Horrible Decisions and Fate: (TimeSaga 7 - All seven chapt)

Horrible Decisions and Fate
TimeSaga Story Seven
Chapter One

I could not help but use my hands to hold my head and cover my eyes as I listened to the news report.  Considering the stated beliefs of the countries involved, I really could not believe that they would enact such laws.  Honestly, I felt good could come from the developments.  The technology had the potential to help a multitude of people whose bodies had been ruined by the aggressive nature of governments and groups.  I however did what I could to cover my head with my hands while listening to how science was first going to show its dark side.

There was some humor in hearing that criminals were considered too corrupt to use as guinea pigs.  Of course they would not use those who could actually benefit from the technology, as the purpose of the research was not to help people.  The governments sponsoring the Solomon Foundation wanted to create special soldiers, so felt it best not to condemn innocents, or those who had served their time in the military honorably, to the process.  The only group that those in charge felt could be acceptably inducted were those who came so close to committing suicide that their lives were no longer considered viable.

The media spoke of others, but they focused on a Barney Douglas of America.  They spoke of his dissatisfaction with the philosophies of his native land, so his move to India.  His luck in the new country however did not prove well, as he lost his job, then his family.  While the media spoke of his attempts to restart his life, they mentioned his eventual attempt at suicide putting him barely existing on life support.  As if their audience was to applaud, the presentation ended with the revelation that Barney Douglas would truly gain a beneficial and productive life as one of the first cyborgs with the name of Pyramid 8.

It hurt that some of the very benefits of my technology that would go into my robot were going to be used in turning people into mostly machines.  I found myself glad to have hired Jimmy, as his plans to build a highly developed AI into the robot would negate the need for biological minds to operate the constructs.  I thought it cute when he admitted that he had hopes to have a special person fully capable of coming in and working with him, although did not speak on it further as I agreed with him that any such decision would be years in the future.  He stayed focused to developing the necessary technologies, and I felt would truly be the one to see to the advancement of my robot.

Heard my phone ring, and seeing that it was my husband, I picked up hoping for some good news, although Joseph quickly let me know the opposite.  “I wanted you to hear this from me first, Leanna, as it is not my fault.”

“The Iranians building cyborgs?  That should be more my fault than yours, Joseph.”

“No.  It is probably Zychi, so you might find that it is your fault in leaving that original machine behind.  I am the one advancing the technology however, and called on Nicholas Pathulma for some physiology advice.  What I did not know was that Zychi had also contracted with him for consulting, and I believe some things clicked for him as they clicked with me.”

I knew Dr. Pathulma, as I had also contacted him long ago about questions in physiology.  He was in America doing some lectures, and I had contacted him both to let him know my appreciation of his presentation and gain some answers to some questions I had at that time about tracking the egg back through time.  The process that looked so simple now, and now only took me two days to establish, was one of the toughest problems I faced in developing my technology.  Dr. Pathulma had given me some answers, but I accepted that it also gave him some history with my science that might have enabled him to answer questions for others.

To understand my husband’s fear, I asked a basic question.  “What are you working on, Joseph?”

“Biological robots.”

“Biological robots?  You mean –“

I believe that he feared what I was about to say, because he quickly explained, “No, Leanna.  I am not talking about people, but artificially grown wet-ware robots.  They are not to be human at all, but will have the capabilities to live with us and work with us.  It’s complex, but I think that I am getting it, although they will still need physiologies, which is why I contacted Nicholas.”

I still had to say it, “Robot people?”

“No.  I mean, well – no.  They won’t be people.  They will look like people, and be able to interact with us, but they will have specific functions, and will be focused on certain job requirements.  Think of a very complex set of nanomachines that will in appearance mimic us humans, but be useful mechanisms.”  As if attempting to head off my questions, he explained further, “But they, the nanomachines, will have needs, and will create wastes, so I will need certain human systems, like a circulatory system along with filters and things.  Attempting to figure out all the components I have been using the human physiology as a model, which caused me to call Nicholas.”

“I will probably have such issues as well, Joseph.”

“I don’t think so, Leanna, as you are not being biological at all.”

I really did not see where Joseph was going.  He had the tone of a man who had performed a major sin against his wife.  Before we married, he mentioned certain dalliances in his life.  The topic however had nothing to do with improper socializing, or the stunts students would pull to gain a good grade.  As far as I could tell, he was talking about work.  While slightly perplexed, I made a reply along the direction I felt the conversation to be going.

“Nanobots are not biological either.  They might simulate some biological functions, but they are still technological.”

“Sally is however human.”

Those words threw me for a loop.  I had to look around to see if our daughter was listening.  She was a rather strange little girl, although I was coming to relate to her a little better.  Joseph did not spend that much time around her, but I could not blame him for our jobs forcing us to operate in two different countries.  He did share what he could of his life with me, and Sally, so his words I felt turned the conversation in a completely improper direction.

“What does Sally have to do with this?”

“That is why I am being so apologetic in this call, Leanna.  You need to look at what Nicholas and his team are doing.”

I did not feel any anger toward my husband.  In fact I felt a little sorry for him in having to make a confession for the actions of others.  Joseph did not ask me to make any promises, but only sent me a number of files after again making vague apologies.  I told him that I loved him, and promised him that I would find a period of time to give them my full attention wondering with whom I would feel anger.

The fact that I had been watching the television however meant that this was my half day off.  I had two full days ahead of me to set up my machines to perform a male to female conversion.  Nothing special about the work, except that the life of a human was on the line with me determined not to be at fault.  Trusting in the fact that Joseph did not say anything about time being of the essence, I simply jotted in my journal a note to look over the material on my next half-day off.

I did check with Rudy the next day about what he might have heard of a Dr. Nicholas Pathulma.  As if Rudy needed more information than just a name, although the number of people in our line of research was rather limited, I spoke of what I knew about Dr. Pathulma.  Rudy was able to tell me some more.

“He tried to disappear into the distant reaches of Russia, but he needed money.  Somebody gave him the financial backing, and set him up with Zychi.”

I interjected, “That is what Joseph told me, along with the fact that Dr. Pathulma got some time to inspect my first machine before Joseph managed to get it.”

“Yes, and I think he learned something.  I believed with you that the machine was ruined in the government’s attempts to backward trace your technology.  Nicholas figured something out however, and I know that his research went into complete dark.  I haven’t learned anything since.”

“Come on, Rudy, I know that you hired all your boy-toys when you were at Zychi.  Surely you have someone to whisper things to you.”

“Honestly, I don’t.  Whatever Nicholas is doing, he brought in all his own people.  Mostly Russian, but there are a few professionals from Europe.”

I had to stop and consider what Rudy told me against what I heard from Joseph the night before.  It was obvious that my husband was concerned about me learning something.  What Rudy told me did not discount the information, so I tried to rationalize what the hidden problem was.

“Joseph mentioned Sally.”

“Okay, Leanna, here’s the whisper.  The Russians have put a lot more serious research into paranormal perceptions.  They are thus doing what we are doing, but testing for psychic powers and not the usual chemicals like we are.”

Any other person would have gotten a lecture from me about why those words were wrong.  I knew of no test for psychic powers that could be objectively done.  I also knew that no one, especially those at Zychi, could duplicate the technology that I was using.  I however trusted Rudy, so held my lecture waiting for him to supply some support for his claim.

“I know that it is farfetched, but that is the best whisper I can get.  Whatever is being done, is really obscure and heavily protected.”

Accepting that there was no way to challenge speculation, I simply replied, “And what would be the result of their research?”

“People who can contact these aliens.”

“You’re kidding.”

“It is either this or war, Leanna.  Considering the amount of money a war costs, actually the funds into this loony science is minor.  Considering how bizarre and alien those that attacked were, it actually might be the right tactic.”

