The Uncanny Career of Harry D. Moore, Rock 'n' Roll Simulacrum

Submitted into Contest #197 in response to: Write about a god desperately trying to get their chosen hero to follow the path they set out for them.... view prompt

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Speculative Creative Nonfiction Urban Fantasy

Disclaimer: The following article exploring the imbrications of the keywords “cloning” and “celebrity” is the product of a joint venture between creators of BuchGeist, a German AI program for ghostwriting, and Beijing University’s faculties of computer science and history who are behind the ongoing development CHROnicler, a virtual historian AI construct. 

Any stylistic inconsistency, or errors of narration, grammar, diction, or historical accuracy are not to be attributed to Harvard University’s Professor Emeritus Hank Sterling, an advisor to the joint venture whose topic was selected for purposes of generating the experimental article, but to imperfections in the programs that have yet to be resolved.

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The feasibility of human cloning has been around in science fiction form since at least the time of The Boys from Brazil, a 1976 novel by American author Ira Levin. 

As a conscientious, paranoid, and dubiously talented writer of Jewish descent, Levin imagined a sinister application of cloning science in the suspense-filled plot to his story, a plot in which Josef Mengele, a veridical concentration camp “doctor” at Auschwitz who conducted ghoulish experiments on Jewish and Gypsy detainees at the camp, was portrayed as the mastermind of a fictive scientific conspiracy that cloned 94 replicants of Adolf Hitler. 

Rising above the enemy, as any American left-of-center artist and intellectual of the 20th century did, Levin made sure his protagonist, the impecunious, yet dedicated, Nazi hunter, Yakov Liebermann, did not succumb to the same murderous inhumanity of the Jews’ World War II nemesis, but rather saw the possibility that the Fuhrer’s clones, each aged an impressionable 13 when he discovered them, could grow up to be harmless, productive and protective citizens of the non-German lands where their surrogate mothers gave birth to them. 

Levin’s conclusion indicated a disbelief in, or at least an ambivalence toward, the notion of genetic determinism—the idea that the set of coded macromolecular instructions found in the structure of DNA determined a person’s fate.      

Two decades after Levin’s book, with the laboratory birth of Dolly, a Finn-Dorset sheep, on July 5, 1996, organismal cloning made the fantastic, but inevitable, leap from science fiction to science fact. 

Dolly was cloned from an adult somatic cell by associates of the Roslin Institute in Scotland, using the process of nuclear transfer. The procedure entails extracting the chromosomes from the cell of a fully formed adult organism and relocating them into a totipotent embryonic cell. 

It is no little coincidence that the artificially created progeny sheep was named after the female country singer whose last name was Parton. 

Jim McWhir, the prankster and practical joker on the team of four scientists who carried out the historic experiment, was known for his extremely poor taste in humor and considered “Dolly” an apt name for the clone, given the momentous, and metonymic, relationship between an otherwise run-of-the-mill ruminant’s indistinguishable mammary gland cell and the monumentally-sized breasts of the iconic American country music celebrity.

The biological replication of human beings was preemptively banned shortly after the announcement of the Roslin Institute scientists’ groundbreaking experiment, and Dolly died due to cloning-related complications, but more recent developments in technology that have verisimilitude as their primary objective indicate that the desire and potential for creating iterations of living specimens still lurks in the collective unconscious.

The introduction of AI voice cloning in the early 2020s made possible the satisfaction of the otherwise insatiable public demand for new music from the public's most adored, not to mention deceased, singers. 

With the advent of the imitative technology, a relative nobody could be made to accurately sound like any divo or diva whose voice had been extensively recorded using voice cloning data banks.  

This meant any chanteur whose voice had been subjected to digital replication and analysis could be reproduced. Anyone who sang through a mic hooked to an AI voice replicant processor could be made to sound like an echo of his or her favorite singer, be that singer a member of the 27-club, the Notorious B.I.G. or Tupac Shakur, Johnny Cash or even the artificially imitable Dolly Parton, who was still living at the time voice cloning technology was developed.

An American company named Metaphysics contributed to the momentum that eventually led to the replication of celebrity simulacra by fusing image cloning technology to its aural counterpart. 

Metaphysics called their invention virtual replicant technology, or VRT. By means of this invention, an anonymous performer could not only be made to sound like a famous singer, whether they be extinct or extant, but to look like that singer in a larger-than-life sized projection. 

