Fantasy The People Makers

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The Story of Charlie Byler
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His name was Survey Service Captain Michael Taylor, but those who knew him on Earth would have scarcely have recognized him. For one thing his golden-brown hair was all white now, but that was the least of it. His high cheekbones had become broader. His face had become longer, thinner. His blue eyes had turned green. He still had the same strong, wide shoulders, but he was two inches shorter and not nearly as muscular.

But no one on the Space Station had known him on Earth, and so no one even knew that any of these discrepancies existed. At the moment Taylor was regaling some lovely ladies with the story of how he had saved the planet Earth.

"So the Black Box really did take you into the future?" said Laura Giancomo.

Taylor nodded.

"How far into the future?" Shelly Rendler asked.

Taylor took a deep breath. "Twenty. Billion. Years."

To his side, Roland Miller made a face and turned away.

"What did you find?"

Taylor told the story of the race of aliens he encountered, aliens intent on destroying the Earth in the distant past. The girls clustered around him hovered over every word.

Roland had heard the story before, though when he had been living his other life, 500 years ago on Earth, he had heard that Taylor had traveled one billion years into the future, not twenty. He had even seen the holostory which portrayed Taylor's adventures though the holoactor who played Taylor looked very different from the actual article. For his part Roland had been a little disappointed to meet the famous Survey Service Captain. He hadn't known quite what to expect. He had expected to meet a handsome and charismatic man, which he did, but didn't quite expect to meet someone who was so full of himself. Taylor told stories of his adventures early and often since his arrival just two weeks ago, and to Roland he seemed much more boisterous than a Survey Service Captain could or should be.

The other unusual thing is that Taylor had resisted pairing with the women, despite being chased by half the female population of the Space Station. Tot he best of Roland's knowledge, he had only paired with two women, and his pairing scores had not been at all remarkable. That still had not dimmed the luster of the famous Captain.

Roland noticed that Captain Taylor spent a lot of time with new arrivals, counseling them. That evening Taylor sat with the newest arrival, Charlie Byler. Charlie had just been unfrozen the day before and was still trying to figure things out. Taylor graciously gave his own time to try and advise the young man, who had been a minor third-grade public relations specialist for the World Government in Muncie, Indiana.

"So many girls to choose from, and they're all coming on to me," said Charlie.

"Of course they are," said Taylor. "You're young, you're handsome... and you're new. But you have to pick most carefully, Charlie. You want someone who's going to give you a good combined score."

"What is considered good?"

"Well, 800 is considered a passing grade, but so far no one's ever gotten that," said Taylor. "A good grade is 600. A promising grade is 700. But the people who get that are few and far between."

"How... how am I to know which woman can help my offspring get such a high score?"

"Intuition, my friend. And fortunate for you because intuition is what a good Survey Service Captain is made of."

"So... who do you advise me to select?" Charlie asked. "Laura Giancomo is very pretty."

"She is indeed. But pretty doesn't enter the equation here."

"Susan Shinn is very friendly."

"She is very friendly. She also works for the First One, whose agenda may not be yours," said Taylor.

"Then there's Michelle Rendler. We had a long talk today, she seems so understanding."

"Yes, she does," said Taylor. "But understanding is not what you need. You need something different. Unusual. You need... Audra." He pointed with his finger. They were sitting in Bermuda where people were avidly talking to each other, but Taylor was pointing to a far corner of the lounge where a dark haired girl was sitting by herself, staring at the holographic landscape with a frown on her face.

"Her?" said Charlie. "She... she seems like a loner."

"She is a loner," Taylor agreed. "I don't think anyone has partnered with her, which is precisely why you should. So far everyone has failed. The answer can't be found in partnering with the same people over and over. You have to try something new, something different. My guy instinct says you should try Audra."

Charlie figited with his fingers. "What... what should I say?"

"Talk to the girl. Be friendly. Ask where she came from on Earth, what she did. Start a conversation with her."

"All right."

Charlie went over to her. He could tell immediately that Audra Semens was in distress. Her eyes had heavy bags under them, her face a mask of discomfort. Her hair was poofy and wild, and she was rubbing her hair between three fingers as she rocked back and forth in her chair. When she saw Charlie approach she said, "Who are you? What do you want?"

"I'm sorry to disturb you!" said Charlie immediately. "My, my name is Charlie Byler. I, I just came to say hello."

"Oh." She seemed to relax fractionally. She seemed to consider this as she rocked back and forth. "All right."

"May I sit down?"

Audra nodded.

Charlie sat opposite her. "Your name is Audra, right?"

"Who told you that? Was it the ghosts?"

"Ghosts?"