Rudy had now given me something substantial to debate, so I took to presenting an alternate point.  “Listen, testing for psychic powers is nothing new.  No test has been managed that has proven anything of the sort with many hopeful results only showing the cleverness of magicians and not any esoteric powers of our brains.”

“For once, Leanna, I am against you.  I mean, I cannot think of another tactic other than war.  You showed Dr. Kuliak how to kill those aliens, but that really should not be our response.  I mean, I accept that it probably will be, but if this research shows us another way, then good.”

“I’ll put down money that it won’t, Rudy.  Our government has done their psychic research with little or nothing to show for it.  As you said, Russia put even more into it with little to nothing to show for it.  I consider the evidence to state that this will prove to be another waste of tax money as well.”  Attempting to push my mind to come up with more evidence, I found myself having to ask, “How does this relate to my technology?”

In a soft voice, Rudy replied, “Sally is a most strange child.  What if she came out having psychic powers?”

“I guess she could claim them as well as any of the other charlatans out there.”

“Well, we are just going to have to wait and see what this research claims to produce.”

Horrible Decisions and Fate
TimeSaga Story Six
Chapter Two

I came into the lab to hear Dr. Beyonce and Dr. Rudy discussing some extrapolation of their science. Since my assignment was to also work with an extrapolation of the technology, I was definitely interested. After I made a couple of comments, both turned upon me with questions. Considering that I had put in my time going over the theories developed by Dr. Beyonce along with the proofs, I felt able to join the conversation with me being satisfied to hear my replies not dismissed.

Dr. Rudy finally asked, “Jimmy, do you have any contact with Zychi Corporation?”

“Not really, as their attempts to duplicate Dr. Beyonce’s science did not work.”

“So, that means that you did have contact.”

“Well, I tried. Those I contacted however spoke of you, Dr. Rudy, saying that you were someone who would be easy to talk to.”

Dr. Beyonce went to giggling. There was no doubt in my mind about the two being close friends. While I originally dealt with her husband, even Dr. Worsheim spoke of the connection between Dr. Rudy, who also worked with Dr. Worsheim, and Dr. Beyonce. The two were often found chatting with each other as they worked with no fear of showing emotions.

Dr. Rudy said, “I don’t remember your conversations with me being anything special, Jimmy.”

“Well, no, Sir, as back then I was just starting to get involved in the science. You however did help me with some simple pointers to where Dr. Beyonce had pulled her equations. You would be surprised how hard it is to grasp where the science actually comes from.”

Dr. Beyonce asked, “So, you did contact Rudy?”

“Yes, but as he said, it was not much. Still, it did help me get a focus on where your science had its base. I was thus grateful, and when I went back to Dr. Worsheim I was able to set in motion the steps that eventually placed me here.”

“Well, the reason we asked you about Zychi is that they are supposedly up to something right now that has us worried. It has come to our attention that they might have figured out something with my science, and developing something that might not be proper.”

Suddenly, I had an idea. “Debra is in contact with someone at Zychi. They handled the Horizon Module, and are now working with another space module. This is an explorer vehicle, but it will be so far out that they need some AI to help handle some situations. Debra gained permission to discuss their logic paths with them.”

Dr. Rudy said, “Well, I don’t mean for you to have her snoop, but could you just ask her if she had heard any rumors?”

“Yes, sure, as I do stay in contact with her.”

“Is she your girlfriend?”

“I don’t know. She is so much younger than me, but she latched onto me. Her mother was sick, and her father would leave her outside the hospital when they would not allow children in to visit. I was doing some work with my father who did electrical jobs, but I really did not like speaking with his fellow employees. I would thus go outside to eat lunch, and Debra would be out there tending to the flower beds. I found out that she lived slightly near me, so spoke some more with her.”

I could not help but have my voice go quiet as I said, “Her mother died, and I found her working hard to finish her work on the flower bed. The hospital staff had given her permission, and she was focused on finishing before her father took her home. I did not mean to say anything wrong, but only put things in perspective. She turned and lit into me. I saw anger in her eyes. Knowing that she had just lost her mother, I slightly felt bad, and left glad that I had work with my father. We ran into each other in our neighborhood later, and I found her to have more to say to me. Nothing bad – she did not act angry at all, and we have continued to talk to each other.”

Dr. Beyonce commented, “Sounds like a young lady that you will regret not hanging onto.”

“I’ve never understood it. Her father and brother are nice. My friends tell me she is cute, but it isn’t really like that.”

Dr. Rudy replied, “Yes, Honey, it is just like that. You start treating her just like that, and I think you will be surprised. If you have been friends for as long as you say, don’t be scared of her. Let her be more to you, because she has deserved it.”

Dr. Beyonce said, “I would not usually support Rudy in his romantic views, but he is right this time. Debra is not only infatuated with you, but working right now to follow your advice and advance her skills in AI just so she can become qualified to work with you. There is something there between you, so you might as well accept that she is cute as well.”

“You heard the lady, and trust me, she is hetero – both ways. She knows the way of hetero love, both the good and bad, so if she gives you romantic advice, you take it.”

I got the impression that Dr. Beyonce was slightly displeased with what Dr. Rudy said, but I did not let it bother me. I instead thought about how Debra looked. She was rather attractive. She was also actually getting close to legal age, but as far as I knew had not been allowing the boys to actually have their ways with her. I thus found myself bothered with a desire to speak to her.

Realizing that it was a good time to call Debra, I asked to be excused. Both smiled at me, although Dr. Beyonce reminded me that I was supposed to ask about Zychi. I assured her that I would, then left the lab to go outside where my cell phone would work.

A man’s voice answered to immediately say, “Debra left the phone out here, because she did not want to be disturbed. She’ll make an exception for you, Jimmy.”

I replied, “I’ll try not to keep her long, Mr. Washington.”

“I expect one day you will have her as long as you want. Give me a moment, Jimmy.”

Those words took me by surprise. One of the reasons I made the call was in realizing that Debra had been focused upon staying in my life. It did not make sense to me. I felt more like an older colleague guiding the young lady than a prospective romantic partner. The cheerful words from Debra however kept a surprised expression on my face even as I found myself enjoying the words.

“I am working on calculus, Jimmy. From what you have said, and what others have said, there is a lot of math in computer theory and science.”

More than willing to put the conversation at a level with which I comfortable, I replied, “Oh, yes, and you have to understand it, not just plug numbers into equations. If I couldn’t do the math, and be able to talk about the math, Dr. Beyonce would not let me work with her.”

“You’re working with Dr. Beyonce?”

The cheerful tone of that question told me a number of things. One, she was impressed with me, which actually made me feel good. Two, she considered Dr. Beyonce an important person, which I felt was good in that most would not recognize her name or only know her as someone from certain crude jokes. Finally, the words along with her statement about calculus told me that she was continuing to keep in contact with those already working in certain fields.

“Yes. In fact, it is because of her that I am making this call.”

“Oh, what about?”

“Are you still talking with Dr. Albritton at Zychi?”

Her voice dropped in volume and the cheerful tones went away as she answered, “Yes. In fact, he told me to talk to you. He said that you – I mean Dr. Beyonce – were turning people into robots. I told him that you were building a robot, but not using people. He told me to talk to you and ask you.”

“No, not me – or us. However, we are worried about someone at Zychi doing that. That is actually why I called. I am sorry to say this, but we were hoping you would reveal some information that you probably shouldn’t.”

“No, it’s all right, Jimmy. In fact, Dr. Albritton tells me to talk about the science to others. He says that it is a pity that more people are not interested in the fantastic things happening around them.”

