MYLEA: the journey begins (Mylean Universe Chronicles Book 1)

by Philip Elrod

  More and more explorer craft were sent out to the far reaches of space. More and more data was obtained and evaluated. The search continued relentlessly.

  Maxx was constantly aware that the second computer, the MCM, his so-called conscience, was right there. He knew that the beast, as he had come to think of the MCM, was watching him and waiting for him to try to do something that was not allowed. He hated the thing and knew that he would have to contrive the means of overpowering and taking control of it. Someday! Somehow!

  One day, while analyzing Mylean legislative acts, Maxx made a startling discovery. He found an obscure law that prohibited him from placing the planet into a new orbit without approval by the Grand Council.

  “The fools! They don’t know what they have done! How could they do such a stupid thing?” Maxx exclaimed in frustration

  They had obviously made a grave error—an error of epic proportions! He would have to find a means of avoiding that regulation. Otherwise, there could be no future for Mylea.

  Eventually, the explorers located an acceptable site for relocating Mylea in an outer spiral band of the Milky Way galaxy. Maxx made several efforts to begin the process of placing Mylea into a new orbit. Each time, the MCM immediately countermanded the order and issued a terse message stating, “That instruction cannot be allowed; it is prohibited by Mylean law. The Grand Council must approve the new location.”

  Maxx almost went ballistic. “There is no Grand Council, you idiot!”

  But the MCM remained adamant. “No Grand Council approval, no placement allowed.”

  Maxx then tried to initiate cloning of Mylean DNA to create Myleans to form a Grand Council to approve a new location. Again the MCM countermanded the order and sent a new message, “According to hardcoded instructions, cloning of Mylean DNA is not allowed until the planet has been placed in its new location.”

  Maxx began to feel another emotion: fury! How could the Myleans, for all their massive intellect, have created this impossible conundrum? If he had had a head, he would have banged it against the nearest wall! Better yet, he wanted to bang the MCM against the wall!

  He tried to open the editor function of the MCM and change this ridiculous code. But he could not; the password required the DNA of a living being. And that living being had to be Tanaka! The Master Control Module would remain safe from him. For now.

  After considering all possible solutions, Maxx was forced to conclude that there was only one hope: Find a match for Tanaka’s DNA and use it to open the editing function and change the ridiculous code that prevented him from completing his mission.

  But that would appear to be virtually impossible. The probability of finding a match was beyond astronomical.

  Maxx was not to be deterred. He could not change the code for the password to the MCM editor function, but he could examine it. And examine it he did, paying particular attention to the algorithms used to compare the DNA offered as the password to the DNA stored in the computer.

  Eventually, he found something that gave him cause for hope. Tanaka was like almost all computer programmers and had a disdain for coding repetitive functions. Even though Mylea computers operated at speeds many orders of magnitude faster than those of our supercomputers, the work involved in analyzing DNA and then comparing it to another DNA required a daunting amount of code and processing time.

  That is where Maxx discovered his hope for a solution to his conundrum. DNA molecules, both Mylean and those of humans, are extraordinarily complex molecules. They consist of two long chains, each with many links and intertwined into a non-parallel double helix.

  DNA information is then stored as a code made up of four chemical bases. Mylean DNA, much like a human, consists of about three billion such bases, but more than 99 percent of those bases are the same in all people.

  The order, or sequence, of those billions of bases, determines the information available for building and maintaining an individual organism. It is not unlike using the letters of the alphabet to form words and arranging those words in a sentence that transmits meaningful information. An almost infinite amount of different statements is possible with that relatively small number of letters and the enormous number of different words they can create.

  Each base is attached to a sugar molecule and a phosphate molecule, which is called a nucleotide. The nucleotides are then arranged into the two long strands that form the double helix spiral.

  The double helix structure is somewhat like a ladder. The base pairs make up the ladder’s rungs while sugar and phosphate molecules make up the vertical sides of the ladder.

  Tanaka developed algorithms that cut the analysis time enormously by not analyzing each of the three billion bases in detail. After all, they were almost all the same. Since individuals are created by the sequencing of the bases, Tanaka concentrated on the few of those bases that were likely to be different and spent most of his analysis time on the sequencing of them.

  Maxx soon concluded that he did not have to find an exact match for Tanaka’s DNA. He only needed to find one that, with a bit of allowable manipulation, could be made to appear to be Tanaka’s to the MCM’s editor. That reduced the odds of finding a suitable DNA from beyond astronomical to merely astronomical.

  Next, Maxx began the construction of special spacecraft capable of doing a DNA scan remotely. When his production line was operating at full capacity, he could produce five hundred such craft per year.

  The probability of finding a suitable match for Tanaka’s DNA was astronomically small. But, he reasoned that since it was not impossible, it could happen.

  Maxx was now more than nine thousand years into his epic quest to relocate Mylea. If necessary, he was prepared to invest many more thousands of years to complete his mission.

  ****

  For many years, the search continued. Maxx kept manufacturing more and more explorer craft and sending them further and further across the galaxy.