"Don't act dumb," said Audra. "The ghosts of the dead. The ghosts of all the people we killed."

"We killed? I didn't kill anyone!"

"Of course you did. We all did." Audra's teeth were chattering. "It was Man Made Temperature Change. We used grav cars. We used electricity. We used processed goods. All of it made the Earth explode and kill all of mankind. We're all responsible, all of us!" she grabbed her head, as if she couldn't stand the pressure.

Could this really be the woman who Captain Taylor had advised him to mate with?

"They are the ones who punish us, you see," said Audra, leaning forward and lowering her voice as if to prevent the ghosts from overhearing. "They come in the night. They come and turn our bodies into powder. They're angry with us for destroying the Earth. But I'm smarter than them. I know their game."

"You do?"

"Yes. When I go to sleep at night I cross one leg over the other, like this. Then I tap my bedframe three times in a row, three times! It's a code, you see. They know I'm one of them. That I'm on their side. I always come here every morning. I sit exactly here and order three pancakes every morning. No one who has ever been turned to powder sits here every morning and eats three pancakes. It's a sign, you see, a sign I will be spared." Her fingers twirled her hair even more rapidly.

"Interesting, really," said Charlie, getting up. "Can you excuse me? I'll be right back."

"Shes' crazy!"

"She's a little upset," said Taylor.

"No, she's crazy. She believes in ghosts," said Charlie. "How could pairing with someone like that produce a stable match which would endure for a thousand years of descendants?"

"I don't know," Taylor shrugged.

"You don't know?"

"No," said Taylor. "The only thing I know is that the pairings you have seen all around us, the pairings of normal, stable people has produced failure after failure. You want to try that? Go ahead, there are a dozen women I'm sure who would pair with you. Happily. But you're no more likely to get good results than any of us. Look at me, I'm a Survey Service Captain. I've paired with many women but failed every time. Do you think you could do better?"

"I.... no, of course not."

"Then try something different. Try something none of us have tried before."

"But... how will I persuade her?"

"The ghosts sent you?" Audra blinked. "You didn't tell me that before."

"They told me not to tell you."

"Oh." Audra blinked again. She twirled her hair even more rapidly as she continued to rock back and forth. "But why do they want me to partner with you?"

"To rekindle the human race. Don't you see? They're giving us a second chance. They're giving humanity a second chance."

Charlie felt bad lying to Audra like this. He still wasn't at all sure that pairing with Audra was a good idea. In fact he suspected it was a terrible idea. But something Captain Taylor had said had resonated strongly with him. If Captain Taylor, with all his great genes for bravery, boldness, and leadership, couldn't find a woman to partner with to create a viable human species, what chance did he have?

So he reluctantly decided to take Taylor's advice and return to Audra.

"Yes. Yes, I can see it now," said Audra, still rocking back and forth. "Mistakes of the past will be rectified. We will create a new human race, one which will avoid machinery or industrialization. We will live simple lives, as the She-Goddess Aura intended, living close to the land, eating granola and nuts and fruits and roots and berries. I'll do it!"

"Great." Charlie swallowed heavily. "There's just one more thing." Something Taylor had told him about. Something which horrified him but-

"Sex." Audra stared him right in the eye for the very first time. "You want to have sex, right?"

"Well-"

"I understand." She got up from her chair with a jerk and grabbed him by the arm. "Come on."

"Where are we going?"

"There is no time to waste."

Audra's quarters were depressing. She had created an environment of a bleak, blackened wasteland where thunder constantly roared paired with lightning flashes. How can she sleep like this?

She led him to the top of a hill where a simple bed of straw lay.

"This is your bed?" Charlie asked incredulously.

"I live close to the Earth, as the She-Goddess intended." She stared at him with wild eyes as a flash of lightning illuminated her. "Make love to me, Charlie Byler. Make love to me so we can create a new race of humans, a new race which will satisfy the ghosts and allow them to rest in peace."

Without waiting for a response she pressed her lips against his. Charlie felt the intensity of her kiss as she pressed against him desperately. Quickly she tore off her clothes and then her own.

"I'm a virgin," she said slyly. "Take my virginity, Charlie. Take my virginity and put all the ghosts to rest."

Charlie was about to tell her that he too was a virgin when she silenced him with another strong kiss. He felt her fumbling with his penis and suddenly he was inside her. Instinct took over and he started thrusting within her.

"That's right, that's right. Make love to me, Charlie. Make love to me and seed me with a whole new human race. A worthy human race, who will respect Momma Earth and put all the ghosts to rest." There was a roar of thunder and burst of lightning which illuminated her wild, mad eyes and crazy face. She gave a wild, insane cackling cry the dry storm whipped around them. As Charlie pounded into her he thought to himself, What the fuck am I doing?