I found myself also having that opinion. I also considered that Dr. Albritton did not think Debra knew enough to ask any important questions, or make certain associations from what she learned. I thus found myself hoping that I would not cause her trouble by having her see some connections and forming certain opinions.

“Well, I have to agree there. Still, there are reasons for keeping silent, good and bad.”

“What do you want to know, Jimmy?”

The question came with a confident tone that had me accept she would tell me whatever I wanted to know. I again wondered about how Debra thought about me. It made no sense for her to have such an intense, and lasting, crush upon me. I found myself pleased with her devotion, although my question came out softly worried that it might spoil our relationship.

“Well, simply why would Dr. Albritton say that? Like I said, Dr. Beyonce and Dr. Rudy believe that someone at Zychi is doing research with Dr. Beyonce’s science that is not proper. Dr. Albritton thus might have heard what these other people are doing, and made an association with Dr. Beyonce since they are using her science.”

“It’s a Dr. Pathulma, Jimmy. Dr. Albritton said that he heard babies crying from the lab. He said that if people could go back in time, they could plant ideas in peoples’ heads before they were prepared for them. He said that my love for you could be like that, Jimmy. He said that you could have gone back in time and dropped suggestions to make me love you before I was old enough to properly deal with such thoughts.”

I heard her use the word ‘love,’ so I put my focus on assuring her of our relationship. “What, so I could have you chew me out on the topic of flowers?”

She laughed, which pleased me immensely. “Yes, I guess that I have been hard on you at times, Jimmy. I always felt that you were someone who should know, should be able to understand, so I felt angry that you did not. You could have gone back in time and made suggestions causing me to trust you.”

Definitely wanting to turn those words toward the positive, I asked, “Debra, have I ever given you a reason for not trusting me?”

“No.”

“So, assuming I did, which I didn’t, at least as far as I know now, I don’t believe that I lied to you.”

“No, Jimmy. Everything you have told me has been right.”

Very pleased with those words, I worked at turning the conversation back on the young lady. “And I want you to know that everything you have told me has been right as well. Flowers, rabbits, whatever, your words to me have been good as well.”

“I want to talk with you more, Jimmy. In fact, all my life.”

Feeling very lucky, I worked at supporting those words. “I look at your pictures, Debra, and realize that you are a very lovely lady. Still, this work takes up almost all of my time. If you want to join me, you are going to have to learn to be a part of my work.”

“I am doing that, Jimmy. I am going to graduate valedictorian, and I already have scholarships from some top computer science colleges.”

“Good. Honestly, Debra, I am just working on a robot. It is a futuristic thing, but it won’t be human because of me using humans. It will be human because someone, hopefully you, programming it to act like a human.”

“I like that, Jimmy.”

Realizing that I needed to get back to work, I said, “I like that too, Debra. Listen, I am going to tell Dr. Beyonce what you said. Don’t get nosy, but if you hear more, let me know. I promise to send you more messages as well.”

“And pictures?”

“And pictures, but only if you send me pictures as well.”

Horrible Decisions and Fate
TimeSaga Story Six
Chapter Three

Hearing the words from Jimmy had me believe that the genie had been released from the bottle. Only my years of keeping my focus in spite of personal, occupational, or even physical problems enabled me to stay at my job. I wanted to give the work to Jimmy and have him prove his ability, but when I stepped back from my work I found my mind to sink into the despair of a future destroyed by the genie I had found.

I worked that night until I barely had the mental capabilities to drive myself the short distance to my house. I then came back to RayWeight early the next morning and set myself back to the task. If I had been able, I would have taken the time off work. Luckily, I had two people who I trusted enough to have the mental capabilities to catch any of my mistakes as I forced myself to keep working.

It did not ease my mind the next day to have the transformation occur properly. Something wrong happening would have just presented my mind with one more problem. I was glad not to have that additional concern, although was not surprised that Rudy noticed my attitude and had already taken steps to ease my mind.

“Okay, Leanna, I cleared my schedule. You and I are going on an undrunk.”

Jimmy asked, “An undrunk?”

“Some problems alcohol help you deal with, and others it does not. I believe what is bothering Leanna is one of those latter problems.”

“So, you drink tea?”

I answered, “No, soda or maybe coffee. I have been pushing myself, so need the caffeine. You want to join us, Jimmy? We will be working, mostly.”

Rudy did not surprise me by saying, “Oh, yes. I like having a man around.”

“He’s harmless, Jimmy. If he wasn’t, he would not be my friend.”

“As much as it pains me to say it, she is right. Still, I can imagine.”

Jimmy replied, “Well, if you’re working, I guess that I am in. I mean, it might be Dr. Beyonce’s half day off, but I would still be working anyway. I guess that I am not goofing off if I am spending time with my bosses.”

“That’s the attitude. Come on.”

Both men listened as I explained what I gained from not just listening to my husband, but accessing his private files. While I had proven the viability of a time-loop basically creating a perpetual motion machine for power, then had Jimmy work on using time as a storage medium for equipment manipulation in our robot, others were using time loops for things I would not have thought practical. Basically my husband was using repetitive time cycles to perfect precision circuitry and logic. It seemed that Nicholas was sending genetic code back to perfect an ideal human design.

I understood Joseph’s design, as it was a practical extrapolation of my original desire for my theory. The first idea I had was to toy with the computer chip of slot machine to have it win. The problem I had was that affecting a random number generator provided no solid proof of my theory. By changing a person’s sex, or another genetic trait, none could claim the result was just a matter of luck. Joseph was simply using my technology to alter the energy levels of a chip as I had originally conceived of doing.

Nicholas was however altering DNA. That required manipulating matter, which I felt was impractical. It took large amounts of energy to simply supply an impulse to an egg in the distant past. The transfer of power was very small with a minor amount of accuracy. What I ignored was that the exchange of genetic material was much smaller than an egg, and also basically random. It thus did not take much power or accuracy with the hope of causing a desired trait or the event in time would be repeated. When a desired enhancement in the DNA would occur, the resulting child would be conceived to lock in the change in our timeline, but then killed with the process duplicated to hopefully gain an even more enhanced set of DNA.

Jimmy listened intently to the lecture, but Rudy felt able to counter my words. “Still, Leanna, how do you test for psychic abilities. I mean, you first have to prove psychic abilities exist.”

“I don’t believe that they are going for psychic abilities. The stated purpose of the experiment is to find a method of communicating with the monsters encountered through the portal. What I believe we are not being told is that they have captured one of those monsters, and they are looking for traits that can react/respond to those creatures.”

Now Jimmy piped up, “Is that possible?”

The eyes of Rudy also turned to the young man as I scolded him, “That is the purpose of experiments: to find out. They fact that the experiments continue must mean that they are having some success.”

Rudy corrected me, “Or just a number of variables that they need to test.” I only nodded in reply with Rudy advancing the conversation. “The point is, can we be against it? I mean, we really do need some method of challenging the threat, and what Nicholas is doing cannot be said to be antagonistic.”

It was Jimmy that said what I wanted to say, by asking, “How many science-fiction movies have you seen?”

“Oh, come on. We are thousands of years into the future without any detectable method of psychic powers even existing. Even accepting that some people might have some ability to detect things beyond the norm, nothing equal to what has been proposed has ever come forth.”

I worked to bring the conversation back to rational discussion by saying, “I believe that what will result will be the usual rose-colored glasses reports of previous psychic research studies. The project will be shut down for not showing promise while its supporters will spread rumors of the fantastic things that were being done.” I locked my eyes on Jimmy as I added, “Although I will do my best to spread the facts of the evil nature of the project itself.”

No sooner did he ask why, than Rudy answered, “Because they are playing with human life.” He then turned his eyes to me as he added, “Even more than you did.”