Elvis Presley’s estate was amongst the first to cash in on the company's VRT, giving an exclusive contract for the use of Presley replication to a professional musician—born Harry Delano Moore in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 4thof 1982. 

The contract sounded the death knell of the Elvis impersonation cottage industry. 

Moore had been mimicking the King of Rock since his teens. In his early 20s, he became the front man of an experimental band that fused jazz, rock and funk and had over thirty original compositions whose lyrics Moore penned himself. 

The band’s name was Future Fix, and previous to Moore’s signing the contract that sealed his artistic destiny and guaranteed the ongoing fortunes of the Presley estate, Moore’s rock band almost had a hit with a melodic song entitled “Finally Free.” 

In a state of disappointed resignation, Moore destroyed all recordings he had made with the band before finally surrendering himself to his new calling as sole legal impersonator of The King of Rock.

Once he became the only performer licensed to use Elvis’ voice and image, Moore took his vocation very seriously, so seriously, in fact, that he claimed in a 2002 interview that it eventually began interfering with his ability to exercise freedom of choice.   

Moore was driven to re-live the more significant moments of the deceased rock star’s life, and broke off the nuptial engagement he had with a high school sweetheart to marry Lucinda Belle, a look-alike of the real Presley’s wife, Priscilla Ann Wagner. Moore met Belle using the dating app Dead Ringers, a cell-phone application that caters to the niche market of people who resemble, claim to resemble, or emulate celebrities.

At the insistence of Moore, Lucinda terminated her first pregnancy when the couple tested for the sex of the embryo and discovered it was a boy. When their first child was born, Moore, despite the protestations of his wife, insisted the newborn girl be named Lisa-Marie. 

Toward the end of his life, Moore adopted the unfortunate habits of overeating and painkiller usage. In the latter days of his fame, he even put a bullet hole in the screen of a 96-inch flat-screen television he routinely watched in his luxury residential apartment, located in the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, where he had an exacting contract to perform two shows a night, six days a week. 

He demanded much of himself as a virtual clone performer and never failed to tantalize international audiences with his physically-demanding and emotive performances.   

When questioned as to why he reproduced these momentous occasions, the impersonator, who had adopted the habit of speaking about his natal identity in the third person, claimed, “In order to be true to himself, Harry Moore strives to be as authentic to the King’s legacy as possible.” 

In a televised appearance, Moore made the following, even more cryptic statement: "I am the chosen hero of Elvis Presley, god of rock, and I do everything within my means to enact his will."

In the last year of his life, Moore refused to speak to acquaintances who did not address him as “your majesty” or to Lucinda, whom he had become estranged from, as “Priscilla.” 

After generating over a quarter-billion dollars in VRT performance ticket sales, the virtual clone died of pharmaceutical-drug induced complications in 2024. 

Moore uttered his last agonized words as he sat on a toilet trying to void his bowels, fatefully obstructed as a result of a truculent years-long addiction to oxycontin. 

A groupie present on the other side of locked bathroom door at the time of the virtual replicant’s death claims the millionaire impersonator repeatedly gasped an alternating melody of the words, “I’m finally free/not to be me,” as he sat on his porcelain throne and exhaled his last breaths. 

Only people who knew of Moore’s dreams previous to his becoming the virtual embodiment of the legendary rock ‘n’ roll royal are aware that those final words were the laconic and entirely prophetic chorus to Future Fix’s hit-that-never-was. 

May 08, 2023 00:47

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23 comments

16:01 May 19, 2023

This was a fun story, having a weakness for going down the rabbit hole of wikipedia knowledge... found the info about Dolly the Sheep being named after Dolly the mammary gland cell v informative. "using the dating app Dead Ringers, a cell-phone application that caters to the niche market of people who resemble, claim to resemble, or emulate celebrities" Dead Ringers.. ha ha ha, that was good. A lot of important scifi concepts in this, will the Rolling Stones become the Rolling Stones VR emulators? I can def see your concept of AI powered...

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Mike Panasitti
18:26 May 19, 2023

Thanks for reading and the comments, Scott.

