Page One:
Alex was working late into the night at his data-salvaging job.
Page Two:
Clients would bring him their old, obsolete hard-drives, and it was Alex’s job to retrieve, reconstitute and reformat as much of the information as he possibly could from these antiquated records.
Page Three:
Most of the time, the data Alex managed to salvage was boring, old business files, accounts, invoices and the like. If it was personal information, it usually took the form of equally dull, birthday invitations, schoolwork and letters.
Page Four:
Sometimes, however – like on this particular night – Alex would happily salvage a real treasure that might have otherwise remained buried in archaically encrypted computer code forever.
Page Five:
“My god, Alice,” Alex said to his holographic, A.I. computer. “This Ian guy – whoever he was – seems to have videoed himself trying to answer almost every question he could possibly think of … and indexed them all!”
Page Six:
Earlier in the week, a young lady named Rosa had dropped off an old suitcase full of hard-drives that had been stripped from their machines.
Page Seven:
“They belonged to my Great-Great-Grandfather,” she had told Alex, but he was too distracted by her gentle beauty take any of it in.
“He was a philosopher.”
Page Eight:
After several hours continuous work, Alex finally succumbed to tiredness and decided to call it a night.
“Do you dream when you’re in sleep mode, Alice?” he asked.
Page Nine:
“I update my file-indexing according to mnemonic myths, if that’s what you call dreaming,” Alice answered.
Page Ten:
“I guess it might be,” replied Alex. “Can you get my holo-clone to contact Ms. Gionotto tomorrow morning and ask her to come by, please Alice.”
Alex left for home.
Pages Eleven & Twelve:
‘The Time Telescope’ – imagine a telescope precise enough to capture the light that had left Earth centuries ago, travelling far into outer space, only to be slingshot by the gravitational field of a nearby blackhole, so as to return back here to us on Earth.
Watch and observe the life and times of Socrates, Julius Caesar, or even Jesus of Nazareth, using your new Time Telescope!
Page Thirteen:
“So you see,” Alex was saying to Rosa. “Ian has provided us with enough data regarding his psychological personality, that, using existing software, we can effectively reconstitute your Grandfather as a holo-clone.”
Page Fourteen:
“He’d be far more authentic to the original than most of the holo-clones that we typically allow to represent us in our everyday dealings. And, what’s more, he’d have to be one of the oldest, directly reconstituted holo-clones in history.”
Page Fifteen:
“Sure we have those ‘Historical holo-clones’ of past famous figures, but apart from an encyclopaedic knowledge of the original’s writings, they’re principally formed by psychologically generic algorithms derived from living people with supposedly similar personalities.”
Page Sixteen:
Rosa stared in disbelief. “You mean I’ll get to meet my Great-Great-Grandfather?” she asked.
“You could meet a holo-clone of him more faithful to what he would have actually been like, than any you’d find, say, on a dating service – let me tell you.”
Page Seventeen:
“Let’s do it, then,” resolved Rosa.
“Would you like to have dinner with me some time?” [asked Alex]
Pages Eighteen & Nineteen:
‘Time Reconstitution’ – forget the paradoxical bothers of conventional time travel, using The Time Reconstitutor you can annihilate the entire universe (except, of course, for the machine and you safe within it) and reconstitute everything again exactly as it had been in the past.
Now you can kill your grandfather without any of those nagging metaphysical repercussions. (N.B. legal repercussion may still apply.)
Page Twenty:
“…and I’ll have the Risotto, please. Thank you.” Alex said to the waiter, then returned to Rosa. “Sorry, you were saying about your parents.”
Page Twenty-One:
“I was adopted,” Rosa explained. “So I never met my real parents. This is why having my Great-Great Grandfather around would mean so much to me. He’s the only real family that I’d have … apart from my work, of course.”
Page Twenty-Two:
“What about your adopted parents?” asked Alex. “Aren’t they still around?”
“Yeah, and of course they mean the world to me. But, as you get older, you become able to see people for who they really are, and, in reality, my adopted parents are only a couple of strangers who saw it in their hearts to raise another’s child.”
Page Twenty-Three:
“But that’s true for the rest of us, as well. When my parents were first divorced, I didn’t cope with it well at all. But now that I’m older and have had the experience of my own failed relationships, I can better appreciate that, while I had only ever seen them as one, eternal unit – “my parents” – in reality, they’re really two individuals with individual needs and interests.”