“Oh, yes, as I merely made a point to Ted, and accepted the result. From what I hear, Nicholas is killing child after child.”

Jimmy innocently asked, “Can he do that?”

“Not can he, but he is. He will probably argue that it is the same child, same soul, over and over with it not dead at all should he eventually allow it to live.”

“We are against that?”

Rudy replied, “Definitely. I mean, this goes far beyond the things we do at RayWeight.”

“It does sound disgusting.”

I said, “I’m glad that you realize that.”

“How do we stop it?”

“I don’t know if we can. Yes, Rudy and I know Dr. Erbenaire who is the head administrator for Zychi. I also own a number of shares of Zychi stock. We could thus make some statements against Nicholas. However, shutting down the project at Zychi would probably only drive the experiments underground. I actually prefer having the project somewhere we can have some knowledge of what is going on.”

Rudy said, “You could however speak to Doug and have him know of your concern, so possibly get his regular all-is-well reports that we could read into.”

I had to nod my head as I replied, “Yes, I haven’t done that. I’ll make it a point.”

“Oh, and let me toss in that you might not be happy with what your husband is doing.”

I did not know what Rudy meant by that, but I quickly worked to set my attitude about a certain history of Joseph. “If he is playing with someone else’s body, I won’t be happy at all.”

“No, but – well, let me say that there does seem to be more to what he is doing than just computer code. I have been looking over his equipment requests, and there is some suspicious stuff there.”

I was just a theory person with Rudy being the one that did most of the work creating the machines to test my ideas, so I did trust him to look over even my personal purchase orders. I also did wonder about why I was not pregnant. Joseph and I did find times to be together, and I knew I was not on any protection and he was not protected. Actually feeling that Sally would be more normal if she had a normal sibling around her, I looked forward to going through the entire reproductive process. I thus looked to Rudy wondering about how far his ideas would go into things about my life.

Having him not say more forced me to say, “As long as the equipment is being sent to my island, I am not going to complain. I like going there and seeing what Joseph is up to. If he starts hiding his work from me however, I will get worried.”

“Yes, I figured you would say that, but if I were you I would look over some purchase orders.”

“Both of us believe it is healthy for us to get into each other’s business, so that will happen. I will however first discuss what I find with Joseph before speaking to you.”

“Won’t fault you for that, Leanna. I still wanted you to know.”

That was about all we had to speak about. We thus finished our meal, then left. Rudy kissed both of us, then headed home. As I went to my car, I however found Jimmy to stay with me.

“Dr. Beyonce, I was doing some research on you, and it said that you were once a man.”

“Yes, Jimmy, I gave up my balls for science. What do you want to know about it?”

“Do you like being a woman?”

I was uncertain why he asked, but did not consider the question improper. Those who came to RayWeight for the transformation process were given specific details that I knew first-hand. Considering that I was going to trust Jimmy with my personal project, I felt that he needed to have his questions answered.

“I cannot say that I like being a woman, but the fact that my work continues keeps me glad with my life. The reason I have not returned to being a man is that there is no way to assure that the same Y carrying sperm will be the one to replace the X carrying sperm that made me a woman. If I am going to be someone else, I feel better in the body of a woman.” I could tell that he was attempting to figure how to state his next question, so hoped to help him by asking a question with the tones I hoped of it clearly being a jest. “You are not worried that I will force you to go through the process?”

“No, Dr. Beyonce, but there is a good bit of rumor about you.”

“There should be, Jimmy. Not just because of my transformation, but because of the science I opened up. There is a lot of new in my life since figuring out how to make minor manipulations in time. Being female, thus a part of the change, does cause all sorts of speculations about why, how, and what will happen next. I read the rumors myself actually glad that people are aware of what I have done and am doing. If people were not interested, or just did not care, I would be concerned.”

I saw his head nod before he meekly said, “I’m sorry for asking.”

“Did I refuse to answer?”

His eyes shot to mine, which I felt was good as he answered, “No.”

“So don’t you feel worried about asking other questions. We are in a new field of science, but we are still traveling a path paved by previous research and traveled by others also looking for answers. If you do not ask questions, you are the one at fault.” I then smiled as I added, “I also am not paying you enough to be able to afford my process, so don’t worry about me requiring you to lose your balls to science.”

“Well, some say that you made the transformation out of curiosity, and that you use your transformation to answer the questions of others.”

“I do use my transformation to answer the questions of others also seeking to go through the process. That is true. Those questions get a lot more personal that what you have asked, but I answer as much as I can. I however did not myself go through the process out of curiosity. Things were happening at the time that caused me to need to disappear, and becoming a female enabled me to hide in plain sight. While I allowed that my transformation would help me to experience things about the process that no pile of reports would adequately explain, the primary reason was to enable my investors to get me out of the country to where we could start making money with my discovery.”

Jimmy started to turn for his vehicle, but then looked back to me to say, “There are a lot of statements about why you chose the name Beyonce.”

As stated, I did know about the rumors about me, so strongly spoke to make certain Jimmy heard the truth. “I did not choose the name Beyonce. Rudy was in charge of personnel, and he chose the name saying later that it was a name that he knew no one would think of me choosing on my own. That was true, and I have to accept it helped keep those looking for me from realizing this lady was me. While I still don’t like the name, it has served me well.”

“Oh, that actually explains some of the comments between you and Dr. Rudy.”

“Probably so.” I then looked up to the darkening sky as I said, “Let me have a few hours of peace, Jimmy. Tomorrow we get back to work, and you can ask more questions then.”

Horrible Decisions and Fate
TimeSaga Story Six
Chapter Four

Most of Dr. Beyonce’s checks of a patient were to determine the location of the original egg. Her lecture to me on the math however had to do with how the math she had those of us perform actually had little connection to the actual science. The message she tried to deliver was how testing a theory might force an application dealing with the physical and not the science to be studied. If the egg could not be found, no result would occur to verify the theory. Now that the theory was regularly proven, thus a law, the problems in locating the egg at the moment of being fertilized remained. Dr. Beyonce would thus lecture about the importance of doing the math on the physical data without any concern for the scientific principle that actually produced the miracle.

I however listened as one patient sought to disrupt her focus on taking the measurements by asking another question, “You could not have your second beam through time, the check, look to a mirror? I mean, I would really like a body with large tits.”

Dr. Beyonce kept her voice even as she replied, “You mean large breasts, or do you actually mean the tits?”

“Yeah, breasts, but I thought large breasts would have large tits.”

“Not necessarily. Areole size and nipple size seem to be independent of breast size.”

The man was big. I could not imagine why he wanted to become female. He claimed to be completely misunderstood because of his large physique, but I felt that he had other issues. Just because he wanted to paint was no reason to become a female. I felt that the most probable reason people did not purchase his paintings was not because of his size, but because he was not a good painter.

He said, “Well, my mother and her mother were both lookers, but you cannot promise anything like that either.”

“Correct, and I won’t. If I may make a religious argument, you will look the way God intended should He have decided to allow another sperm, one with an X sexual chromosome, to fertilize your mother’s egg.”

“You look good, Dr. Beyonce. I mean, since you went through the procedure.”

Having discovered the connection to who Dr. Beyonce had been previously, and actually having discussed the topic with her, I listened to her reply. “Thank you, but I have done things to enhance my appearance. I do wear makeup, and I have learned how to pick my clothes. You thus might not come through looking the best either, but just have to learn some of the tricks females have developed.”

“I see that you paint your fingernails. Do you paint your toenails?”

“Not when I am working here, as I wear shoes. Get me on my yacht, and definitely on my island where I wear sandals if anything, I do paint my toenails. I am a woman, Felix, and I have no problem with my gender. I might have some thoughts about the things I do, as I know that most men do not look at certain things, but I will do them simply because I feel that as a woman I should. Honestly, I like looking at my toes and seeing them colored.”

