A great crowd of people stood waiting in the open field before an industrial Data-
Replication factory 20 km west of Iowa City. This was unusual, these were city folk
who normally never came so far out in the boonies. They were in good humor, the
sun was shining, and most of them had everything they needed to make a party of it.
Media cambots were there to record the event about to take place, but these people
wanted to experience it live.
Inside the D-Rep factory, the usually constant production of everyday foodstuffs had
been put on hold long enough for the biggest EnActment Chamber to produce a special
cargo today. Mediabots and journalists surrounded the chamber and control room.
In that control room, the usual crew was standing back as technical support, while
two newcomers were operating the controls. Larry Bendergast, a portly middle-aged
man in a flamboyantly multi-colored suit, was in charge of the operation. But his
pretty daughter Rozia was manipulating the controls.
Larry Bendergast was sweating; he had a lot riding on the next few minutes. It was
only by a miracle of extraordinary will power that he'd avoided succumbing to drink
or stimvolts, the stress he was under. But now the magic moment had come, the legal
hurdles temporarily resolved, the financial juggling in brief balance, the missing
data finally collected from old ReGen data banks spread out over four star-systems,
the matter vats filled with enough DNA soup to mold the flesh and bone of nine ReGen
copies.
Larry was not nervous about the crowd of spectators, big as it was, they were as they
should be: enthusiastic, expectant. He'd worked hard to get them that way. He was
more nervous about his sponsors, watching his every move, ready to do a takeover if
they thought he was going to blow it. Some of them were somewhat dangerous when it
came to money. But he was most nervous about the nine people who wouldn't be here
if he made a mistake, his old comrades, the soon to be brand-new ReGen copies.
"All data up loaded, soup about to boil," Rozia announced, "are we go?"
"Cambots online, everyone in place?" Bendergast asked a microphone.
"We're on schedule here," came an answer, "Just nobody jump the gun, okay? Cueing
Theme Song in 73 seconds, at precisely 1200. Wait fifteen seconds to commence
operation."
"Roger that," Bendergast said, "ReGenAction at 1200:15."
Rozia gave him one of her looks, "Nobody calls it that any more, Dad."
"Yeah, well, they will," he said nodding towards the chamber.
After a sweaty eternity of waiting, the famous theme song of Interstellar Phoenix faded
into the speakers. Bendergast looked at Rozia pretending to be calm, he swallowed
hard, then called out the numbers, "15...10...5...4...3.."
Larry Bendergast watched the monitor showing the interior of the D-Rep chamber, a
bare and empty oval-formed chromium room, shiny in the extra lights they had installed.
Then the sparkling started, and a whizzing whirlpool of soup, molecular puzzle pieces
being assembled at blinding speed--but still, you could actually SEE the figures
stacking up and forming through the swirling vortex. Bendergast was hypnotized,
he'd seen this before, but never gotten used to it. Especially what happened next,
when the figures suddenly came to life with a gasp.
He heard the media folk instructing over his speaker, "Tight in on Juliana..."
THEME SONG FADING OUT, STANDARD BEGINNING
"...the buzzing finally stops."
WHITE TO FADE IN, SPARKS sparkling, subsiding to reveal CU JULIANA'S FACE
full frame. Her eyes are closed; she's just experienced UpLoading/EnActivation.
She is obviously sensing that there has been a change in environment, temperature,
sound. Opens her eyes, bewildered expression.
JULIANA: Where am I?
VANCE: (behind her, turning) Juli, that you?
JULIANA: (surprised, turns to look) Vance..? (gasp of amazement at what she sees)
JUMP TO FULL VIEW of JULIANA standing naked in a group of 9 naked people
from the Phoenix Project, clustered in a ring, man woman man woman, each facing
outwards from the circle. They notice that they are in a strange place, large
chromium oval chamber. The final sparks of the EnActment process are finally
dying out.
JULIANA finds herself standing between BUD and RICK, WENDA next in line.
Everyone looks equally confused.
JULIANA: Rick... Wenda... everybody...
LARRY: What the hell..?
MAI
What's going on here?
Everyone has turned to face into the circle to see who's there. Clockwise from
JULIANA: RICK, WENDA, TECHNICIAN, LARRY, LISSA, VANCE, MAI, BUD.
JULIANA does a double-take of the gaunt TECHNICIAN, we see a frown of
confusion or distaste.
The TECHNICIAN is also distressed, by his nakedness, which he is trying to cover
with his hands, obviously unused to group nudity as the others are. As if
threatened, JULIANA hurries over to VANCE, pressing herself up against him to be
held safe.
WENDA: Yeah, what happened? I was just UpLoading, and here we are!
JULIANA: But Wenda, you were UpLoaded an hour before me...we talked about it
afterwards, just before I went in.
MAI: Hey. I was just now UpLoaded too!
LARRY: And me...you too, Lissa? All of us?
Everyone nods.
RICK: Okay, folks, that's it: we're copies.
VANCE: WE'RE copies? Are you sure?
RICK: Yeah, I've been through this before. Time jump, and we're suddenly
somewhere else, right? That's what copies experience, originals don't.
LARRY: But we're only... (counting) ...nine here out of the original sixty.
MIA: Maybe they'll be EnActed later.
RICK: Or not. Depends on what our mission is.
VANCE: (to JULIANA, holding her tight) At least we're together here, Juli.
JULIANA: (looking at VANCE gratefully) Oh yes, thank God. (then noticing the
TECHNICIAN standing nearby) But...but if we're really copies... (points at the
TECHNICIAN) ...what's HE doing with us?
TIGHT ON the tall gaunt TECHNICIAN, looking very sheepish and embarrassed and
out of place. Besides embarrassment over his nakedness, he looks guilty about
something.
RICK: Yes, Mister Gregors, what ARE you doing here anyway?
TECHNICIAN: I...uh... certainly have no idea, believe me. This is a complete
surprise for me too.
VANCE: (whispering to Juliana) Just who is that guy? He looks familiar but he's
not one of our group.
JULIANA: (frowning uneasily) He's...it's that technician who was UpLoading us.
VANCE: Oh yeah. I barely noticed him under those conditions.
JULIANA: Probably because he didn't drool on you.
There is an awkward moment of silence as they all ponder the mystery.
LISSA: (shocked, disappointed) No, wait, we can't be copies! I'm finally going
home to my boyfriend as soon as I finish UpLoading!
RICK: The original you probably did.
LARRY: Hey, Lissa, need a new boyfriend?
LISSA gives LARRY an irritated look, does not have time to answer before WENDA
speaks.
WENDA: Just a minute, everybody, we seem to have been EnActivated all at once.
Isn't that technically impossible?
VANCE: Future technology, maybe. We don't know how long it's been.
LARRY: Yeah, they'd have at least 57 years to invent an FTL drive before we could
even arrive at Procyon 5.
MAI: But is this even the Procyon System? This sure doesn't look like an EnActment
booth on the Starship Zeus...
RICK: It's not. Or any other starship either, gravity feels too much like Earth.
This place looks agricultural-industrial...
An OVERVIEW of the large brightly lit rectangular chromium chamber, narrow but
long and high, with a grilled floor for drainage. There are hooks hanging from
chains above.
RICK: ...and I don't think we're looking at just a 57 year difference here, I'd say
more.
MAI: I don't like this place. It's cold and it smells like antiseptic and raw
meat. Reminds me of a slaughterhouse.
