. He asked, "In a quarter million years, this human civilization out here in space has not managed to travel to other stars?"

Lanora tried to explain, "Look at it this way, Charlie. Travel is almost completely one way: from Earth to space. You can leave Earth and join the human Genesaunt culture out here, we are mostly settled among the outer planets and the outer fringe of the Solar System. However, nobody can go back the other way. In the same way, it is possible to leave the Solar System and travel to other stars, but nobody comes back. It is all one way."

Charlie gave a deep sigh. "But why? Why leave humans trapped on Earth with primitive technology? Why are you satisfied to live without interstellar travel when other can and do travel beyond to other stars?"

Lanora explained, "The short answer is that it is against the law to do things any other way. For example, the Overseers enforce the rule that prevents people like me from going down and living on Earth."

Charlie asked, "Overseers?"

"There are many flavors of Genesaunt, Charlie. Overseers are a kind of police force that prevents interference in the course of development of life on Earth. You will see that we live according to rules out here. And it is in some ways harder for us than it had been for you on Earth."

"What is harder?"

"Well, the Earthlings are subjected to rules, but they know nothing about those rules. In a way that makes it easy for them. We Genesaunts, knowing how Earthlings are kept ignorant of outside forces -like the Overseers- we know that we are also ignorant of much. But it is our choice. If we decide to, we can push to travel to other stars. Some of us do take that step. But most of us are happy to stay here in the home system. Those like me, who are concerned for Earthlings and their fate, would never travel away into the depths of space, no matter what wonders await us out there."

[edit] L4

Lanora drew Charlie's attention to the front window. "Watch this Charlie."

Charlie saw the huge, bright face of the Moon. He asked, "Are we going to the Moon?"

Lanora replied, "There is a hidden base under the surface of the Moon, but it is almost exclusively devoted to observation of Earth. It is also the headquarters for the Overseers, and since we just tricked the Overseers, we would not be wise to go there."

Charlie was confused, because it looked like they were making a rapid approach to the surface of the Moon.

Lanora explained, "Sometimes interventionists need to turn an Earthling over to the Overseers, so this shuttle craft is equipped with an automated display to make it look like this is an approach to the Moon. But watch carefully, Charlie!"

Charlie did watch, even when it looked like they would crash into the surface of the Moon. But Lanora was perfectly calm, so he did not panic. At the last moment, access to a tunnel appeared and their ship plunged into the darkness of that tunnel. Lanora said, "Pretty convincing, eh? Let me shut off the special effects."

Suddenly they were back in deep space, now slowly approaching another spaceship. Lanora pointed to the ship they were docking to. "We're actually at the L4 position of the Earth-Moon system. Come on. We're transferring over to a bigger, more comfortable ship with faster propulsion." They were now inside the shuttle bay of the larger spaceship. Lanora opened the hatch of the spaceship and led Charlie by the hand.

Charlie paused in the bay and turned back to look at their little shuttle craft. Charlie saw that it had morphed from the shape of a Hummer into that of a more graceful form. He noticed that a man was getting into the shuttle by way of the hatch on the other side of the bay. Charlie asked, "Who is that man?"

Lanora waved to the man who waved back and closed the hatches of the shuttle. "That's a bioelectronic robot, like Andresklo. He'll fly the shuttle back to Earth. Come on." She led Charlie out of the shuttle bay and then gave him a quick tour of the larger spaceship which resembled a very comfortable home. Lanora then let Charlie look at a diagram of the ship's engine. "This ship can accelerate much faster than the shuttle and we'll soon be traveling at a significant fraction of the speed of light."

Charlie estimated that it had taken them about half an hour to go 400,000 kilometers in the shuttle. "I have not felt any acceleration. How is that possible"

Lanora pointed to part of the diagram, "An integral part of all Genesaunt spaceship engines is a gravity field compensator. Some drive efficiency is sacrificed to produce a constant simulated gravity for passengers."

Charlie asked, "How is it possible for your spaceships and your bases like the one on the Moon to go undetected?"

Lanora shrugged, "Well, we do not make it easy for Earthlings to notice us, but soon enough it will happen...Earth humans will become aware of the Genesaunt civilization."

[edit] Navigation

Here is a map of the chapters:

              _> Mary –––––––––––––––> Lincoln
             /                                \
            /                                  \__> Amelia
      PAlbert ––––––––––––––––––––> Andresklo
      /  \                                           ------> Yasas
     /    \      __----------> Cathy                /
    /      \    /                 \                /
   /        \  /                   \__________>Tess
CC –––> Charlie ––-----–> Stefi
   \                    
    \                    ----------------> Lani
     \                  /                     \
      \ _______---> Jenny –––> Thomas          \______> Dexamene

Sunday ------------------> time flow --> one week in the Fall --> -------------------------------> Saturday
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