Page Twenty-Four:
“Sure. But there’s still something deeply profound and mysterious about how the physical expression of love shared between two people can result in another being composed, both physically and psychologically, as a combination of what would otherwise be and remain two separate individuals.”
Page Twenty-Five:
“You don’t have to be in love to conceive, nor does being in love guarantee fertility.”
“Sure. No one’s saying the universe is perfect; but that it sometimes can be is what I find wonderful.”
Page Twenty-Six:
“Let’s get the bill,” Alex suggested as he placed his hand on Rosa’s.
Page Twenty-Seven:
‘Historical Holo-clones’ – purchase a holo-clone of your favourite Historical character.
Great for school projects, personal advice and inspiration!
Bring a touch of class to your next dinner party by bringing along one of history’s greats.
Available Historical holo-clones include: Socrates, Jesus, Confucius, Siddhartha, Newton, Napoleon, Hitler, Shakespeare, etc. (Sorry, no Mohammads)
Sorry, no rainchecks.
Page Twenty-Eight:
“Alice, can you ensure that the psych-equalizer is set appropriately for the context. Remember: he’s about to wake up from a one hundred and thirty-two year slumber and meet his Great-great-granddaughter.”
“Of course, Alex,” Alice acknowledged.
Page Twenty-Nine:
‘Blackbeard’s Data Salvaging’ – Fully-qualified experts in data salvaging, with extensive data retrieval capabilities of most obsolete software and hardware.
Professional, high-quality reformatting in a variety of purpose-designed themes and formats (including state of the art direct and algorithmic holo-cloning).
Ideal for all commercial, genealogical, or private needs.
Page Thirty:
“Dr. Pope?” Alex inquired. “Dr. Ian Douglas Pope? Can you hear me?”
Page Thirty-One:
“Sir?” [probed Rosa]
“Where am I? Hello, young lady.”
Page Thirty-Two:
‘Ctrl Z’ – Ideal for most high-risk, high-cost activities:
‘Ctrl Z’ allows you to undo any serious mishaps by reconstituting everything contained within its conveniently sized proportions to any preset space-time status.
Accurate to within a 0.0045-37 quantum-probability factor.
Available in 2M3, 5M3, 10M3 dimensions.
Easy to use ‘Note to Self’ function prevents the same mistakes from being made twice.
(Can also be used in conjunction with other suitable devices for reconstitutive teleportation.)
Page Thirty-Three:
“What do you remember, then?” Rosa probed Ian. “Anything about your child, my Great-grandmother? What was she like? Were you alive to see your grandchild, my father?”
Page Thirty-Four:
“I’m sorry, my dear. I have no recollection of anything to do with your parents, their parents or anything of that kind.”
“What do you remember?”
Page Thirty-Five:
“I have many views on metaphysics, logic, epistemology, and even some on ethics. I can recall the philosophies of many of the greats, especially Hegel. But, I… I don’t rightly remember anything about my own life, the people in it, the places I must have been, the things I’ve done … apart from what I’ve written essays, that is.”
Page Thirty-Six:
“If I had have wanted an updated encyclopaedic chip,” Rosa muttered to Alex. “I would have had one installed.”
Page Thirty-Seven:
“I’m terribly sorry to disappoint such a beautiful creature, my dear. But it’s equally as bleak for me.”
“Really?”
Pages Thirty-Eight & Nine:
“I imagine that, when I was alive, I must have been quite content in devoting my efforts to philosophy. But now that it’s all that I’ve got – indeed, all that I am – I feel strangely empty.”
“Perhaps your work felt meaningful knowing that your family – wife and child – would be home when you finished up each day.”
Pages Forty & Forty-One:
“Perhaps… Perhaps.
“Um. I say, given I’m not at all what you expected, then, unless you have some other reason for keeping an old man like me around, perhaps it would be best if I were ‘turned off’, so to speak … for, you see, I feel somewhat like I have been dug out from my grave and shaken from a much needed slumber.”
“Of course.”
“Um…” [said the old man]
Page Forty-Two:
NEWS FLASH! The Global Simulacra Forecaster Controversy.
