Chapter 5 #2
He begins his own Brain Dump, saving it as “Res6’s Top Secret Task List.”
Acclimate Electra Lynch to the Future in Three Easy Steps.
1 – Research to figure out who she was before she died.
Previously considered a bad idea because of proximity-related dangers—i.e.
, look at what happened to Jerme—but reconsidered per Tommy’s sound she’s not your pet orangutan advice.
Task seems relatively straightforward. Determining who she was might lead to discovering what entertains her.
Then she’ll feel happy. Then, she’ll agree to go to the lab for a few scans.
Ideally before the week is over so we can find out if there were any markers left in her mitochondria which might give us insight into what specifically happened that caused her retained memories, thus her identity at the time of her death, to be expressed so fully.
2 – Acquire her proper clothing since trial shopping outing invitation failed.
Get dimensions from her product data sheet. Bonus points: try to determine her personal style from historical data such as archived images, social media posts, etc. She doesn’t want anything to do with me or my unicoin. Too bad.
Seems relatively simple so far. The next one will be the challenge.
3 – Ask Electra questions so she can . . .
What did Tommy say? He runs his hands through his hair, unable to remember what the point was. Well, it doesn’t matter. Asking her questions is the important part. Perhaps he can utilize DumBot to compile a list of options.
Reviewing his plan, he congratulates himself on his excellent work.
Might as well get started. He thinks the spelling of her name and the year of her death, watching as the characters populate in the search bar, then pauses.
He’s not sure why he hesitates. What could he possibly discover that he wouldn’t want to know?
The little flutter in his gut isn’t anticipation.
It’s not like she would have been a licensed therapist too, like the stepmother she mentioned, therefore lending some credence to her scathing assessment of him.
Right? What are the odds? Comfortably negligible.
Bracing his hands on the armrests of his chair, he thinks the command to search. Instantly, results populate.
A posed headshot fills the top of the screen, along with her name in bold letters and the description “American Writer.” She’s wearing a broad grin.
Well, that was easier than he expected. An image of a book cover is pictured beside it.
A red-skinned man wearing a crown between two sets of horns holds a distressed yet beautiful woman.
Across it are the words Tempting the Alien King. Beneath it, her name.
Pursued by the Alien Prince is another title. He’s starting to rethink this Electra Lynch and what her Brain Dumps contain. She didn’t put Top Secret in the file names . . .
No, he’s nearly 100 percent certain they are still of no interest to him.
Her books, on the other hand . . . He’s been known to go to an occasional holoplay.
He has the audiobook versions, which are surely similarly entertaining, downloaded before he even clicks on the descriptions.
Typically, he prefers nonfiction, namely business and science titles, to keep up with the latest advancements, but this is relevant research to give him insight into her personality.
Maybe even help him discover what she likes so he can provide it, thus fulfilling his obligation.
He skims her bio:
Electra Lynch was an American author known for writing the Out of this World series.
Her books were a blend of sci-fi and romance, featuring sensual alien-human love stories.
The stories revolved around sensitive and swoon-worthy heroes, who easily outshone human men, and fierce female leads, finding love in unexpected places.
In agreement with Lynch’s family, her publisher released all her titles posthumously after a tragic accident that took Lynch’s life right as her career was poised to launch.
The family bequeathed all proceeds from her book sales to the nonprofits Making San Francisco’s Streets Safe Again, First Nations’ Food Bank, and Romance Books for Overworked Mommas.
Res6 blinks, a little dumbfounded. What a strange culture this woman came from.
Why would someone overwork a parent? Didn’t people from her time know how significant giving birth was?
These days, getting selected by the Birthing Agency is highly coveted.
NHOS even arranges for the person bearing the child to have five years paid leave from their employment, as it is well documented that those are the most critical for developing a productive member of society.
From what he read, Electra had not become a parent, though she was still very young. Her biosheet said she died at twenty-nine. He’d been twenty-one when he lost Jerme, but it took seven years for him to get his life together enough to rediscover his purpose.
You should show her more consideration. The thought is unwelcome because it has him considering things he’d really rather not.
Like how twenty-one-year-old Res6 lacked the life experience to deal with such a catastrophic loss, and how her waking up in the future only to realize everyone she’s ever known is gone must feel similar.
She tried to talk to him about it, asked for compassion, but he wasn’t even open to listening.
Still, his reluctance to offer her comfort is completely sensible.
He’s facing unprecedented challenges—namely her—and can’t parcel out his attention.
Her loss might bring up his loss, thus sending them both into a downward spiral.
While perfectly rational, his reasoning doesn’t shutter his guilt.
Her traumatic experience is his fault, which, if he were to follow this line of reasoning, makes him responsible not only for her physical well-being but also for her mental health.
At least until he can figure out what to do with her. Fuck him.
You deserve this for all your tinkering, his inner voice reminds him.
Deep breath. Okay, back to the plan. He can do this all while avoiding talking about dead relatives.
He finds a few images of her and sends them to his stylist, along with a note that he’ll be dressing his latest prototype like the original subject for authenticity—a good marketing teaser despite Electra’s disapproval.