LARRY: Yeah, kinda reminds you of our good old "hungry aliens dialing us up as
fast food" scenario, doesn't it?
MAI: Not a funny joke right now, Larry!
They ALL give LARRY an anxious look. He shrugs apologetically.
LISSA: (points directly at CAMERA) What ARE those things flying around us?
RICK: Some kind of monitoring cameras, I'll bet.
LARRY: Maybe we're on nationwide TV. (waving) Hi Mom, sorry about being naked.
MAI: Oh, you're always so silly!
VANCE: But he might be right, I'm noticing that that only the very prettiest women
are included in this group.
WENDA: And, now that you mention it, the prettiest guys too.
LARRY: (being silly) Yeah, like me.
RICK: (being serious) Perhaps more relevant, no one of authority: Commander
Darwin is not among us.
LARRY: (being silly) Well, Officer Guerrero, at least we've got you.
Watching the scene on the monitor was so much like an episode of Interstellar
Phoenix that Larry Bendergast almost forgot he was not the audience. He was
sitting frozen in place.
Rozia had already shut down the D-Rep chamber functions, and now she said, "Hey
Dad, we'd better get in there before Rick takes over."
Bendergast sighed, "Yeah, I hope it wasn't a mistake bringing him along."
"Hey, no way," Rozia said, "he's the one the girls want. Me first, I hope."
"Him? Rozia, you are NOT to..."
"Oh, gool it, Dad, I'm hardly a virgin. Besides, you might need me to deal with
him."
Bendergast snorted, but he realized that she might be right.
ONSCREEN, a doorway suddenly opens in one wall of the chamber, and a portly
middle-aged man wearing a very flashy colored suit steps in. LARRY BENDERGAST
begins to greet them enthusiastically with a flamboyant spreading of arms. He is
followed by ROZIA pushing a cart before her, which is laden with clothes.
BENDERGAST: Well, hey, hi, ho, everybody, welcome back to the world! I've got
clothes for all of you here. (he stops and looks at them with great affection,
shakes his head with enthusiasm) Man, am I glad to see you all guys again!
Everybody does hesitant double-take, wondering who this man is and what he's
talking about, but also aware that he DOES seem familiar somehow.
BENDERGAST: (handing VANCE the first set of clothes) Hey Vance, old pal, how's
it going?
VANCE: (taking the clothes, but cautious) You tell me, then I'll know.
BENDERGAST: Ha! Oh, I'll tell, in a minute. I just want to savor this moment
first... (catches JULIANA's eye, nods, winks) ...damn, Juli, you look just as tasty
and juicy as I remember you! Almost a shame to put any clothes on you...but here
you go anyway.
She puzzles over who he might be as he speaks to her with such familiarity, but
takes the clothes, underwear and coveralls, and begins to dress without answering.
Meanwhile, CUT TO ROZIA handing RICK his clothes, and giving him a very direct
look up and down his naked body as she does so, smiling.
ROZIA: Here you go, Ricky.
RICK: Thanks. Seems you know who I am.
ROZIA: Oh yeah, I'm Rozia, your biggest fan.
RICK: Didn't realize I had ANY fans.
ROZIA: Oh, wait and see. Just remember me: Rozia, favorite fan, okay?
RICK: Uh...okay, Rozia, right.
(cut back over to)
BENDERGAST: (continuing to hand out clothes, now to WENDA) And Wenda, wow,
I'll never forget how juicy YOU were! Well but then hey, everyone here looks great,
so young, so fresh! I can't tell you how it feels to be seeing you all like this again!
WENDA: Uh...do we know you?
BENDERGAST: (laughs) Well YOU certainly did, in the Biblical sense too...forty
years ago. Can't you guess who I am?
WENDA shakes her head blankly.
BENDERGAST: Right, so you're all pretty confused right about now. Hey, I sure
would be. (turns to address LARRY specifically) Okay, so YOU tell them who I am,
Larry.
LARRY: (standing as if paralyzed at the sight of the older man in the flashy suit,
an expression of uncertain wonder on his young face) Er...are we related? You
look a lot like my Dad.
The older man laughs heartily, the younger man backs off a step, totally confused.
JULIANA looks from the one to the other, studying their faces carefully and drawing
a blank until the older man lifts one eyebrow in a familiar bad-boy grimace.
JULIANA: Ohmigawd, another Larry Bendergast?
LARRY: Huh?
VANCE: (also suddenly understanding) He's a ReGen copy, just like us, obviously
EnActivated about 40 years ago.
BENDERGAST: Actually, it was farther back than that, there's some FTL Interstellar
Travel Time involved...
LARRY: Holy shit, you're another copy of...ME!
BENDERGAST: You got it. Look, kid, you and I can have us a private talk later,
ok? But right now I've got to start the orientation. (turning to address all of
them) Okay, you all want to know where you are and why you're here-- so welcome
to Earth. Iowa City, to be specific. And the year is 2402.
EVERYONE: 2402? Earth? Iowa City?
RICK: You're saying that we've been EnActed 300 years into our future?
BENDERGAST: Well, in effect, yes.
MAI: (not accepting this) No wait, I only UpLoaded three minutes ago!
LARRY: What happened? We were supposed to be on the mission to Procyon 5!
BENDERGAST: Oh you were, and you did great. The Procyon Colonies were very
successful. But those were other copies of you guys, and that was a long time ago.
Actually, the Original Phoenix Colonial Group has been copied and recopied many
times over the last 300 years, there were 60 sets on Procyon 5 alone. I was among
the 20 sets of us who colonized Aquatica, a water-world in the Betelguese System,
which was the 5th or 6th colonial project that we know of. There may be more. Now
you're here.
RICK: So what's our mission this time, and who's in charge?
BENDERGAST: Well, heh heh, I am. I took the liberty of EnActing the 9 of you
because...well, because I've got a business proposition for you people: I want to
make us all very rich!
PAUSE a heartbeat.
RICK: Business? You're saying that this is not an authorized Phoenix colonial
mission?
BENDERGAST: You got it, Ricky. But then, the Phoenix company went belly up
hundreds of years ago, as did the government that authorized those missions. So
this is a private enterprise, strictly civilian.
RICK: Then why am I among this group? I'm military personnel.
BENDERGAST: Not any more. But you're the action hero of our group, Rick, so you
had to be included.
ROZIA: Besides, I insisted. Biggest fan, remember?
VANCE: Just a minute..uh, Larry...isn't it expressly illegal to EnAct copies of
us on Earth?
BENDERGAST: Oh, well, it was 300 years ago. A lot of laws have changed since then.
RICK: (impatient) So you want to tell us what the project IS?
BENDERGAST: Well, not quite yet, friends. As I said, it's a business proposition,
so I want to introduce you all to the situation first. Sell you the idea, as it
were. Come with me.
He leads them out through the door.
CAMERAS FOLLOW to BIG ROOM, WAREHOUSE.
They step into a large warehouse of some kind, very clean and future-tech, but
recognizable by function: high stacks of big plastic containers and machinery to
move them.
VANCE: What is this place?
BENDERGAST: Oh, this is a D-Rep factory...Data Replication is pretty much the
same as what we used to call ReGen processing. Almost all food--meat, vegetables,
breads, whatever--is copied in bulk here. In our day you had to actually grow a
cow, and then KILL it to get meat. Now they just recopy the perfectly trimmed and
packaged finished product, identical steaks again and again, absolute quality
control. It's not often that living people are copied anymore, so this is where
I had to find the equipment to EnAct you people.