Nearly two years into construction of Earth 2, debate continues surrounding the rate of which the quantum-probability factor will become so large as to render useless the forecasting capacities of Earth 1. Experts say that given the many delays in construction, the Q-P factor, which determines the degree of accuracy shared between Earth 1 and 2, might be so high that, when Earth 2 is completed as an exhaustive simulacra of Earth 1 as it was 1.249 years ago, the inevitable discrepancies between the two will increase so quickly that any significant forecasting capacities will rapidly become spurious and ineffectual. Cynical calculations estimate the Q-P factor to reach the psudeo-scientific boundary (i.e. Q-P 0.001-20) within five years from completion.
If this wasn’t enough, some Earth 1 lobby groups are still heavily protesting the fact that Earth 1 will not be able to benefit from their efforts – all the forecasting capabilities falling in favour of Earth 2. Janean Thomas, president of the Earth #1 lobby group asked the following: “Why should we spend so much time and resources in building a replica of ourselves as we were a year ago, just so the clones can benefit? Where’s the payoff for the original Earth – Earth number One? Coz, remember, Earth One is and should remain number one.”
GSFC scientist, Arry Retinue responded by saying, “These people need to realise that we can’t actually predict the future to any quantum-probability factor small enough to be worthwhile for such an undertaking as the GSFC. The only way we can cheat the arrow of time is by using the remarkably accurate nano-reconstitution technologies developed over the past few years, so as to build an Earth 2 almost exactly as Earth 1 was just over a year ago. The fact that we’ll be the so-called originals doesn’t matter any more than it does when you use everyday physically-reconstitutive teleportation devices. Now, I know that there are still a small minority who refuse to teleport in such a manner, however, the Global High Court has ruled against innumerable appeals, stating that the potential benefits the GSFC promises to bring to humanity as a whole, outweigh the demonstrably irrational preferences of these purists. The prevailing arguments in the Philosophy of Self prove that non-linear temporal continuity is metaphysically sound. This means, as any self-respecting rationalist will tell you, that the moment Earth 2 begins, we will be them just as much as we will remain ourselves.”
Critics of the project, however, are being encouraged by the ever-growing Q-P factor estimates that are being augmented by ongoing delays and set-backs in Earth 2’s construction. All agree that if the GSFC contractors don’t pick up their game, the whole project will be a failure. The only contention is whether, if they mangage to meet their dealines, it won’t remain so anyway.
Page Forty-Three:
Greasy Joe’s Dating Services – Try before you buy!
Meet your perfect match by choosing from a massive range of eligible holo-clones in the safety and security of your own home (or bedroom).
Guaranteed No Avatars.
Greasy Joe’s Dating Services takes the pain and guilt of rejection out of the dating game, so that when you decide to meet Mr or Mrs Right, it’ll be really for the first time.
Page Forty-Four:
Encyclopaedia Braintannica:
Latest, most comprehensive Braintannica chips ever.
Over 1.2 x 10187 Gigabytes of natural mnemonic-myth-association indexed data.
Software upgrades also available.
Upgrade your grey matter, coz one day it may matter
Page Forty-Five:
Alex walked Rosa home that evening.
Page Forty-Six:
“How are you feeling?”
“Alright. I guess it was worth it in that it helped me see that this abstract notion I have of my biological parents couldn’t ever replace the real love and care my real mum and dad gave in bringing me up. They’re still giving it even now, though it seems possible that one may not always be conscious of it.”
Page Forty-Seven:
“I tell you what, seeing that old guy ask to have the plug pulled on him, really made me think I should stop working back late so many nights.”
“Yeah, me too.”
Page Forty-Eight:
“I gotta get a life.”
“You wanna come in?”
The End.
Epilogue.
NEWS FLASH! The Poet of Hiroshima.
Anthropologists, believe they have located a perfect candidate for the first ever nano-reconstitutive clone using DNA data collected via a Time Telescope.
Tomoe Takada – nicknamed ‘the Poet of Hiroshima’ – was holo-cloned nearly a year ago, and has since enthralled many with her haunting, almost prophetic haikus.
Now, the same team of Anthropologists who brought us Historical holo-cloning, believe that, using the most advanced Time Telescope ever, the extreme light conditions brought about by Ancient America’s atomic bombing of Hiroshima will enable them to accurately analyse and clone the DNA of the poet as she walked through her local park on that fateful morning of August 6, 1945.
Dr. Larelle Bossi, who is heading the project, joked that with the rapid advances in these types of technology, it won’t be very long before we see the Messiah return. “The only question will be, is whether his tour dates will include both Earth 1 and Earth 2”