"You... and Audra?" The First One could barely believe her ears.

"Yes," said Charlie.

"Charlie... this will be your first pairing. Don't you really want to start with someone a little more... experienced?"

"No!" said Audra firmly. She grabbed Charlie's arm and clamped down. "Charlie wants me and I want him."

Bessie and Frog exchanged uneasy looks. "Audra has never paired with anyone before."

"Then don't you think it's time I finally did?" Audra responded. "Isn't that the purpose of the Experiment?"

Bessie looked away for a moment, then returned with a smile. "Of course it is. And if it's what both of you want, then you shall have my blessing. The ultimate decision as always, of course, resides with the full Committee."

They sat in silence for several long, long minutes as Graylor looked at their gene charts. He seemed to have trouble with one of them, which Charlie guessed was Audra's. He kept giving them furtive glares and even hissed at them once or twice. Finally he turned to Bessie. "And you recommend this?"

"Well," said Bessie. "It is true that Audra has never partnered with anyone. We ought to give her at least one chance... I suppose...." It was the most unenthusiastic recommendation that Frog had ever heard.

Graylor sighed. "Very well."

Their composite score was 450. That was considered below average. Most everything was at E2 or E3 level. The best they achieved was Art, which was E4. Clearly, though, the result was a failure.

"It failed."

"Of course it did," said Taylor, sitting back in his chair in the Oregon lounge as he sipped a red beverage. "What did you expect?"

Charlie was almost speechless. "You told me it was going to work!"

Taylor sat up abruptly. "I told you no such thing. I told you it was something different, worth trying."

"And so I tried."

"And so you did." Taylor sipped more of his drink. "A promising first step."

"Promising? How is a score of 450 promising?"

"True, the overall score was lacking. But together you got an E4 rating for Art. That's one of the highest ratings you can get."

"What does anyone care about Art?"

"The Federationistas care," said Taylor, taking another sip. "They want not just a stable society but one that is advanced in every way. That means technologically, emotionally, communally, as well as art. It's quite rare for a pairing to generate an E4 rating for Art at the thousand year mark."

"So... what does that mean?"

"It means you try again," said Taylor. "But this time, alter the gene selection."

"We can do that?"

"Um hm." Taylor stared at his red drink intently as it shone in the light, shaking it slightly. "She's obviously a girl who does a lot of thinking."

"I'll say!"

"Have the Federationistas accentuate her genes responsible for self-introspection."

"What will that do?"

"The greatest minds in history have high levels of self-introspection. Have them play it up and see what happens."

"Are you sure?"

Taylor swirled his drink. "Very sure."

"I'm sorry, I can't recommend this," said Bessie. "Charlie, there are 49 other girls currently here on the Station. I'm sure many of them would love to pair with you. Why don't you try one of them?"

"Charlie wants me. And I want him!" Audra grabbed his hand firmly, even as she rocked back and forth in her chair.

"But your first attempt didn't go very well," said Bessie.

"I'm told that it is common for people to make second attempts, by emphasizing or deemphasizing certain genes," said Charlie.

"Well, yes-"

"We'd like to try again," said Charlie firmly.

Bessie sighed, sending a ripple through her blubber. "I can't recommend it, but I'll pass you on with no recommendation either way. It will be up to Graylor." She gave a helpless look to Frog, who just stood there, impassively.

In the center of the Space Station was an enormous tube, one that nearly went from the top to the bottom of the Station. This tube was incredibly bright and brimming with yellow energy cells, millions of them. These energy cells each were sentient and had individual identities and names.

Frog collapsed and went to sleep in her small quarters. The minute she dropped into unconsciousness a ball of light emerged from her head. It traveled through hallways and walls until it reached the very center of the station, the area that was off limits to all human beings, and found its way to the giant glowing tube, into the giant glowing tube, where it instantly interacted with some of its kind.

"Ah, F, there you are," said C. "What is the latest news?"

"The new subject known as Charlie Byler is planning to pair with Audra Semens again," said F.

"Again?" said M.

"He is being advised, very poorly, by the one known as Michael Taylor," said F.

"Ah, that makes sense," said B.

"I don't know why we allow the one called Michael Taylor to continually interfere with the Experiment."

"He is part of the Experiment, just as surely as all the other Subjects are," said M.

"But he is misleading the other subjects once again," said F. "Why do we allow him to do this?"

"He performs an important function," said C. "If an Experimental Subject allows himself to be distracted or confused by another Experimental Subject, then that Subject is not worthy of contributing to the future gene pool. We must let the Experiment run its course."