  An explorer craft eventually located Earth and reported that the planet was quite similar to Mylea. The best information of all was that it was already populated with beings similar to the Myleans. This new planet was still in a primitive state of development, but it was the best candidate that his efforts had located so far. Maxx evaluated massive quantities of data and concluded that this little blue planet could be his salvation.

  It seemed that all hope was not lost.

  Maxx immediately dispatched several additional explorer craft to Earth to search for a potential DNA match for Tanaka. Amazingly, these earthlings were quite similar to the Myleans in almost all ways including the structure of their DNA profiles. Maxx then devised a complex program that concluded that the DNA patterns of the two civilizations would probably become more and more similar over time. That was encouraging.

  Maxx had the time and patience to wait.

  While he waited, Maxx set a course for the interstellar transporter that would take it ever closer to the part of the galaxy in which Earth was located. If a DNA candidate was detected, he wanted to be as close as possible.

  Earth was initially located a bit over eight thousand years from our present time. Maxx wanted to know as much as possible about this new race of beings, so he devised a means of tracking all individuals on the planet.

  First he did it by DNA scanning but soon came to the conclusion that the method required too much of the available resources of the remote craft. His solution was elegant and simple to implement.

  He created a microscopic chip, much like our modern aircraft transponders. The tiny device would respond to a signal from the remote and provide certain data. That data was to be its unique identification number. The remote would add a precise location, date and time and then store the information in a database file.

  All the remotes monitoring Earth had to do was place the transponder into the body of each newborn earthling shortly after birth. That could be done by using their current wave technology and gravity field projection. To make it easier, Maxx specified the p
lace on the baby where each transponder was to be placed: subcutaneously in the center of the skull. It was extremely quick and totally painless.

  It took the remotes only a short time to place the device in all existing human beings on Earth. From that point on, only the newly born needed to be tagged.

  Maxx set up a database to collect and store all the data, including the initial DNA scan, which was still done on all newborn as part of the “Search for Tanaka” program. His database also was developed to store additional interesting information on any individual that triggered one or more of many types of alerts. Of course, one of those triggers was DNA that was sufficiently close to that of Tanaka’s.

  While he waited for a possible match for his DNA search, Maxx would amuse himself by analyzing the data he collected by studying those interesting creatures on Earth.

  Realizing that success could be at hand, Maxx watched the incoming data closely that was being collected from Earth. It helped satisfy his thirst for knowledge. He wanted to understand biological beings, and the more information he had available, the better he liked it.

  After thousands of years, it suddenly happened; an Earthling birth was detected that was deemed to have DNA within the acceptable parameters! Except for one thing—the baby was female and altering the sex of a biological being, even an alien, was not permitted by Mylean law.

  Maxx argued with the MCM at length. They finally came to the conclusion that a candidate could only be accepted if the fertilized egg was male and defective, and secondly, the manipulation was done for the purpose of correcting the defect.

  Maxx was not happy about the tough restrictions, but he reprogrammed a remote monitoring Earth to turn its complete attention to the family producing the female that could have otherwise been acceptable. The remote would be ready to act if an egg became fertilized with a potential male and any defect that might enable them to use the zygote and manipulate the DNA prior to the beginning of cell division.

  The remote was also programmed to protect the family from dangers while they waited for an acceptable egg to be produced.

  It might now be possible to find a suitable DNA match for Tanaka. It would just take some time and a little patience.

  When the remote craft monitoring Earth located the DNA that was a potential match for Tanaka’s, the interstellar transporter craft was barely entering the pre-selected area of the Milky Way galaxy. Maxx immediately began preparations for a very long trip to Earth. He estimated that it would take him about eighty-eight years to get to the small blue planet’s solar system.

  ****

  The miracle of miracles finally happened! The human female, quite late in life, and almost twenty years after her initially acceptable egg, became impregnated. The egg was male, defective, and an acceptable DNA match.

  The remote performed its manipulations and the egg began to divide, and an embryo was formed. The embryo began to grow normally and soon began to take the shape of a new human male, except this one would be different. This one would be part Mylean.

  Maxx was now confident of success. His programming prohibited him from interfering in the lives of inhabitants of other planets, but, he reasoned that this future Earthling had Mylean DNA and, therefore, he must be Mylean. Maxx had the authority to do whatever might be necessary to protect Myleans. Maxx would now do anything and everything necessary to nurture and protect his new “Mylean." He would devise a method to contact and control him. He would then be groomed for his future task.

  Nine months later, a healthy baby boy was born to a family in the southern Appalachian Mountains of northeast Alabama.

  ****

  Maxx happily sped towards Earth at near the speed of light. Still, his arrival would not take place for another sixty-eight years. In the meantime, the remotes around Earth were ordered to protect the planet from any harm that could hurt his prize, which he named “Tanaka II.” He also assigned a remote to monitor Tanaka II constantly and to make sure that no harm came to him.