But what I actually want to show you is out here.
BENDERGAST leads them through a doorway, out onto the roof of the factory.
EXT. DAY. OUTSIDE THE FACTORY, CROWD OF PEOPLE
They find themselves upon a building overlooking vast fields of grass, hills rolling
off towards a city of skyscrapers off on the horizon. The fields are full of people
looking up at them, hundreds, perhaps thousands of people, as far as the eye can
see. They begin to cheer and it is a sound like the greatest of all thunders.
BENDERGAST: Just some of the locals. I let word slip out to a few factory workers
that you'd be arriving, didn't want too big a crowd yet. Just some witnesses. (laughs
at their enthusiasm) They're pretty excited, this is live. Everyone's so bored of seeing
life through a vidiscreen.
The 9 members of Project Phoenix stand upon their stage, frozen with awe and disbelief.
No one knows what to do or say. Finally Wenda steps forward and begins to wave. She
even smiles. The crowd goes even crazier, chanting her name.
CROWD: Wenda! Wenda! Wenda!
BENDERGAST bows to the crowd, he takes JULIANA's hand, VANCE's, holds them
up for the crowd, which goes wild, cheering even harder.
Then he points to RICK and the crowd's voice changes pitch, deeper, more masculine.
BENDERGAST then waves the TECHNICIAN to come up front.
TECHNICIAN: (cringing back, actually afraid) Oh, dear me, no, please...
The CROW'S voice changes again, now with "Boo's" and raspberries. It seems that the
TECHNICIAN is quite disliked, even hated. But when BENDERGAST lifts the
TECHNICIAN's hand to the crowd, they suddenly cheer as if he was actually
the most popular of them all.
JULIANA is standing near RICK, so she asks him a question.
JULIANA: (secretively) That...that technician who UpLoaded us...he wasn't supposed
to come along at all, was he?
RICK: (not secretively) No, Wilbur Gregors wasn't trained for any mission. And notice:
the crowd seems to be cheering him like some...popular villain. Wonder what his story is?
JULIANA: Whatever it is, I have a feeling I won't like it. For some reason he gives me
the creeps.
A flying bus drops down out of the sky to the rooftop where they wait. BENDERGAST
waves his fellow ReGen copies into the vehicle. The cheering intensifies until they
are boarded.
When the last ReGen copy is inside, the bus lifts off, then turns and sails toward the
city on the horizon.
INT. DAY. BUS IN FLIGHT
BENDERGAST: As you can see, you're all quite popular, you people have FANS. The
mission is simply to be yourselves and let them idolize you. There's money in guest
appearances, conventions, interviews, media stardom.
The members of the Phoenix group give each other the "is this guy crazy?" look.
JULIANA: But just what are we famous for?
BENDERGAST: Because there's been a popular VideAura program--a kind of TV
series--called Interstellar Phoenix. It follows the adventures of various ReGen
incarnations from the original Phoenix Project--in other words, it's about YOU PEOPLE.
It's something like that really old cult science fiction vidi series called Star Trek, which
started out way back in the era of 2-dimensional television. Remember how it went on
for years and years, featuring various incarnations of cast and crew? But the consistent
feature was that there was this crew of space pioneers who flew around the universe,
having new adventures every week. The crew were beamed down to a planet by a
transporter device that effectively resembles the ReGen process--they just materialized,
etc. It can be argued that Interstellar Phoenix carries on that tradition of storytelling.
Now, Interstellar Phoenix isn't the biggest and greatest VideAura show ever, it's just one
show out of thousands of other shows. But it's pretty good, sort of a cult classic, and
it's got a colossal fan base. We're talking zillions of people, spread out over the entire
Colonized Galaxy.
It's also been successfully running for 100 years, every generation alive knows it. At first
there were one hour shows every week, but now there's a new half hour episode every
day. People are HOOKED on it. For many people that TV show is LIFE ITSELF. And
that makes you people VERY BIG STARS!
Every one of them looked at Bendergast with mouths open, no words available.
BENDERGAST: Anyway, you may as well hear me out. I've got an entire VideAura
presentation prepared, but we can't see it here, so we're going to the nice hotel where I've
arranged modest but pleasant accommodations for us all.
RICK: Just a minute, knowing our very own young Larry as I do, I have to wonder if
this is something illegal you're pulling us into.
Young Larry gave Rick an irritated look, but the older version only chuckled.
BENDERGAST: O Rick, ha ha, always so suspicious! But I assure you all that
everything's legal...so far, ha ha.
RICK: (shaking his head, unconvinced, turns to the others) I don't know about this.
VANCE: Well, we don't know about anything else either, such as what the laws are now.
I mean we might be illegal immigrants here.
WENDA: Yeah, or what if the present government is some kind of evil Nazi-Facist
Regime or something?
BENDERGAST: You know, I remember going through exactly this--one minute you're
UpLoading in California, the next you could be anywhere in the Universe, not knowing if
the situation is good or bad. For my group, we were surprised to find ourselves in the
middle of a war on a waterworld in the Betelgeuse System, they'd thought we were
soldiers, like Ricky here...but that's another story.
Of course you're wondering what this world is like these days. Well, it's a lot we'd all
hoped it would be: technology has progressed to the point that life is essentially easy,
there's one world government now based on democratic principles--for better or worse--
wars are no longer allowed, people are healthy and comfortable. In fact, the primary
struggle of Mankind these days is to have fun.
MIA: Well, then that's good. Isn't it?
BENDERGAST: Of course... (clearly a qualified statement)
LARRY: (taking the cue) Sounds kind of boring to me.
BENDERGAST: Exactly! Or it would be...if it weren't for the entertainment industry.
EXT. DAY. ARIAL VIEW OF BUS APPROACHING CITY
They are now passing over the sparkling skyscrapers of Iowa City, which seen from the
center spread out over the horizon in every direction. Bendergast gives the tourists
a rolling commentary as they passed above the world of 2402.
BENDERGAST: Old Iowa City is one of the few really large cities left on Earth.
Population control is quite strict, and most people prefer to live in smaller towns
now. Telecommunications and robotics have decentralized all commerce and industry,
we saw that happening already in our own time.
LARRY: (Sounds sarcastic) So what does Iowa City have to offer?
BENDERGAST: Iowa City is now the Entertainment Capital of the Colonized Galaxy,
this is where it's all happening.
Most of the group gives each other a funny look.
WENDA: Whatever happened to Hollywood?
BENDERGAST: A lot of major cities didn't survive the nasty high-tech wars in the
2100's... (he holds up his hand to quell the questions) Look, there's a lot of history to
catch up on, but there are VideAura monitors at the hotel on which you can scan the
general history of Earth and the Colonized Galaxy, so I'm not going to go into detail
about that now.
JULIANA: Can we also look up the histories of our fellow ReGen incarnations on
Procyon 5?
BENDERGAST: Sure, and all the other known colonies, or what's recorded, at least.
JULIANA: So how many times HAVE we been copied?"
BENDERGAST: Oh, well, no one really knows. The Universe is a big place. And
then there are myths, as well as the VideAura series of course, contributing thousands
of fictional stories about our group was well. Some of them are based upon some
kernel of truth, but most of them are simply computer-generated fantasies, it gets hard
to separate them anymore.