I found myself wondering about the man as he continued to speak. “So, I will probably feel led to paint my toenails as well.”

“Painting toenails is not, as far as I know, a genetic trait. It is simply one more thing that us women do to make ourselves attractive. I just know that men like seeing us in as little as possible, but there is little we can do to our appearance when scantily dressed. Painting my toenails takes little time, and does help keep them from cracking from something in the sand or in the carpet. I thus will do it.”

“Do you think the name Felicia will be a good one?”

I had to agree with Dr. Beyonce as her tone became very cold. “This is a voluntary procedure, Felix. It does not have a lot of the policies placed upon those going through the medical procedures, because the change does not have all the problems, especially the surgeries, of the cosmetic reassignment. While you will be out some money, if you are not wanting this done it is probably best if you step away.”

“No, Doctor, as what I say about my present body not helping my painting career is true. I have a boyfriend who is paying for this. I am just wondering about how much my life is going to change.”

“A lot. Gender differences in humans are rather great. My transformation was also due to my career. It has been an experience from the first, but what I have not done is allowed myself to become depressed with my state. I am enjoying my female body, and I hope that you enjoy being female as well, whether your painting career or boyfriend proves successful.”

Dr. Beyonce’s tone of voice became softer as she said those words. Instead of continuing with tones of lecturing, or scolding, the man, a smile returned to her face. I found him to relax, and actually managed to easily take a couple of measurements before he said some more words.

“I have a couple of female friends who are telling me that I am not going to like being a female.”

“People are never happy with their present state, but always thinking things are better with others. That is where you have to rise above your present state. You have a mind, even as a woman you will have a mind,” I saw both Dr. Beyonce and the man smile, “and you have to put that mind on determining what you can do, and not on how sorry your situation is. That is purely a matter of changing your attitude, and not your body.”

“I might need to change girlfriends then.”

“You do need to think over your situation and what you are about to have happen to you. Tomorrow you will have plenty of time for that, as you will be mostly be left alone while I set up the machine. I will only trouble you if for some reason I feel a need to double-check a measurement. If you however go through, I will hope that you only have good thoughts about being a lady.”

The man looked to me and asked, “You are not thinking of becoming a lady?”

“No,” I answered. “I enjoy the female form, but not with any desire to become one.”

“You have a girlfriend?”

Before I could answer, Dr. Beyonce did. “He has a young one. He thus probably wishes for a machine to speed up time. My process cannot do that however, or make us younger.”

The head of the man stayed turned to where he could look at me. “Young one, huh? How did you get a young one?”

I replied, “I don’t know. She did not like what I said about flowers, and scolded me for it. For some reason she however kept talking to me. We have never actually dated, but she would come to my house to talk to me and I would talk to her when passing her house.”

“She probably felt that you listened to her. Women like it when you listen to them, give them respect.”

“Well, she listens to me. She is right now working to become qualified to come and join me in working on a project for Dr. Beyonce. I thus am hoping that Debra and I will advance our relationship.”

“Debra? Her name is Debra?” When I nodded, he asked, “What do you think of the name Felicia?”

“It’s a girl’s name. Let me stress what Dr. Beyonce is saying. I hope that you enjoy being a girl.”

“I cannot say it is for the best reason, but, yes, I am committed to doing this. It will be a big change however. I mean, look at me. I cannot imagine becoming some cute little thing. The women in my family are just that however. The man paying for this looks to my sister, and is hoping that I come out looking like her.”

“We will find out in a couple of days. All I can say is that you will be a girl.”

The man calmed down. While he did talk, his questions became less bothersome with Dr. Beyonce and me able to take our measurements. We left the man with him in good spirits, although I was surprised by what Dr. Beyonce said after closing the door.

“I hope that you did not mind me turning the conversation to you and Debra.”

“No, as I was becoming annoyed with the man as well.”

I heard her softly laugh before saying, “I will not admit to that being my problem. I told you that I was completely honest with my patients. I just sensed that the man was having serious doubts about going through the process, but that my lectures were not helping. I needed some way to turn the conversation in a manner that would help. Bringing up the fact of your relationship with Debra did seem to help, but I wanted to apologize if you felt I had acted improperly.”

“No, Dr. Beyonce, it was all right. I really do not know about how Debra thinks of me however, so there really is no confidence there. I don’t mind speaking about her however.”

“Well, I won’t make it a normal thing, at least around patients. I am interested in how things develop however, as it sounds like a charming story. I spoke to Paul Albritton, and he said that he felt Debra was understanding his comments about computer intelligence. He is not really concerned about giving his rover a personality, but found some of Debra’s statements to actually have merit. I thus am hoping to one day meet her.”

Since we were being honest with each other, I admitted, “I was worried about you finding fault with me favoring my girlfriend.”

“I have a husband that also works with me, Jimmy, so I would be wrong to deny you the same. The fact that Debra is listening to your advice and following it says a lot about her commitment to you. You better not ever do that lady wrong.”

“I never have, but mostly because I have been so focused in the work. I really just have not opened myself up to other relationships.”

“Then let me say that I believe you stumbled into a good thing. By the way, I have approved your proposal. Rudy is supposed to leave to work with Joseph, but I am going to have him first see about constructing your design. If it works, I will have you make certain that you understand what he did, and once you show confidence in repeating the steps I will have you move to my island.”

I could not help but express shock as I said, “But my design was all theory.”

“Ah, the magic of Rudy. Now, you will probably learn why I let that homosexual work with me. If you give him a good theory, he can make it practical. Now, let me stress that if he comes to you, you had better be able to answer his questions. He might be homosexual and lusting after your body, but you need to keep your focus and make him focus on building your equipment.”

Attempting to regain my confidence, I turned the conversation back upon Dr. Beyonce. “Is that what you had to do before becoming a woman?”

“Well, I was married then, but yes. I then got a divorce, but still had no plans for a homosexual relationship. Rudy however turned my plans into a working machine, and we now have this fantastic technology. If you can keep your focus, the same can happen with you.”

Horrible Decisions and Fate
TimeSaga Story Six
Chapter Five


I came home to see Sally sitting on the risers. She however had a doll with her. I thought that was a normal thing for a young girl to be doing, so cheerfully went to her. When I asked Sally about her doll, she however asked me a question that surprised me.

“Mommy, do I have a number?”

“A number? No. Why would you ask that?”

“Because I hear a voice in my head from a boy that says that he has a number.” I did not have to ask, but my expression told Sally to say more. “He says that he is named Roy B2. He has a brother that is called Al B2. They were joined at the heart, but are now separated. The doctors were just going to kill them, but something had them go ahead and operate. I think it was another brother, Nick B2 that had the qualities that the doctors were looking for, so felt the same would be true for Roy and Al.”

Concerned, I had to ask, “Do you hear him now?”

“No. He was in pain from the operation, and went quiet after they gave him some medication.”

“Well, I consider what you said very troubling, Sally. I however do not know what to say about it. You have not heard other people speak to you in such a manner?”

“No.”

Not feeling relieved at all, I had Sally stand while telling her what I was going to do. “Let me go speak with your father.” She of course cheered, although I let her know that this would not be a normal conversation. “I will need to speak seriously with him, Sally. You need to be quiet.”

“Yes, Mommy.”

I went up to my room and set up a call to Joseph. Being in completely different parts of the world, what was a convenient time for one of us was usually inconvenient for the other. As husband and wife we ignored such complaints, but accepted our importance to each other to allow for disturbances at any hour. Joseph thus came to the phone without any statement of what I interrupted.