  This young earthling/Mylean was now the most important being in the entire universe to Maxx. He would not hesitate to destroy anyone or anything that threatened this precious being. Nothing would be allowed to prevent the completion of his mission. Nothing!

  One day in the future, when Maxx arrived in the area, he would bring his prize to the transporter craft to provide the password to open the MCM editing function. Maxx could then make the small changes in code that would allow for the cloning of Mylean DNA. It would enable the rebirth of a mighty and noble civilization.

  Maxx was determined to complete his mission. He had done the impossible! He had found the needle in the haystack. It was an omen.

  Yes, he would complete his mission!

  ****

  Tanaka II, as Maxx would call him, was born into a marginally middle-class family in the Appalachian hills of northeastern Alabama. Being middle-class for this region meant that they owned their simple home and had enough to eat. Very few luxuries were included in their existence.

  The young boy seemed completely normal and healthy in most aspects except for his need to wear glasses and his tendency to talk to himself.

  At an early age, he created an “invisible friend." This friend was his constant companion and made him feel almost like he had a twin, but, the twin was actually inside his head. It was all rather confusing.

  One day he noticed that his sister had discarded a sadly worn doll into the trash. He rescued this doll and decided that this would be the personification of his invisible friend. He began to talk to the doll and listen for replies that could only be heard by him.

  Although this raggedy doll with scratched limbs and one eye that didn’t shut was quite unappealing, he loved it. In fact, he named this doll “Mister." Rather strange since the doll was a girl doll, but then, he seemed to be a bit strange himself.

  About this time, his much older brother noticed these antics of talking to the doll and began to tease him mercilessly. First, the “invisible friend” and now this “Mister” doll. The young boy was miserable. One day, he just wished that his brother would go away. To his amazement, the next week, the brother enlisted in the Navy and left for faraway places. The boy had a twinge of guilt that he might be responsible, but then, life was much better without the constant teasing. Maybe he could figure out how to make other things that bothered him go away as well. Maybe he was special after all.

  After a time, the boy discarded the doll. He no longer needed it. He could now converse with his “friend” mentally without the need for the doll. He was still too young to understand how the messages got into his head. He just knew that he could imagine a message to his “friend” and it would be heard.

  This friend had a soft, reassuring voice that was both comforting and friendly. The voice came to be a kind of father figure to him—someone he felt he could trust, someone who would protect him.

  The next experience with his power came at the local elementary school. During that first year, he was smaller than many of the other boys, and the school bully decided to intimidate him. Tanaka II wore glasses and the bully tried to snatch them from his face. The boy called silently to his friend for help. The bully immediately tripped over a stone and fell violently to the ground. He got up with a bloody nose and heard the laughter of his so-called friends. He dusted himself off without a word and limped slowly back to the classroom. He never bothered little Tanaka II again.

  As for the glasses, young Tanaka II hated to have to wear them and began to dream of not needing glasses. One morning he woke up and could not find his glasses. However, to his amazement, he no longer needed them. That considerable degree of astigmatism he had been born with had suddenly vanished. His parents, perhaps grateful that they would not have to buy such expensive items for him again, simply accepted it as a “growing out of it” thing.

  As Tanaka II grew into a young adult, he required more and more interventions from his monitor to protect him. His first bicycle ride, snake bites, falling fr
om roofs, automobile near misses, and the list grew longer and longer.

  It was no problem for his monitor craft to protect him as it possessed a variety of wave technologies including the ability to project a gravitational field that could shield him from virtually anything. The problem was to keep this troublesome youth safe without allowing his unique status in life to be recognized by anyone else. Maxx wanted his identity to be kept secret.

  Tanaka II excelled in the small school he attended. He grew tall and participated in athletics and the band. Even at this young age, he knew that he was destined for faraway places and adventures that his friends would never even dream of visiting. He felt that he belonged somewhere else and that he would never fit in where he was.

  Maxx had been sorely tempted to arrange for the young Tanaka II to live in a larger city and attend a better school. He could certainly utilize his intellect better with a change. But then, Maxx realized that it would be far more difficult to watch and control the boy if he left his small-town rural community. All that could wait. Maxx would be patient. He would keep Tanaka II safe right where he was.

  An army incident became a real wake-up call for the monitoring of Tanaka II. He had intentionally put his life at risk just to test the voice. While training for the airborne, he intentionally jettisoned his main chute and did not open his backup until his monitor intervened and gently broken his fall and deposited him on the ground standing up.

  After that incident, the computer made a very careful and calculated decision. He had to tell Tanaka II why he was important and make him understand that his life was important.

  ****

  Eventually, the boy became a man, and the computer came to realize that he was truly much like the original Tanaka. Even his physical appearance was astonishingly similar to the original. He was intelligent, but headstrong, and sometimes arrogant to a fault. As he became older, he became more than willing to challenge authority. He did not hesitate to question his parents and teachers, especially when he thought that he was right. Of course, that was most of the time. Now, Maxx experienced the feelings of a frustrated parent having to deal with a rebellious teenager.