EXT. DAY. ARIAL VIEW OF BUS FLYING OVER CITY
The bus descends into a less sparkly, more run-down part of the great city, landing on
the roof of a faded yellow old-looking building.
BUD: Well, he did say modest accommodations.
THE GROUP observes as they step out of the bus. The building seems to be made of
plastic, chipped, scratched, faded colors. The elevator doesn't work, so they take the
stairs down to a dark spooky hallway.
LISSA: It's a slum!
The others are beginning to grumble as well.
BENDERGAST: It's a humble beginning, (embarrassed shrug) hey, I'm working on a
limited budget here....
Just in time the lights come on and the hallway is suddenly much less spooky.
BENDERGAST: ...but it's not as bad as it looks, in fact you'll find it resembles good
old camp Phoenix. There are cozy rooms waiting for you, pair up and choose one.
We'll meet in the dining room for the orientation presentation--and drinks, kiddies--in
an hour.
The promise of a party cools tempers somewhat. There are eight rooms off from the
hallway, and people pair off to share them. Boy-boy girl-girl for now, most former
casual flirtations go into limbo at present, Juliana and Vance are the only established
couple, no one else is sure of their emotions. So Wenda goes with Lissa, Larry with
Bud, etc.
Everyone has a friend... except for the gaunt Technician, who stands alone in the
hallway, waiting to see whichever room is left for him. Rick studies the man, then
goes to him.
RICK: (to TECHNICIAN) Let's take this one.
TECHNICIAN: Oh...uh no, that's all right. Just stay with one of your friends. I'd
prefer a room alone anyway.
RICK: (in his most authoritative military manner) Oh, I insist,
The technician just nods and accepts his fate. It is clear that Rick is keeping an
eye on him.
INT. ROOM.
JULIANA and VANCE find a room together. It is actually bigger than what they were
used to at camp, there is a double bed, some kind of vidi screen mounted in the wall.
The bathroom is down the hall, also what they were used to.
VANCE tries to turn on the wall screen, but it doesn't seem to be active.
VANCE: Maybe you have to pay extra for it, not being in the budget. (then he turning
to JULIANA) So what do you think about all this, Juli?
JULIANA: (lying asprawl on the bed) Hey, I'm glad to be alive and here with you.
No complaints yet.
Then she unzips her coveralls.
VANCE: Hmm, I see your point...s.
VANCE agrees about not complaining, advancing on his unzipped girl friend. They
make love, just as they had earlier that morning, three hundred years ago.
INT. EVENING. DINING ROOM, GROUP IS GATHERED
WE SEE: VANCE AND JULIANA coming down a flight of stairs, arriving a little late to
the dining room. It is actually an auditorium, but there are drinks being served, as well
as exotic looking sandwiches, so their friends are already less critical about the situation,
and warming up to a party just like at camp.
There are several YOUNG PEOPLE in brightly colored coveralls serving drinks. The
mature Larry Bendergast is sitting with his younger counterpart and getting along
famously.
LARRY: ...but hey man, why couldn't you have EnActed Miranda Veedon along with us?
She and I were just getting into...
BENDERGAST: Yeah, I remember, but you were getting the best you were ever going
to get from her. Believe me, I know--I married her! I was looking out for you, kid,
did you a favor: Miranda wasn't that good for us. Besides, if this business works out
you'll be rolling in a lot more pussy than Miranda ever put out.
LARRY: Oh yeah? Well, hmmm. When you say Business...you really mean some kind
of get rich quick scheme, don't you?
BENDERGAST: (the mature Larry Bendergast shakes his head at the immaturity of his
younger self) You know, I used to think like that, but these days... Okay, yeah, get
rich, sure, but also more than that. Hey, I'm talking fame, prestige, the good life.
For every one of us, not just me.
LARRY: Hey, count me in! (giving thumbs up)
When Vance and Juliana enter the room Bendergast stands up, as if he'd been waiting
for them.
BENDERGAST: All right, we're all gathered now, so I'd like to start the presentation, I'll
take questions afterward. The first order of business is to get you people interested in my
project, and to do that I need to introduce you to the fantasy world of Interstellar Phoenix,
and the very real world of modern information-entertainment media.
BENDERGAST waves his hand toward a large screen that takes up most of one wall,
which lights up.
BENDERGAST: Some of you noticed that the screens in your room were inactive.
That's deliberate--none of you are ready for the VideAura experience yet, which is
300 years more advanced than the vidis you know from 2102. It would blow you away...
or rather, it will. I just want to prepare you for the ride.
VideAura shows aren't like the 3-D vidis you knew in your time, they've gone far beyond
that. Modern media technology generates an conductive plasma that affects the viewer's
senses and delivers the entire spectrum of experience--forget audio-visual, or even feelies--
these are psychic in nature, offering physical sensation, emotional manipulation, spiritual
wonders!
Here's a nice safe example. (indicating screen)
Glowing bluish light, a sound like wind.
JULIANA isn't really paying attention, since media technology doesn't interest her that
much. She is feeling very much in love with VANCE, who had just warmed her body to
a very nice tingle up in their room, so she is looking at his face, to see how HE reacts
to the presentation. Suddenly he and the room of people are gone.
Juliana stands alone on a hilltop and waving green grass. It is sundown, a purple sky full
of blazing red and gold clouds. It's warm, there's a gentle wind kissing her skin, fluffing
her hair. She can smell the grass. Then she has to pee. She looks around, is alone, also
sees that she's naked, so she squats and pisses in the grass.
Then the illusion ends and she is looking at Vance's face, surrounded by her friends in the
auditorium. She gasps and looks down to see if she had actually peed on the floor, but
there is no sign of wetness. Vance is looking at the floor too. Actually, everyone is.
Someone starts laughing.
BENDERGAST: You see how convincing it is? But it's not real, just an illusion. Now
please, REMEMBER that for this next example...
They are given several VideAura tours: adrift in a spacesuit, being a fish in the ocean, a
brief panic-inducing experience of the hell of war. Beautiful, thrilling, shocking.
BENDERGAST: Okay, you get the idea, now I'm going to give you a taste of the famous
Interstellar Phoenix VideAura series. But I'd better warn you that the stories are not
always flattering portrayals of us as we'd like to show ourselves, they are TRULY US and
can be embarrassing. This episode is fiction, but you'll certainly recognize how accurate
the characterizations are...
...the buzzing finally stopped.
Vance could think again. They must be finished with the UpLoading. Brain and body
had been totally shorted out by the process, but now...he was somewhere else, not in the
UpLoading booth any more, and realized what that meant: he was not the original
Vance, but a ReGen copy. It was a stunning surprise, even though he had been actually
hoping for it. He was on the mission!
Juliana suddenly realizes that she is experiencing being Vance instead of herself! Then she
experiences the sight of her own self coming out of the EnActment booth! As well as all
the 60 others of the original gang. They find that they are on a starship being sucked
into a black hole, and have been EnActivated to save the mission. It takes an intense 48
hours to solve the problem, during which there are dramas, romances, jealousy, fights,
reconciliations, funny episodes, and the story ends with them rocketing off towards a
possibly viable planet, music swelling throughout the Colonized Galaxy.
Then the show is over and they are all sitting in the auditorium. About 10 minutes of real
time has passed. Everyone is stunned by what they have just experienced.
BENDERGAST: And that is a typical episode of Interstellar Phoenix.
WENDA: Wow!
There are mumbles of agreement.