"He's going to ruin this poor boy," said F.

"He is not a poor boy, he is an Experimental Subject. You would do well to remember that," said M. "You have spent many years in the one called Frog. I am afraid that constant contact has influenced you. Her species has served us well but is soft and weak in many ways. I would hate to think that some of that weakness has rubbed off on you."

"It has not," said F. "I simply do not want to see Experimental Subjects wasted needlessly."

"As the humans say, to make some food, you must break some eggs."

"Approved."

Bessie's eyes shot upwards. She never expected Graylor to approve the match. He knew as well as she did what a terrible match this was. Why did he agree to it?

The results came in quickly, and were even worse than last time. Last time their composite score was 450, and this time their composite score was 350, a very low score by any measure. Bessie looked over at Graylor as the results came in, but Graylor simply hissed and shook his head and walked away. Behind her Frog stood impassively, saying nothing.

"350!"

"I heard you the first time," said Taylor. The drink he was holding now was blue in color.

"It was an even worse result than last time," said Charlie.

"So? Are you going to give up? There are people here who have failed ten or twenty times, but they still keep trying," said Taylor.

"I guess." Charlie scratched his head. "The question is, who to partner with?"

"Audra."

Charlie gave a bitter laugh. "Are you serious?"

"Yes," said Taylor.

"I've gotten two results with her, one bad and the other terrible!"

"That's because you didn't select for genes properly."

"What should I do now, tell them to suppress her genes to the maximum and favor mine instead?"

"No," said Taylor. "What would you say is Audra's primary characteristic?"

"Insanity. Hysteria. Anxiety."

"Anxiety. Exactly. Tell the Committee you want to heighten Audra's anxiety."

"Are you insane?" said Charlie. "That will produce the worst possible results!"

"Will it?" said Taylor, still staring at his drink. "Tell me, Charlie, what drives the best forms of art?"

"I don't know."

"Well, think about it."

Charlie did. "Well... maybe a passion for art. A drive for it."

"Can anxiety be a drive for it?"

"I don't know... I suppose."

"What about technology? Can anxiety drive inventions?"

"No."

"Of course it does. What is it that drives most inventors? Unhappiness. Dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs. If an inventor is mindlessly content with everything, why should he be driven to invent?"

"Are you saying that anxiety-"

"Is one of the best drivers of invention, if harnessed properly. Now take population growth. What do you think anxious people do to try and reduce anxiety?"

"Sex," said Charlie, remembering Audra's frantic desires. "They try to calm themselves through sex."

"You're catching on. And sex leads to population growth, does it not?"

"What about Emotionality and Self Awareness? Can't anxiety blind you to that?"

"It can," Taylor admitted. "But if you have enough of it, you can realize new possibilities you wouldn't otherwise have considered. It's the same as technology and art."

"So you're saying I should partner again with a very anxious girl... and tell them to heighten her anxiety even more?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying," said Taylor.

"Why don't you do it!" said Charlie.

Taylor shook his head. "It wouldn't work. Even if we weighted her genes more heavily, my genes are so dominant that they would still overwhelm hers in combination. Only someone like you could make it work." He saw the doubt on Charlie's face. "I know how counterintuitive this seems to you. How crazy it sounds. But trust me. I flew my ship into a black hole to travel 20 billion years into the future to save the Earth, Charlie. I did some really crazy and really risky things, but the risks paid off. I'm telling you, it's the way. If it sounds totally crazy, totally counterintuitive, it's because it's never been tried. Everything else you can think of, a safe approach with a nice, stable girl is doomed to failure, just like it's failed thousands of times over the past seven years here. If you want to play it safe, you can, but you'll just wake up one day to find your body has turned to powder and your genes will simply end with you."

Taylor seemed so bold, so confident, so manly as he spoke. Charlie realized he was listening to one of the greatest Survey Service Captains in history, a living legend. He surely would know better than anyone what could be done, what should be done. After all, hadn't he gone to the year twenty billion and succeed where everyone else had failed?

"No." The First One was resolute. "I will not recommend such a matching to the full Committee. Haven't you learned anything, Charlie?"

"We haven't tried this particular combination," said Charlie.

"I don't care what combination you've tried. You and Audra are simply not going to produce a successful gene pool together no matter what you try," said Bessie.

"The decision is not yours to make," said Audra with a new authority in her voice which Charlie had never heard before. "You can recommend, but not decide."

Bessie slammed her hand on her desk with a bang. "Fine! I'll recommend against and let Graylor decide. Now get out, both of you!"

Frog cornered Charlie on his way to dinner. "Charlie, may I have a word with you?"