Sally spoke obviously feeling it to be wonderful that I allowed her to say things to her father. I saw in Joseph’s face that he understood the importance of his daughter’s words, and he easily focused on her to gain every piece of information she could provide. She rattled on about her mental communications expressing immense pleasure in simply being able to converse with her father.

Having heard the basic story, Joseph pushed for more information, “Now, Sally, are you certain that only Roy contacted you? Al surely was in as much pain, and Nick was not even operated upon. Those other two should have been able as well.”

“Roy did call out to them, but neither answered. He however said that Al was weaker than him. He however also said that Nick was stronger, because it was because of Nick that he and Al were not killed.”

I saw Joseph’s eyes shift to me as he said, “I promise, Leanna, that my projects are nothing like this. I am also doing time loops, but not like what you are accusing Nicholas of.”

“I never said that you were, Joseph.”

“This is troubling. Do you have course of action?”

Actually, I did. “My company is international, Joseph. I am thinking of relaying this information to Ted, and letting him release his dogs. Since it sounds like my technology, we should be able to claim patent infringement at the least.”

“I once worked in academia, Leanna. Those people get riled up over humanitarian issues, so I might be able to push some buttons.”

“Hopefully, between the two of us we can get some action being taken.”

I saw him grimace, and I believe that I did as well, so we probably thought the same thing even as I said, “It has to be Nicholas, who is working for Zychi.”

The eyes of Joseph looked at Sally as if worried about her hearing him. “Do you have any way to force any release of information?”

“I think I can. Zychi is in the States, so there are methods of causing trouble. Honestly, the same methods that caused me to end my association with Zychi in a certain manner.”

“If you need to go to the States, it would be all right to leave Sally with me.”

As our daughter cheered, I softly said, “She’s improving, or at least I thought so until this recent event.”

“Well, she is as much my child as yours, and I have never been against sharing the blame.”

After allowing Sally to speak to her father for a while longer, I went through the routine that we usually followed. Of course I kept waiting for Roy to again make contact, but by the time my daughter was ready for bed no such mental message had come. I however put her to bed letting her know to go ahead and come to me should she hear a voice in her head, as I would probably be speaking to whoever was responsible for it.

After making myself a cup of tea simply to allow time to pass and assure Sally was asleep, I went to the phone. The secretary did not put up any resistance, but with no more than a request my call was routed to Dr. Erbenaire. No sooner did he say a greeting than I went on my attack.

“I want to speak to Nicholas, Doug, as I am about to pull his funding.”

Considering what I had done, both professionally and in my life, he did not question my threat. “What got you ticked at him, Leanna?”

“I am not going to tell you, Doug, but it is important, so tell Nicholas to call me. Stress that it is urgent. I already have informed my husband, so threats could soon be coming from other sources.”

“Um, well, I do have some limitations, but I can send word to him. Expect a call shortly.”

“Thank you, Doug. Let me say again that it is urgent, and I have already been setting things in motion. I would thus suggest that he does not take too long.”

I had other business that I expected to occupy me, and I prepared myself to spend time with it while waiting for things with Nicholas. It however was not long at all before my phone rang. The number did not show, but that was not the type of secret I was searching for.

He opened up with, “You cannot cut my funding, Leanna.”

“I doubt that. I suspect that it is all private, but so was mine. I also know how devious those private investors can be, but I do have money that I can flaunt if necessary. Still, Nicholas, that is not what I want to talk to you about. I am simply going to tell you that you cannot control what you are doing.”

“You don’t know what I am doing, Leanna.”

“Roy B2, Al B2, and Nick B2 say that I do. It worries me that I will learn more. It should worry you more that I even know that. I fight and fight and fight to keep my genie in the bottle, Nicholas. I had to do things to stress to Ted just how dangerous my technology was. Your genie is getting out, and I am screaming at you, Nicholas, to close the bottle now.”

The pause was not long enough to have me believe that Nicholas even considered my words. “The aliens are a present threat, Leanna. We need to have a proactive solution. It is either that or war.”

“Children are not proactive, Nicholas. They are untrained and unknowing. I also have to say that they are really undependable. Most do grow up properly, but it is not easy as a parent suffering through certain times. I am not telling you to kill them, Nicholas, as I know you will just have them happen again. The problem however is that they do grow up, then what are you going to do with them?”

This time the pause was of a proper length, but it was the words that let me know that he was not actually considering the words I said. “Who told you about this?”

“Nicholas, I have sources. Basically, you are using my technology. I am not arguing with you, Nicholas. I am warning you. As someone who is fighting this battle as well, please, Nicholas, shut the bottle now!”

“We are showing success.”

Those words came out as a plea. I felt for him. I knew well the joy in finding one’s research indeed show results. I thus tried to soothe man’s ego even as I continued to stress the problems with what he was doing.

“Nicholas, I believe that you are as well. What I heard said that you allowed Roy B2 and Al B2 continue to live, because you saw hope in Nick B2. That was probably humane, but the way I found out was not the usual slip of a tongue or catching some little improper phrase in a report. I found out in a manner that I should not have found out, which is why I am so adamant about warning you.”

“You should not know about that, Leanna.”

“NICHOLAS, LISTEN TO ME! Stop, regear, regroup, and put in many more safeguards. Please, Nicholas, I am afraid.”

It bothered me to shout at him. Being a female did not help me at times, as those in the scientific community sometimes had to harden themselves against emotion. Still, I worked hard to stay rational, so it did not come as a surprise when Nicholas responded in a sensible manner.

“Well, considering what we had happen here, we are going to have to wait a while anyway. Okay, Leanna, I will do all I can to assure our safeguards. Should things calm down, I would like for you to reveal our leak.”

“I doubt that I will do that, Nicholas, as I am afraid of one day having to tell you. You really don’t want to know, Nicholas. Really, Nicholas, you don’t want to know, but trust that it is not in a usual manner.”

I then let Nicholas know about my conversation with Joseph. Academia could raise up some bothersome problems with research, including activists who would take risks. He thus thanked me about the warning of possibly getting some protests, and we concluded the conversation.

I heard a bump, and turned to see Sally collapsed on the floor. I rushed to her, but she smiled letting me know that she was all right. Her words however bothered me.

“Roy B2 heard what you said, and agreed that you were trying to help. That is all he wanted to know. He was worried that my mother would not truly work to help him, although I promised him that you would.” While my daughter continued to smile, her next words troubled me greatly. “He did not know what a mother was. Before leaving, he said that he felt I was lucky because I had one.”

Horrible Decisions and Fate
TimeSaga Story Six
Chapter Six

I moved from my work to watch the television screen showing demonstrators outside the main building of the Zychi Corporation. Neither Dr. Rudy nor I would have been aware of the events, or probably even considered them important, but a phone call from Dr. Beyonce caused Dr. Rudy to find the report and look at it. I had heard of Dr. Nicholas Pathulma, but never met or seen him, so found myself interested in the television when he was introduced.

“Zychi is a corporation promoting space-age technology. What has been happening in Iran and India with their discovery is very disturbing. The evidence is overwhelming that they have made contact with another sentient life form. So far the encounters have been most devastating, and it is my mandate to find an answer to making contact in a more peaceful manner. Yes, my work is in developing an organic solution, so, yes, we do work with life forms. What these protestors are proposing however is that we are completely inhuman. I assure you that while our procedures might be a little improper, we treat our subjects as humanely as possible. Let me also assure you that our goal is to prevent all sorts of atrocities that result from war.”

Since Dr. Beyonce had called Dr. Rudy, I assumed that he did know some facts, so asked, “Are they really experimenting on humans?”

“According to Leanna, they are cycling through the development of children attempting to perfect some sort of psychic powers. What troubles her is not that they have succeeded, but that their success is not with the one that they feel is the success.”

“So, she wants it shut down?”