BENDERGAST: As you can imagine, since those ancient vidi days we knew, the
entertainment media business has not been inactive. Just imagine how many TV series,
movies, vidis, VideAuras, etc have been produced in the last 300 years, distributed to the
Colonized Galaxy's audience of 166,553 billion people...yes, we're talking about millions
of shows, stories, series, etc.
Now imagine all those people served by technology that can handle most physical and
mental work, and you have a society with lots of free time on its hand. And they have
a FEROCIOUS appetite for entertainment.
Therefore, if you did nothing but watch VideAura shows for the rest of your life, you
could NEVER catch up with what's already been produced--and even if you could, you
could still NEVER keep up with everything new that's being produced even now. There's
just too much entertainment out there.
Surprisingly, the competition is rather relaxed. No one can see it all, so they just chose a
few favorite series to follow. All a series has to do is appeal to SOME people, even a tiny
success is big business on this scale.
Interstellar Phoenix is one of the moderately popular VideAura series. That same zany
fun-loving crew of 60 ReGen space pioneers--US, right?--gets materialized on a new planet
every week to have adventures. Some are pretty good, some cater to the lowest common
denominator, it's just entertainment.
The first few episodes were actually semi-documentaries based on truth: the colony on
Procyon 5, the story about the technician, etc; but the characters in our group became
popular, and the supply of true stories could never satisfy the demand for raw
entertainment. It's run for about 100 years now, with a backlog of literally hundreds
of thousands of episodes.
WENDA: But...but what is our mission now? Are we supposed to be...actors in this
VidiAura series or something?
BENDERGAST: Oh, no. They certainly don't need us for that. The actors in these
series are virtual copies of us, taken from the original Phoenix data banks. They were
never EnActed or made flesh, they're just computer generated images--but onscreen they
look like us, act like us, even THINK like us. They're much better actors than we could
ever be, they remember their lines, take direction perfectly, perform their own stunts, and
don't age unless it's in the script!
In fact, the show is self-generating now, there aren't any human writers--it programs the
stories, in fact you could say that the screenwriters are the virtual actors themselves, the
collective consciousness of the entire 60+1 members of the Phoenix group. Several of you
did go on to actually become authors in other copy-lives, by the way.
LARRY: You know, I love the absurdity of this: we're famous for all those fictional
adventures that we never really had, even though we ourselves have never been
anywhere or done anything yet!
BENDERGAST: You got it: but that's show biz: there's an audience of billions that
knows us all intimately--and I do mean intimately.
WENDA: Uh... JUST how intimately? I remember the good old days...from about an
hour ago.
BENDERGAST: Yes well, the entertainment industry was pretty liberal last you knew
it in the 2200's, and since then it has followed the waves of society's mores, from
liberalism to what we would consider puritanism, to pornography...
WENDA: Oh, great.
BENDERGAST: Well, there are software morality & violence filters, if you want to
watch a show with the kids, but most people want their entertainment full blast. They're
used to it. They want the intensity of sex and violence, joy and sorrow, pain--and even
death--all in the safety and comfort of their own sofas.
As mentioned, Phoenix Enterprises went belly up about 200 years back. There was a
period of fanatic Christian politics, and ReGen copies were made illegal for a long time.
The Phoenix data banks don't even exist anymore.
But if any group of people has ever been assured immortality, it is US. Our UpLoad data
is duplicated in at least 15 interstellar pioneering project centers spread out over the
Colonized Galaxy.
JULIANA: But we're only 9 here. What about the rest of our group?
BENDERGAST: My funds are limited, so I had to be selective, choosing those among the
60 who have become the most popular stars. Besides the question of expense, I couldn't
get permission to EnAct copies of 60 people, the immigration restrictions on Earth are
pretty tight. ReGen copies are considered a violation of the population quota and are
regarded as illegal immigrants. So it's only allowed under certain conditions--such as
necessary experts, geniuses, talent, etc. Or in your case, Special Employment. Uh...if
you agree to it, that is.
BUD: I may as well ask: what if we don't?
BENDERGAST: (hesitates, clears his throat) Okay, well, legally, you each have a visa
for one month. After which time you must either have a job, leave the planet, or return
to the vats.
VANCE: Return to the vats? You mean die? They can't demand that, that's murder, it's
against the law.
BENDERGAST: Oh, laws change all the time. The ones you're thinking of were in
effect back when ReGen copies were something new and considered miraculous. Since
then there have been several scandals, exploitations...
BUD: Then we'd have to leave Earth in a month? How, as colonists?
BENDERGAST: Well, sorry, they don't use us as colonists any more. The advent of
Faster-Than-Light starships have made ReGen copies...uh...redundant, so to speak. And
of course, all your training is WAY out of date. No, you'd have to pay passage on a star
ship to some planet that accepts immigrants.
WENDA: Pay? Do we have any money?
BENDERGAST: Ah...no, you're all destitute. I'm the one paying for your food and
lodging at present--well, I also have some sponsors who are very interested in you...
RICK: In other words, we have to go along with your scheme...or die?
BENDERGAST: Well, that's not the plan. I just wanted to offer you guys this chance...
RICK: ...to make you rich.
BENDERGAST: Oh Rick, can't fool you, can I? You know, when you asked why I
EnActed you...I debated about it, because copies of you and me almost always end up in
conflict. You've been the law enforcement in a lot of colonies, and I...well, we Larrys
have always been the bad boy. Number One Suspect. Either me, or good old Ted
Halston.
LARRY: (looking shocked) Ted? Hey, Ted's an okay guy! Or...he was.
BENDERGAST: The thing is, any of you can check out the histories of the colonies
where our copies have been, so I may as well come clean: you're going to find the Larry
Bendergasts mentioned as somewhat rapscallious, petty criminal even. Hell, You know
I've always had a kind of outlaw's outlook. But hey, no copy of me has ever murdered
or deliberately hurt anyone, (he can't help glancing at the TECHNICIAN, who cringes)
so I'm not really that bad. Am I, Larry?
LARRY: Hell no!
BENDERGAST: And okay, this time I'm a wheeler and dealer, but I'm doing it legally.
And yeah, I want to be rich--but I want to make each of you rich too. But if some of
you don't want in on it, I'll do what I can to fix things for you, I promise.
However...the truth is that if NONE of you are willing to be media stars, I won't be able
to afford to do much. I've sort of gambled everything I have on this one.
The group looks at BENDERGAST without saying anything. Finally, LARRY speaks up
LARRY: Hey, I'm in. I'd love to be rich.
BENDERGAST: Great, kid, but you're--or rather WE--are not the big stars of this group.
I need--at an absolute minimum--I need Rick, Juliana, Vance and Wenda to be in on it.
And the Technician there.
TECHNICIAN: (surprised) Me? But why?
BENDERGAST: You're the guy they love to hate, Wilbur.
TECHNICIAN: (frowning) You're saying I'm the villain of this group?
BENDERGASAT: Check out the history records. But just remember that YOU--this
CURRENT COPY of you--hasn't DONE anything yet. Except for secretly and illegally
uploading yourself, of course.
(turning to group)
That goes for all of you. Check out your own histories, and you'll see stuff about
your other selves you might not want to know. I sure have. We've all lived a lot of
lives, and none of us are perfect--well maybe except for Juliana--but do remember that
you YOURSELF are still innocent and can learn what NOT to do with your lives this time.
Okay, presentation over. Think about it, please. Now let's have a party.
LARRY: (holding glass high) Now you're talking!