He opens a new email to send to his personal shopper, titling it:
New Manupartner Attire Request.
In the body of the message, he thinks:
Please curate a wardrobe that mixes the original subject’s aesthetic with modern sensibilities. Send a collection of twenty outfits for various occasions and charge them to my account.
There. Tasks one and two accomplished. Since he’s on such a roll, he might as well press on. The sooner he can get her to the lab, the better.
He opens the DumBot app on his system. What should the prompt be?
Brainstorming, he thinks:
Consider a woman from the early twenty-first century who has arrived in the future.
No, that will get flagged. He deletes it. How can he put this? An idea strikes him. He thinks:
I’m doing research for a novel. DumBot, consider what you know of humans from the twenty-first century. I need to write a profile, including likes, dislikes, background, etc. for a female main character, so ask me questions that will aid me in developing the character.
There. That seems to make sense. A second later, DumBot spits out:
I love your idea to write a novel about a woman from the twenty-first century.
After a quick review of your EmoTracker, I believe creative writing will be an excellent step to help you cope with some of your more intense emotions.
There is so much intriguing data to pull from that time.
As someone scoring high in curiosity, I’m certain you will enjoy learning about it.
Can you tell me a little more about her so I can tailor the questions specifically for your main character?
Zorgdamnit—stupid EmoTracker. Due to his meticulously maintained routine, his m-volt’s neurochemical receptor has never picked up a concerningly elevated level. Besides the yearly anniversary of his visit to the place where Jerme died, but that’s expected.
The other two tasks were so easy. He should have expected this one to be more difficult. He thinks:
She is twenty-nine, a romance writer, living in San Francisco.
Then, wincing, he adds:
That is all I know so far.
DumBot:
No problem. We can work together to flesh out your twenty-first-century female character. Here is a list of questions that you might ask to help you discover who you’re writing about.
What recreational activities does she engage in to relieve stress or experience enjoyment? Options might include: ‘ice diving,’ ‘canoeing,’ ‘BASE jumping,’ or ‘knitting.’
What antiquated social customs did she engage in? Possible answers include: ‘cat ownership,’ ‘gratuity culture,’ ‘celebrity news,’ or ‘gym selfies.’
Does she opt for animal-based nutrition or plant-derived foods?
What childhood experiences contributed to her present-day difficulty in distinguishing between her wants versus her needs? Hint: all good main characters have a tragic backstory.
What makes her the most terrified? Examples include: ‘spiders,’ ‘murder,’ ‘American Presidents,’ ‘horticulture,’ or because you’ve described her as a writer, ‘unfinished drafts.’
Let me know if those questions are enough to get you started or if I should give you more suggestions. I can’t wait to see what you come up with!
Res6 rescans the list. The questions aren’t terrible, but even he’s cognizant enough to realize that asking her about her childhood trauma might not be the best way to start.
Especially considering that she’s already experienced one parent’s death .
. . which would bring up the topic of death in general.
Really, it isn’t super relevant. He thinks:
Those are great options, but I want to discover things she liked that would have been relevant to her time.
DumBot:
Great thinking! Here are a few things from her time that she might be interested in:
Ancient figures. Many people during the period immortalized such figures in paper posters, which they hung on their walls. Try ‘Kardashian,’ ‘Winnie-the-Pooh,’ ‘Steve Urkel,’ ‘Florida Man,’ or ‘Henry Cavill.’
Fandom. Did she personally experience phenomena like ‘Pokémon,’ ‘BTS Army,’ ‘Disney Adults’ (a potentially aggressive fandom subsect), or ‘The Virgin Mary’?
Belief systems, social media, and global mind-control experiments. Suggestion: TikTok, a popular yet controversial religion from the period.
Animals. Many people captured and kept animals such as dogs, pigs, sheep, and horses in their homes. Note: Cats were either revered or feared as gods as they are today.
Music and dancing. Popular styles included ‘Jazzercise,’ ‘disco,’ ‘mosh pit,’ ‘synthwave,’ and ‘instruments.’
I hope this list helps you home in on your main character. Let me know if you need more suggestions. With these options, you’re sure to create a thrilling character.
Res6 groans, dropping his head onto the desk. From a conceptual standpoint, he understands the need to put limitations on AI. Irritated, he thinks:
I need questions I can ask her. Like what would a man like me ask a woman like her if she were real. Which she is not.
DumBot:
Great idea to develop your character’s personality. Here is an exhaustive list of quick and easy questions a modern man might ask a woman from the past to get to know her if she were real, which she is not:
What is your favorite color to hear?
Would you rather be a Pegasus or ride one?
On a scale of one to 10, is it possible to know your life’s purpose?
If you could do anything you wanted, what would it be?
If you could spend an afternoon with anyone dead or alive, who would it be?
Why didn’t you do anything about global warming?
Res6 briefly scans the rest of the list. Not perfect, but good enough. He glances over his shoulder at the ominous door looming behind him. He can do this.
He’ll do just what Tommy did: go in there and have a conversation like a completely normal person.