"Audra is expecting me."

"She will wait." Frog paused. He didn't have facial expression like a real human being, which made it hard to figure out what he was thinking. "Are you really sure about this pairing with Audra?"

"Yes."

"Why? Because Captain Taylor told you to?"

"He's a living legend, Frog," said Charlie. "He's gone 20 billion years in the future and survived things no one else has. Everyone else has failed by playing it safe. How much worse could I do?"

"Have you ever considered that perhaps Captain Taylor might not have your best interests at heart?" said Frog.

"Why? He's saved the entire planet Earth. If there's anyone I can trust, it's certain to be him," said Charlie.

Suddenly Hot Dog and Hamburger appeared out of thin air.

"Hi everybody!" said Hot Dog. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but Frog you're wanted in the main control room."

"Is something wrong with the Space Station?" Charlie asked.

"No, Charlie. Everything is fine," said Hamburger.

"Very fine," Hot Dog agreed. "Frog, shall we escort you?"

"I know the way," said Frog. He turned to Charlie. "Think about what I've said."

"You tried to interfere with a Test Subject." It was not a question.

"I am trying to salvage good Experimental Stock. Our supply of them is hardly unlimited," said F.

"You are supposed to provide support and service. That is your function. You are expressly forbidden from interfering with the Test Subjects," said M.

"Even when I see good material being wasted?"

"It is for us to decide what is good material," said M.

"You all know that the boy is wasted, completely wasted with her. Why do you allow Captain Taylor to ruin subject after subject?"

"We have already discussed this. You are not to interfere further."

"Fine."

No one was more astonished than Bessie when Graylor said, "Fine."

Fine? Bessie had strongly laid out the case against approving this partnering, and Graylor had almost always relied on her recommendation. After all that is why she had been selected as First One, to be the voice of the human subjects of this Experiment. But after listening carefully to her objections Graylor had stared at their gene plates for under a minute before approving this latest Experiment.

"Fine?" said Bessie incredulously. "You're going to allow them to increase her anxiety to the maximum, and pair the two that way?"

"It's never been attempted," said Graylor. "Perhaps it will generate an interesting result."

Bessie looked over to Frog for support before realizing it was fruitless, as Frog never intervened in such proceedings. Frog just stood there as motionless as a statue.

"Let the Experiment begin."

The results came in quickly, as they always did. And the results were almost universal: Technology, E1, Standard of Living, E1, Population Growth, E1, Emotionality & Self Awareness, E1, and Community, also E1. The only outlier was Art, which was E3. The overall composite score was 140, one of the very lowest scores achievable.

Frog looked at the Test Subjects. Charlie looked stunned. Audra was once again rocking back and forth in her chair, fidgiting with her hair uncomfortably.

No one was particularly surprised when Charlie's white, dried, desiccated body was wheeled across Algeria the following morning. The word was that his body had given in to sudden cellular degeneration, a delayed result of the cryofreezing which they all would face sooner or later, but the wisest among them knew better. Charlie had only been with them a few weeks and even the least fortunate of them had lifespans of at least two or three months. The Federationistas hadn't kept Charlie alive because he was no longer useful.

Survey Service Captain Michael Taylor had an expressionless face as he stared at the bright orange drink he was holding in his hand. He barely looked at the body as it passed by. He felt eyes on him and slowly turned about and saw Frog, just standing there, looking straight at him. Taylor shrugged and turned back to his drink.

"Why did you take him and not her?" F asked. "She was the one with the extremely flawed gene plate, not him!"

"You're full of emotion today, aren't you?" said C.

"I haven't seen him this agitated in quite some time," G agreed. "It is quite a thing to be so emotionally moved. I hope someday we all find hosts who move us as much as Frog moves him."

"But to find hosts who will not influence us in unproductive ways," M observed.

"You didn't answer my question," said F.

"Very well," said C. "We eliminated the test subject known as Charlie Byler because he proved himself unsuitable. He was given to bad judgment, very bad judgment, and we don't want bad judgment passed down to thirty generations of human beings. Therefore he had to be eliminated from the Experiment."

"And what of Audra Semens? She is a totally unsuitable subject as well."

"In that we are in total agreement. But nevertheless she still performs a vital function in the Experiment," said M.

"And what is that?"

"To serve as a lure for Test Subjects with bad judgment, of course. Any Test Subject who would find Audra Semens a suitable mate is no Test Subject we want anywhere near the gene pool we are looking for."

"In other words you're keeping her alive as bait, a sort of honey trap."

"Honey trap. I have not heard that human term before. I like it. Yes, Audra was and is a honey trap. Who knows who will next get stuck in her clutches?"​