GROUP agrees, cheering.
That evening Vance and Juliana decided that they should see an episode of the famous
Interstellar Phoenix, to see what all the fuss was about.
Entertainment was no longer time scheduled, everything was on file, you simply choose
to see any particular episode whenever you wanted to. Larry Bendergast had told them
where they could find episode lists online, so they chose one called "The Despots of
Thraxos 9" because it was "featuring Vance and Juliana". They were curious, of course.
Soon they were extremely embarrassed; this was not a story for them to watch together
as a couple.
As Bendergast had said, VideAuras were not simply picture and sound any more: it was a
virtual reality far beyond anything they had seen before, all bundled up in an energy
field that delivered physical sensations, smells, emotions. Then there was the realism
of the computer generated images of themselves that confused them into wondering which
of them were the real Vance and Juliana. Totally convincing, more than reality, this
HAD to be TRUE.
So they were immediately caught up in a story about themselves, starting with them just
arriving from training in California back in 2220, exactly as they had actually done
today. It was very easy to relate.
In this episode they had landed among a politically confused society of semi-humans,
which they had to straighten out. It was absurd trash, but very well produced anyway.
They enjoyed seeing themselves as that couple solving problems together on a new world,
it was very romantic.
But then Vance showed his true colors and sneaked off to have an affair with one of the
semi-human women, in an incredibly tactile alien sex scene. Juliana's heart was broken
by his unfaithfulness in that story--which she could really feel--so she screwed all of
the 5 Rickies for consolation, generating another tactile scene culminating in genuine
orgasms for actors and audience alike. It was too much.
All the early story lines had the same starting point: the 60 had just been EnActed
somewhere in the universe, into some situation they had to deal with. The story focus
could be on various members of the gang. The permutations of pairings among them was
thoroughly explored, jealousies, heartaches, revenges, children, joys, deaths.
The later stories became longer, interwoven until the series was actually several divergent
soap operas, evolving episode by episode with a cast of hundreds. They were extremely
well done, highly professional, very literate, ranging the entire spectrum of emotions
and philosophies.
Juliana watched some episodes, alone, and found herself getting hooked. The one hour
episode was always a cliff-hanger and she'd start the next without a break until she
discovered that she'd been caught up for 9 hours without a break.
This is awful! she realized, how many people are hooked into this...this fantasy world?
It's a drug! Often, the worlds depicted in the media universe was a vast distortion of
reality. That perfect lazy world of material plenty and totally satisfied society, was
of course, utter bullshit.
It ended for her when she experienced the deaths of her two young children, Annie and
Leo. She was devastated...even after the episode was over and she realized that those
children were fictional...but she remembered them anyway...and couldn't stop missing
them. She swore off seeing any more episodes of Interstellar Phoenix.
Fortunately, real life was still going on all over the universe--as they could observe on
their now-activated vidi screens. Besides all the entertainment a thousand channels of
Local News covered the Planet Earth, and there were millions of channels to choose
from that allowed them to see what was happening on other planets in faraway star-
systems. It was too much to comprehend at once, but they got an idea of what was out
there: diversity, opportunities, new worlds to explore.
But for any of them to go off on any sort of adventure in this new universe, they would
have to earn some money first. And since the older Larry had gathered them here for
exactly that purpose the nine of them agreed to go along with his scheme. For a while
at least.
"It might even be fun," young Larry suggested.
"I took the liberty of scheduling us to be at the next Interstellar Phoenix Convention
in Denver," Bendergast announced, then added, "we're supposed to be there at noon
three days from now."
"That's pretty quick," Mia complained, "we hardly know where we are yet."
"That's all right. The fans know that you've just arrived from the year 2220, they want
to experience your innocence. Besides, my financers insist that I begin paying back my
loan right away, so they've arranged a busy schedule for the next few...er...months."
"Months? Hmmm," Vance wondered aloud, "And just how many public appearances are
we supposed to make in a month?"
"We're not sure yet, we'll be doing mostly IP Conventions at first, that's where the real
fan base gathers. And only those on the planet Earth at first, the rest of the universe will
have to be put on back burner for a while. So it shouldn't be too much."
"Are those like the Science-Fiction Conventions they had in San Diego, back in our day?"
"Yeah, sort of. Lots of fans, presentations, autographs, stuff like that. Fun. And we
usually get free food and drinks, which helps with the budget."
"Budget?" Juliana asked, "I thought you said we were going to be rich?"
"Sure; eventually. But we'll have to put in some effort first. And I did have to make a
sizeable loan to get you here at all, so yeah: Budget. This is not an episode of Interstellar
Phoenix--welcome to Real Life."
"At least we'll be able to tell that we're not virtual actors who only think they're alive,"
Vance philosophized.
They spent three nights in that hotel, during which time they had been given a briefing on
the history of Mankind since their own time, an update on what was where and Who was
Who in the universe today, and a general acquaintance with the episodes of IP so that
they could know what all their fans would be talking about.
Rozia was quite good at programming information and doing presentations. One of which
was an explanation of current popular culture, including sexual mores, which were very
liberal these days. Group sex was common, lifetime monogamy was not. And since she
was quite unabashed about wanting to have sex with Rick, she invited him to assist her
with the demonstration.
Rick didn't have a chance; actually, he had no interest in resisting because Rozia was pretty
and personable, so he was flattered and easily seduced. In front of everyone they arranged
to go have sex as soon as her demonstration was done. But then Rozia continued the
demonstration to explain that this seduction was so easy because she already knew Rick
quite well: what he did and didn't like, how to arouse him. She admitted that she had
fucked him hundreds of times, or at least a virtual copy of him, that he was her favorite
man ever, and that now she wanted the real thing--at least once, but hopefully more.
Then she warned the 9 what to expect from the fans; "you are all easy targets because
they already know each of you intimately and how to turn you on, so unless you're willing
to fuck them all, you should be aware of that!"
To Juliana she said, "You'll be hit on more than any of the other girls because you're
famous for coming every time, no matter what. Wenda gets hit because she's so fun-
loving, and so on. Oh yes, and Rick because of his macho potency." Then she was done
with her presentation and ran from the room dragging Rick by the hand, both of them
giggling. They were a couple after that.
The next day the eleven of them, including Bendergast and Rozia, piled into the bus and
flew to Denver. There was no pilot, the bus flew itself according to the flight program.
The bus had one big comfortable room and a toilet, there was a large VideAura screen and
a small D-Rep kitchen for materializing drinks and snacks. They discovered that there
were push-button beds to sleep eleven or twelve people. It looked as if they were to be
spending a good deal of their time on the road, as if they were gypsies now.
Some were appalled by that, others amused. It was clear that there would not be much
privacy for any of them, which amused neither Juliana nor Vance, although others were
already looking forward to a relaxed acceptance of sex happening openly. Almost
everyone had checked out the extremely erotic "Orgy In Orbit" episode of IP, in which
all 60 of the original group had swapped every which way and in multiple combinations,
a very visceral entertainment experience, so that they already felt that the ice had been
broken. At least, any embarrassment about openly having sex in this group seemed
silly now.
Except for the presence of Wilbur Gregors, that is.
The convention in Denver WAS fun. It was not as big as they had feared, there were
about a thousand fans waiting for them. Everyone has happy to meet them, they signed
autographs. They were not the center of all attention; there were several other things
going on inside the Big Dome, episodes of IP were running, discussion groups.
