There are also two meta-characters who comment on this book from time to time. They are outside the book, they are also part of it. Created 24,000 sol-years in the future at a time when less than 1% of all information from the 21st century remained, they're engaged in an information harvesting project for the Galactic Archives - a network of worlds spanning this section of the galaxy dedicated to the goal of archiving and disseminating all available knowledge for all times. . .
 | Pixxâkiû:
Given human shape and sent back to the 21st century to catalog data for a short period in history,
Pixxâkiû was 54th sol-years in age when commenting on this text. He was "grown" in a birthing pod in
space and educated at the Galactic Academy. Although he has a human anatomy, he has some abilities considered extraordinary by
21st Century standards – eidetic memory, telepathy, sharpened senses, and energy healing. Generally
Pixxâkiû appears as clerk at a used bookstore on Vancouver island.
When privacy is needed he retreats into the cedars and literally vanishes in the fog. He manages to stay relatively inconspicuous,
though a few townsfolk murmur, "He's weird".
Favorite drink:At first he regarded coffee as an irrelevant and nugatory distraction. However, since this beverage appears repeatedly as a literary motif, his curiosity was sparked and now he systematically ingests each different type of coffee once, then moves on.Favorite Saying:He's come to recognize how each saying fits in a given context and that the whole notion of "favorites" is absurd.
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 | AR3X108:
In this dimension, AR3X108: usually appears as a transparent slightly bluish crystal ball. Since one of its prime directives is to not interact with humans or interfere with terrestrial timelines, when necessary it shifts out of visual range. At its center is a micro-singularity that supplies more than adequate power for any contingencies. Designed to assist Pixxâkiû in collecting information about a brief historical period, when that unit ceases to function it will shift out of this dimension and return to the future. Since Pixxâkiû has a limited storage capacity, periodically he interfaces directly with this orb to purge his memory and on occasion receive new directives from the Galactic Archive Project. Although Pixxâkiú has a telepathic link to the orb, to earth inhabits it appears inert.
The best way to describe AR3X108: is as intelligent being molded from a advanced technology. archival units like AR3X108: cannot not only gather huge sums of data in nano-seconds; they also make higher-order interpretive associations and validity inferences. Although Pixxâkiû is on a one-way trip to in time, AR3 units are unemcombered by human biological limitations and can move back and forth through time.
Over one hundred research robots have preceded AR3X108: and he/she/it has been slightly modified
for Earth work.
Favorite drink:Are you kidding? (AR3 units do not ingest any materials.)Favorite Saying:
If you specify parameters more clearly, an appropriate response can be given. |