“She feels that it will be shut down from the inside. I just told you that they succeeded, but not looking in the right direction. They are about to be bitten by the very snake they created.”

Dr. Rudy then turned to put a finger on my chest as he said, “That is what your girl is supposed to do. We are going to develop some really dangerous stuff. We need our robot to understand its place, its danger, and be able to relate to situations appropriately. Certain safeguards have to be in place, and I mean rigidly designed, or we might also face the troubles that Nicholas could be facing.”

Feeling a need to support Debra, I said, “You saw the grades and letter of reference from Dr. Albritton. Debra is well earning the standing to work with me.” Hoping to put the conversation where I thought it could be worthwhile, I asked, “Do you think I should tell her to pay attention to this?”

Dr. Rudy looked back to the television, then said, “Yes, go ahead. I am going to do some of my own research, so will probably have my mind elsewhere for a time as well.”

I waved to people as I moved out of the RayWeight building. My project had advanced to where I would be moved to Dr. Beyonce’s private island, but at present Dr. Rudy was assuring that I had the basic fundamentals to handle some techniques that would be used. He could do some fascinating things with what I considered some common tools, so I was working more on learning mechanical and computer manufacture than actually developing the robot. People still thought of what I was doing as just more modern magic, and those I passed waved at me as if I was important.

Debra had a robe around her and her hair was wet, but I still felt she was lovely. “Wonderful timing, Jimmy, as any earlier and I would have been in the shower. Have you been trying for long?”

“No, Debra, as you said, wonderful timing. I just was told to have you paying attention to things with Dr. Pathulma at Zychi.”

“Okay. Is it about robots?”

Usually her focus I found to be a good thing, so I had to smile at her question even as I directed her thoughts in another direction. “No, at least I don’t think so. They are however playing with Dr. Beyonce’s science, and she is worried about what they are doing. They told me to stress to you that our robot needs to not only be able to relate to people, but understand what its capabilities are and limit itself to only being a help to the people.”

“I agree, Jimmy.”

“Good. Well, that’s all. While I have you however, I want you know that I do love you, and think you are very lovely.”

“I just took a shower Jimmy. I thus have not done anything to my looks.”

I could not help but smile wider as I said, “I hope one day to look at you while in the shower.”

I saw the red of embarrassment along with a smile as she said, “You will be naked too, Jimmy.”

Not wanting to spoil the moment, I worked to put the both of us on track by saying, “One day.”

As hoped, Debra returned to the original topic, “Dr. Albritton gave me a very glowing reference, Jimmy. My parents are hoping that they can get grant money on top of the scholarship.”

“Dr. Beyonce and Dr. Rudy both have been in contact with Dr. Albritton, Debra. They are now calling you my little programmer.” I had to admit that if I had heard someone say that about me, I would probably be embarrassed as well, so added, “I let them know that we are building a female robot, so it needs a lady designing the way it thinks.”

“Does it really need to think of itself as a woman, Jimmy? I mean, it is just a machine. Dr. Albritton told me to keep the code focused on the operation of the machine, and not have it become distracted from its actual purpose.”

“It has to relate to people, Debra. We cannot have it just being a weapon. Guns really are accidents waiting to happen. We do not want FER-RON having accidents, so we need it able to interact as something that is not dangerous, yet still be aware of its purpose. Since people will react to it as a female, and it is to work around people, it probably is necessary for it to understand that it is female in design.”

I saw her eyes not really focus on the screen, so accepted that she was thinking over what I said. “Yes, Jimmy, I can understand that. Personality is really about choices due to values, so I believe that we can achieve some sort of social interaction. I am still learning however.”

“I am still learning as well, Debra. I mean, this robot is really going to be something different. Thus, don’t feel rushed, but stay focused on your education. I am going to do everything I can to put you ahead, so you will be the one that works with me. I want you with me, Debra.” Suddenly, I felt my own insecurity raise its head. “I mean, I hope that is what you want. You have always done things to be with me.”

“Is that what you want, Jimmy?”

All I could do was be honest. While I had confidence in my words, I wondered what type of emotional support Debra had. Her family was quite different than mine. Hoping things would go well, I tried to put my honest statements in the context of having support.

“I believe it is what I need. Getting here, working at this level, has required me to keep a focus on my studies. It is the same with those I work with. Dr. Beyonce and many of the other professionals have had relationships that ended badly due to the level of commitment they had to put in their work. Those that do have families have a spouse that can accept, or work with, the dedication of the other required to perform at this level. If you want me, Debra, I cannot just have you as a pretty face. I need that girl that is willing to argue with me, but what we will be arguing about will be something much more involved than flowers.”

“I will still argue with you about the importance of flowers, Jimmy.”

I could not help but smile at those words. It helped my mind to see her also smile. Her words however did work to change the direction of the conversation.

“I don’t want to argue with you however. I would hope we can work together.”

“I am building the robot, Debra. You will be designing its mind, its personality. What will be concerns with me might present problems to you. I need you as committed to making things work as I am. I hope our arguments are nothing that spoil our relationship, but only show our strengths in our related fields. As far our private life, where we take showers with each other, I hope we never argue either.”

As soon as those words left my mouth, I found myself very pleased with them. What expression showed on my face I could not say, but I had to have smiled upon seeing Debra show appreciation with what I said. I thus cheerfully waited for her response.

“I agree, Jimmy. In our private life, we should never argue with each other, except, maybe, about things like flowers. My little spat with you about flowers has never hurt our relationship. In fact, in helped.” Her eyes turned from the screen and down to the floor as she said, “It hurt having my mother die. I was glad you were there that day, as I needed someone to help me release my emotions. I am sorry it was you, Jimmy, but I have been always glad that it was you. The way you handled it, and the way you have handled yourself around me ever since, has made me love you.”

“Well, that day put you in a place in my life quite different than other girls, and you going out of your way to speak to me since that time has kept you there. Really, Debra, there is no one else. Even if there was, you have made yourself someone different. I would really rather have you stay in my life than open up myself to anyone else.”

I believe that I breathed a sigh of relief that I had continued to say things that were good. While Debra had never ended our relationship due to what I said, I feared that my words might have us just stay as friends. What I wanted was the two of us to advance our relationship to a more intimate level. I thus did not want to say anything that would put me back as just someone for Debra to yell at.

She lifted her head to have her eyes look back at me as she said, “I also want that, Jimmy. I will thus continue to work to on developing computer AI with an emphasis toward personality.”

“Good. Really, Debra, I love you. I am willing to grow in our relationship. I do have my work. You however have been keeping me in your life for years, so I am trusting that you will continue. I will however continue to keep you informed of where I am at and what you need to do to come to me.”

“Thank you, Jimmy.”

That was all she said, then the connection terminated. I believe she was nervous. Honestly, I was as well. I thus put my phone back up and turned to head back to work.

Horrible Decisions and Fate
TimeSaga Story Six
Chapter Seven

The words from Jimmy did help my mood. Even Rudy had to admit that having a spouse that could understand the rigors of the work would probably help a relationship. Neither he nor I had that benefit. Rudy’s circles of homosexual companions were friendly enough, but he really did not have what I considered a serious partner. I lost my first spouse because she would not tolerate my need to focus on my work, and felt that my relationship with Joseph stayed close because we did both work in the same areas. I thus wished Jimmy the best.

It also helped my mind not to have any problems with Sally. I did check on her a couple of times during the day, and my governess spoke of nothing improper happening. Sally was becoming more active, which I considered a good thing and not a problem at all.

Coming home that night, I found my daughter sleeping on the risers. That really was not unusual, as she would often wait for me to come home. The day before a transformation I usually worked late until positive that all the settings on the machines were proper. There had been times when I had worked all night, but I did try to get some sleep to assure my mind would be able to respond should complications result with the actual transformation. Finding Sally asleep on the stairs, I simply moved to assure her I was well and put her to bed.