The 9 were slightly shocked and embarrassed about the virtual sex booths where fans
"visited" with their favorite IP crew members, but at least whatever happened in there
was out of sight. They could see that Juliana and Rick were very popular, although the
others were hardly ignored. Especially obvious was the fact that just after some fans had
met them in the flesh they went into the VS booths to act out some fantasy that had just
occurred to them.
They also received many personal propositions, not necessarily for sex, fans would just
like to spend some time with these people they knew so well--and yet not really. Each of
them had been invited out to dinner or for drinks, or to spend a weekend with a group of
friends in a beach house somewhere, or to a party. Even the Technician, who seemed to
generate a special fascination (although not sexual).
They all regarded their first IP Convention as a success, but were quite frazzled and
weary by the time they piled back into their bus. It was first then that they learned that
there would be no hotel that night because they had to fly to Guadalajara immediately for
another convention the very next day. There was some grumbling, but then it was agreed
that a few days as tourists in Guadalajara and Mexico City might be more interesting
than Denver.
"Well, part of a day, maybe," Bendergast told them, after clearing his throat a few times,
"we do have a convention in Chicago the next day after."
Now there were protests, to which Bendergast wheedled, "Yes, I'm sorry; we're
overbooked because you've all just arrived and everyone wants to meet you while you're
still innocent to this time, so we're going to have to push ourselves for a while. It'll
slack off later, I promise, but NOW is when we have to earn lots of money; to get out of
debt so that we can start becoming rich!"
As it was, none of them had any money to even go out in Denver, nor was such frivolity
part of Bendergast's Budget, so they flew off to Guadalajara directly after the convention.
In fact, he had urged them to eat and drink everything they had been offered at the
convention and now it was clear as to why: there was almost no food on the bus. Not in
the budget.
Rozia talked them out of a mutiny: "I know, you guys didn't ask for this, but some of
your other copies have had to endure much worse hardships in their missions--you guys
can take it. And look, my dad and I are in the same bus as you, we eat when you eat.
Lots of tacos and enchiladas tomorrow! Mmmm, bueno, no?"
At least the D-rep unit onboard was programmed to cheaply produce drinks of any kind,
so a party atmosphere developed. There was no place to go for privacy, but Rozia and
Rick made love anyway, discretely but openly. But the presence of the Technician any
others from feeling so free; no one wanted Gregors to be watching them having sex.
Especially not Juliana: she had seen a tiny part of a vidi recording the original Technician
had made 300 years ago, which had been more than enough to disgust and terrify her.
Guadalajara, Chicago, Vancouver, Iowa City, Kansas City, Richmond, the list went on
and on. Day after day, convention after convention, the pattern broken only by
occasional talk-show interviews at local vidiAura stations. After three months nonstop
their smiles were becoming weary, their patience with fans minimal.
The budget never got better: scrimp and save, very little cash in hand, even though their
appearances were generating large amounts of money. It had became clear that
Bendergast's financers were somewhat dangerous Mafia-types who had a strict policy of
getting their big profit money first.
Rick considered doing something about them, but Bendergast warned him off. "You're
a man of action, Rick, I know, but you can't slug it out with these guys. First of all,
they're not even on this planet, but most important, all they have to do is revoke our
license and you'll all have to leave the planet immediately or go back to the vats!"
"Leaving the planet would be okay," Lissa suggested, rather tired of the convention scene.
"We don't have enough money to send ONE person to a free zone world, much less
nine," Bendergast admitted.
It was a struggle to go on, but they were a well-chosen group who cared about each
other--who even loved each other. It was decided that wherever they ended up it should
be together. Group marriages were popular among the Earth cultures of this time so they
began to do as in Rome. They had given up on both modesty and monogamy, and
except for the one VideAura screen aboard their bus, sex was almost the only
entertainment they could afford, so they had lots of that, rotating among themselves.
Often in one big happy and casual get-together. Even Juliana and Vance traded partners
regularly.
Actually, the group was pretty happy with the arrangement; no one was jealous or lonely.
Everyone was in multi-love without one broken heart among them and they all found it
absolutely liberating. Except for Bendergast and Gregors, of course.
Bendergast because of his age and position, as well as being responsible for their indebted
situation. Any of the four young women in the original group attracted to Larry Bendergast
would naturally prefer to have sex with his younger version, and Rozia--who was erotically
enthusiastic and often initiated group sex-games--was his own daughter and therefore
off-limits.
Gregors, of course, was a pariah. He was very interested in watching the show and made
a few attempts to participate, but was always firmly rejected. It did him no good to insist
that he was actually innocent of having personally ever committed the things he was hated
for; his very presence was evidence that he had illegally Uploaded himself in order to carry
out his perverse plans in the future and history had established what those plans were.
Since there was no privacy, they all ignored him and when he made no sound they forgot
that he was even there. They usually never even noticed him frenetically masturbating
as he watched the pile of young lovers squirming and thrusting together.
But sex was the only good thing about their tour now, they were burning out due to the
relentless onslaught of conventions, sometimes two per day. They hated the fans now, all
those people without any lives of their own, totally inundated in the artificial IP
universe when a Real Universe was right out there. That's where the crew wanted to go.
They had even found a planet that seemed just right for them: a pioneer world that needed
volunteers to colonize the wilderness. For months they had been scanning the VideAura
channels for a potential new home--there was so much information out there that even a
compressed and filtered list was unreadably endless. But then they found it--actually,
several at once.
Betelguese is a red superstar 1400 light years from Earth, 13,000 times brighter than Sol
and big enough to swallow the orbit of Jupiter. It wouldn't seem like a star meant for
humans but there were over 2,000 planets orbiting around it and at least eight of them
were ideal for human life. There were several colonization programs, but getting there
was at your own expense.
The convention scene was slowing down now that the crew had been around long enough
not to be hot news any more. Bendergast's budget was crimped even more by his evil
financiers. The occasional hotel overnightings had been few and far between, sometimes
they camped out in nature when there was a break in their schedule, otherwise they lived
in the bus. Free convention food was no longer guaranteed and nor was it in the budget.
Something had to break.
And it did: Rozia saved the day. She arranged a VideAura deal: to chronicle the adventure
of the IP crew on their NEW NISSION to colonize the planet Betelguese 235. She
would produce the vidi herself, which VideAura Galactica Studios would finance, including
passage to the Betelguese system and a payoff for Bendergast's financers. One of the
colonization programs would provide the equipment. All they had to do was be brave
enough to challenge a wild and potentially dangerous world, build a basetown, be
charismatically loveable personalities, and be willing to display their active sex life
to the entire colonized galaxy.
"My God, we're going to be porno stars," Lissa commented.
"My dream come true," Larry insisted.
Bendergast accepted their decision to leave, even he could see that his plan had some
major flaws in it. He also had to accept that Rozia would be going with them, although
she promised to stay in touch. Gregors was not invited, although the Studio had insisted
that he be included for the sake of drama. However, Gregors refused to go along anyway;
he had had enough of being the bad guy.
The nine young people boarded a shuttle up to the Class 4 Starship awaiting them in orbit,
waving farewell to Larry Bendergast and the Planet Earth. In a few hours they would be
warped across the Galaxy.
They had been assigned individual rooms, but there was a common room big enough for
all of them to gather in and they were so used to all sleeping together that they ended
up lying on the plushly carpeted floor, ostensibly to sleep. But they were all too
excited and started making love instead. Rozia, as their official vidi producer, turned
on her robo-camera before straddling Rick.
BUD: Sometimes I wonder if any of this is real.
VANCE: What do you mean "real"?
BUD: You know what I mean.
VANCE: Yeah, all right, you mean are we actually corporeal copies, or are we memory-
bank versions of ourselves acting out yet another computer-generated adventure?
LISSA: Yeah. This is all too good to be true: how can we be sure any of this is not just
happening inside a VideAura show?
WENDA: Well...does it really matter? We're experiencing this, aren't we?
VANCE: Well, at least until we fade out.
LARRY: I know I'M experiencing this, but I can't be certain any of YOU are.
JULIANA: How can we ever know?
ROZIA: Hey, I was never a copy, so I know I'M real!
RICK: Yeah, you certainly FEEL real. Especially right now, wow!
LARRY: But Rozia could have just been written into the story--mainly to frustrate me
because I don't get to feel how real she is.
ROZIA: Oh, thanks, DAD...you incestuous pervert.
LARRY: Hey, I'm not your father. In fact, I'm a year younger than you.
ROZIA: Yeah, but I've got your genes...and Miranda's.
LARRY: Hey, I could be your brother.
ROZIA: Little brother and it's a deal.
LARRY: I'd love that, Sis.
WENDA: Oh how sweet, happy ending--this MUST REALLY BE a VideAura episode!
Come here, Larry, let's fix that nasty ol' frustration of yours right now before we fade out.
JULIANA: Hey, maybe we could write this story just the way we want.
VANCE: Or maybe we already have. Think about it: we started out as big media stars,
planning to be rich, pampered, everyone wanting to lay us--wasn't that absolute ego-
gratification?
JULIANA: But we didn't really want those things.
VANCE: On a conscious level, perhaps not, but subconsciously...
RICK: The truth is that no one knows what they want until they find out what they can
get. Now we've all signed up to be colonists on an unknown world--we wanted that, but
it's definitely gambling.
BUD: Yeah, what we'll soon want most is to survive; everything else will be extra.
JULIANA: I don't think so--sure, we might get killed, but enjoying life while alive is
still going to be the most important thing.
LISSA: All right, let's ask around: Juliana, how do you want your life to be?
JULIANA: Me? Well...I wanted my relationship with Vance to work. I really do love
him. But then I saw all those episodes of IP where he's let me down, ended up with
other women--actually, I always suspected that about him and it tormented me. And
then experiencing all those episodes where I've been quite happy with someone else, like
Rick or Bud, so that I didn't know what I wanted. But now--loving all of you at once--
this is it!
VANCE: Exactly! Juli, I love you too--but I've always really wanted to screw Wenda
and Mai and Lissa and felt so damn guilty about that.
ROZIA: And me, lots of times.
VANCE: Never did feel guilty about you, Rozia! I'm so glad not to feel that anymore!
WENDA: Hey, me too, we're all like that! I was so jealous of Juliana because I wanted
Vance; now I love her for sharing. And I don't have to be obsessed with him any more
because it's a hell of a lot more fun to be obsessed with ALL of you! So I love this
story we're writing!
LARRY: But wait, here's the flaw: what if we want something impossible? For example,
I'd like to fly through the Universe stark naked, indestructible, telepathic, godlike.
If I'm writing my own script, why wouldn't I really live it up?
BUD: Yeah, but YOU'RE not writing the script alone, it's probably a collective
amalgamate of all the 60 UpLoadees from the Phoenix Project...
RICK: 61 UpLoadees. The Technician was in the mix.
LISSA: For the sake of Drama. Brrr!
BUD: ...oh. right. Anyway, maybe that collective intelligence won't allow irregularities
in the reality they have created.
WENDA: Sure, they've gotta follow the rules laid out in the IP Series Bible.
MAI: Yeah, but here's another argument: if we are the result of 61 dreamers...why aren't
they all here? Why just 8 of us?
Long pause, no answer.
MAI: So WE must be real. Right?
Another long pause.
BUD: Uh...yeah, sure.
VANCE: Works for me.
JULIANA: So does this, Vance, just keep doing it a little more...
LISSA: Oh yeah, Juliana always comes, no matter what. Maybe we should be jealous after all.
WENDA: Then you'd better be jealous of me too, right about n...
(fade out)
Larry Bendergast slumped, defeated. He'd gambled and lost. At least his creditors were
off his back, which was good because they were not nice people, but he had nothing to
show for all his efforts. And at his age. There was a knock on the door.
"Go away," Bendergast called out.
The tall gaunt figure of the Technician stepped into the room anyway. Bendergast felt a
surge of sudden dread, his heart lurching, as he realized that he was trapped alone in the
room with that psychopathic pervert.
"I chose not to leave with the others," Gregors said in a sad voice, "of course, they didn't
want me. Besides, I'm very interested in your project, Larry...if you'll have me."
Bendergast looked up, and slumped at the irony of it all. The only one willing to stay
with him was the horrid Technician, the monster who haunted the Phoenix group. Of all the
imperfect people he'd ever known, Wilbur Gregors was the worst of them all. And now he
wanted to be partners.
"Well uh, Wilbur, they don't trust you. So how can I?" Bendergast spoke politely, carefully,
feeling nervous about being alone with the tall man.
Gregors looked hurt, then said, "Look, I didn't ASK to be EnActed. Why did you bring
me here if you can't use me?"
"I thought you'd be dramatic contrast to the others, but the others are leaving."
"We don't need them--I don't need them, I'm already infamous from the VideAura series.
It's funny, really. I'm not at all like people think I am. Oh, I've seen the shows about
what copies of me are supposed to have done--but most of those stories are fiction.
"However, even though I've never actually DONE any of those evil things I'm famous for,
I can still play the part of the nasty villain rather convincingly. You know, I was
quite good at theater in my college days. In fact, I'm astounded how people react to me.
In a group I'm popular, they kid around with me, buy me drinks. Alone with me, they're
afraid..." Gregors gave Bendergast a shrewd look, "...just as you are now, see?"
"Yeah, uh..." Bendergast cowered slightly, hardly able to move.
"Oh, come on, Larry," Gregors spread his hands, "I certainly wouldn't do any of those
things in real life--I'm the first one everybody'd suspect, and I'd get caught. I have
to be good."
"That's right." Bendergast relaxed slightly. But then Gregors moved in close,
"Larry, let's market the Technician. Peddle me off as the curse of the Phoenix, a genuine
psychopath from the past, a vampire, I don't care, I have no shame. Whatever can
generate a shiver, a little thrill to that audience out there in the Colonized Galaxy, can
also generate money."
"We could see about an interview, see how it goes..." Bendergast was warming to the
concept.
"Okay, good. I promise you I'll oh-so-innocently scare the shit out of the journalist--
and the audience--that's what they really want, isn't it? A thrill."
"A thrill...you might be right. It might work after all." Then Bendergast remembered
something very important. "Just one thing: you don't have anything to do with my
daughter Rozia if or when she comes back."
"Oh, most certainly agreed, she's safe from me. In fact all actual women are safe from
me--I find the VideAura sex programs far more satisfying than any of them. Besides, she
and I don't get along, you know that."
"And you think you and I can?"
"You gave me a new life, Larry, I owe you and I want to make you rich. As well as
myself, of course. Let's be friends."
Bendergast shrugged and shook hands with the devil.
(to be continued..?)
3R
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