“Mommy, you will be home tomorrow?”

“Nothing going on that I know of, Sally, so I should be home. This guy is fat, so fixating on his genetic center has been tough. He was not the first one, so I was able to get things done. Still, nothing really on my schedule if things go well.”

“Good. I want you home, Mommy.”

I heard that line numerous times from my previous children, so did not think anything about the words. “What do you want to do, Sally?”

“I want to talk to you, Mommy.”

Having my own plans for tomorrow, I suggested, “Okay, but how about you work with me to cook a really special meal? We can talk while doing things in the kitchen.”

The smile on her face caused an even larger one to show on mine. It felt good having a life where I could spend time with my daughter. My first marriage ended because I had to keep my focus on my job. Of course, I kept promising that I would be able to have quality time with my family once I achieved my goals, but some people just would not wait or even listen to the day-by-day accounts of what was actually happening. Now that I did have that quality time, it was not the children from my first marriage that gained the benefit of my time, but I smiled at least having someone to share in my success.

The next day the transformation went according to plan. He was fat, so I had him sign certain waivers. As I expected, his female body still displayed a life of eating a lot, so was also over weight. There was also a complication of diabetes. I had actually covered that in the interview, and had made such notes on both my and his paperwork. Thus, my lawyers assured me that they would earn their retainers and told me to go home and relax before planning for the next transformation.

I kept my promise and had Sally join me in the kitchen to prepare a special meal. One thing being a lady gave me the freedom to do was cook. It was not that I did not believe in cooking when I was a man, but my wife claimed the kitchen as her own territory. Being a lady I thus now felt comfortable cooking a meal, and I hoped that I could inspire such a love in Sally.

As I was about to allow her to work the mixer, I saw a strange expression on my daughter’s face. Seeing tears begin to form in her eyes, I knelt to hold her. She hugged me in return while telling me what I had already surmised.

“They are opening the portal, Mommy. We are far away, but I can hear the music.”

I thought to leave her to call Floyd, but felt that he would be busy with the portal. I thus stayed with Sally concerned for her mentality. I however then thought about the recent situation, and decided that someone else might be able to be contacted.

“Sally, can you detect Roy B2? He supposedly was designed to contact the aliens.”

“No… I – oh!”

I saw my daughter close her eyes. Not knowing how to help, or even give advice, I simply hugged her to hopefully provide her the comfort of knowing her mother was with her. Her body was stiff, and I felt it shake as opened her eyes and yelled.

“NO! DON’T HURT THEM!”

Feeling that Sally needed my support I said, “Yes, tell Roy that. He is not a weapon, but a method of communication.”

Sally replied, “It is not just Roy B2. I can sense Al B2 and Nick B2. I believe it is Nick B2 that is telling Roy B2 to attack.”

Remembering that Sally had acted as if Roy B2 could hear through her, I said, “We don’t want war. People will die if we go to war, both theirs and ours. We already can kill the aliens. I helped Dr. Kuliak figure out methods of killing the aliens. We don’t need you, Roy, Al, or Nick to kill them. We need you to help us contact them.” Hoping to assure that the boys heard me, I moved to look my daughter in the eyes as I commanded, “Tell them, Sally. Tell them we can kill the aliens already, but killing is bad. They were thus not made to kill.”

I saw a number of expressions cross the face of my child before she said, “But they are being told to kill.”

I replied, “Then ask them if they want to live a life of killing and seeing other people being killed.” Seeing my daughter only act as if she was listening to others, I asked, “Sally, can you make contact with the aliens? You once said that you could hear voices in the music.”

“Those were not monsters, Mommy, but other people.”

“These aliens should be people too. They might have grown up on a different world, so thinking different, but at their core they should be people too. What we cannot do is talk to them. We need to figure out how to talk to them.”

A perplexed expression crossed the face of my daughter, then she said, “I hear Roy B2 asking how he would talk to them.”

“They’re talking to you, Sally!” I did not mean to scream, so hugged my daughter and told her I loved her before saying, “Tell Roy that he is talking to you. However it is that he is talking to you, he needs to talk to the aliens.”

I suddenly felt the body of my daughter go slack. Her telling me that the music was finished was not necessary, but I sat her in a chair hoping to calm her. I did ask her about Roy B2, as I knew that contact had been made without the portal being activated. She moved her body against me while making a reply.

“I cannot hear him speaking to me.”

Suddenly, the phone rang. I kissed Sally before moving to it. I actually felt relief seeing my phone indicate the one making the communication was Dr. Floyd Kuliak.

“Leanna, you have a daughter named Sally, do you not?”

Not willing to allow him to control the conversation, I replied, “I warned you, Floyd. Nicholas gained even sterner warnings from me. I however am now past warnings. What you are doing is very wrong.”

“But our technology works, Leanna.”

“IT’S AFFECTING OUR CHILDREN!” I calmed my voice to sound less like an emotional mother. “At least my child is, was supposed to be, a normal child. Nicholas has gone beyond that, Floyd.”

His voice had a mixture of apology along with possibly just the soft voice of someone not wanting to admit a truth. “Yes, Leanna, we have gone beyond that.”

“Well, tell Nicholas to raise them as good children, and you help him Floyd. I am raising Sally to be a good girl in an attempt to have her to be a good, productive member of our society. If you raise those boys to be weapons, they will always be weapons. Our society does not need more weapons, Floyd.”

“Our society does not need more threats, Leanna. We need the weapons to protect us from our threats.”

Those were not the words I wanted to hear, and I attempted to imply such in my stressed response. “I thought the hope was not to make the aliens threats, Floyd. I thought we were trying to make them friends, fellow members of our universe.”

“I do not know if that is possible.”

“YOU ARE NOT TRYING! Damn you, Floyd! Do you really want those boys, and all the children of our world, to grow up knowing war?”

There was silence for a time, then I heard him say, “You are right, Leanna. We probably are not raising the boys correctly. I will speak to Nicholas.”

Being reminded of who truly was a fault, calmed me even as I said, “Yes, Floyd, it really should be Nicholas hearing my anger.”

“We are building things of war, but Nicholas should not. I assume that you are not as well, Leanna.”

“I am doing all I can to help people, Floyd. I am also teaching my daughter to be good and to help people. From what I have heard, Roy B2, Al B2, and Nick B2 have the potential to be good people.”

Again there was a period of silence before I heard, “I will speak to Nicholas, Leanna. He called me asking about someone named Sally, and I thought of you. You have met my own children, have you not?”

“No, Floyd. I have spoken to Hastor and Frances as I called certain numbers looking for you. It seems that you exchange phones with your children occasionally.”

“Yes, as I keep advancing my technology and giving them my old phones. They are good children. I will see that Nicholas raises his boys to be good people. Thank you for your time, Leanna. I wish you and your daughter the best.”

Turning back to the table, I saw Sally crying. When I went to her, she hugged my neck saying that she was all right. As I wiped her eyes, she explained why she was crying.

“Roy B2 says that he wants a mommy too.”

“Life gives all of us blessings and curses, Sally. Tell Roy B2 to focus on his blessings. The worst thing he can do is look to the bad. People tend to move in the direction they are looking, so we try to have good things for our children to look at. I do not know if they are allowing Roy B2 and his brothers to look at cartoons, or children’s books, but there are always good things to look at. If there is nothing else, they need to look to what blessing they have.”

She nodded in the quick manner of children, then asked, “Will we be able to meet them one day?”

“I hope we do, but I am also scared that we do. Tell Roy B2 to focus on hoping we meet one day, and not on being scared that we meet one day.”