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Graham Kinross
03:36 May 17, 2023

“Two decades after Levin’s book, with the laboratory birth of Dolly, a Finn-Dorset sheep, on July 5, 1996, organismal cloning made the fantastic, but inevitable, leap from science fiction to science fact.” My friend’s dad took the photos at the Roslin Institute. More interesting things actually happen in Roslin than the possibility of the holy grail being there. Though there is an element of resurrection to cloning so you could speculate that the power of the cup the messiah drank from helped Roslin get the edge on cloning. I wouldn’t say th...

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Mike Panasitti
13:29 May 17, 2023

It's a small world. Did your dad's friend take pictures of Dolly? Thanks for mentioning the cloning/resurrection analogy. I hadn't thought of it before. Your comments, as always, are much appreciated.

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Graham Kinross
14:11 May 17, 2023

He worked for the Roslin institute for years, he also took the photos on the leaflets for Roslin Chapel where they filmed some of the Da Vinci Code. It’s probably different photos now though.

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Jack Kimball
12:42 May 15, 2023

To think someone thinks so little of themself, they become someone else, sounds prophetic, and given the insanity of today's society, possible. Maybe parents could make the choice. 'I want my child to be John Lennon', created by the DNA. But this is replication. A "set of coded macromolecular instructions found in the structure of DNA determin[ing] a person’s fate' is something else. Maybe the subconscious internal drive to live the dna's actual life is not a scientific equation, but a psychological finite construct, resulting in fate bei...

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Mike Panasitti
19:23 May 15, 2023

Jack, I won't think we'll ever know till human cloning actually happens (assuming it already hasn't). Thanks for reading and commenting.

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Tommy Goround
20:13 May 14, 2023

I kinda feel bad for laughing through most of this. Lovely brain fodder. You captured some context of a soul here. Clapping.

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Mike Panasitti
23:24 May 14, 2023

Laughter and clapping from one of the masters of brain fodder literature? Not a bad day for me, Tommy.

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Chris Miller
13:29 May 14, 2023

Hi Mike, The god of rock would move in mysterious ways when directing his hero. Very nice ideas. Made me think about whether we will really ever be able to have another authentic Elvis, Bowie etc. Or, has modern society destroyed the conditions they need to develop? Very thought provoking stuff.

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Mike Panasitti
14:39 May 14, 2023

Yeah Chris, Our stories this week complement each other. Yours about Prometheus and mine about double-edged technologies that want to give humanity back their gods. Thanks for reading and commenting.

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Chris Miller
16:31 May 14, 2023

I didn't actually think about it as giving back a god. Another interesting idea. A god, or a simulacrum of a god? And does it matter? Great stuff Mike. Good luck with the next one.

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Howard Halsall
05:59 May 14, 2023

Hey Mike, I chuckled my way through your wonderful VRT saga and relished the detailed references to the late king of rock m’ roll’s life, decline and sad demise. I loved the details and recalled reading an article about Elvis’s eating disorder; the weight gain was partly due to feasting on deep-fried peanut butter sandwiches, apparently. But I digress. I think it was your matter of fact delivery that sold the idea for me; it enhanced the humour and added an air of authenticity. Very well written, in my opinion and I look forward to your nex...

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Mike Panasitti
13:02 May 14, 2023

Thank you, Howard. It figures certain deep-fried foods were a favorite of the King before they started trending with the general population. I'll credit you if the detail ever makes it into a revamped version of this story. I appreciate the comments. Take care.

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Howard Halsall
22:46 May 14, 2023

No problem :)

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Delbert Griffith
12:21 May 11, 2023

Harry Moore. A nondescript name, attached to a man living a nondescript life. The chance to become the King must have been irresistible. He was willing to trade his soul for becoming a musical icon. Dr. Faustus, retold and reimagined. Because all of this seems like it could happen, the tale hits hard. Are we all to become who we want to be because of technology and medical advances? Can I become Jimmy Page? These types of questions should arise in any reader's mind, and the answer to those questions tell us who we are. That's very Shakesper...

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Mike Panasitti
14:24 May 11, 2023

Yes, Delbert, the trajectories of existence, personality, and fate are increasingly tied to computing science and technology. If there is ever a future version of this story, I will build upon how mundane Moore's life was before he becomes a headlining King replicant. If you play a six string, I could think of stylistically worse heroes to emulate. But preferences for style...so subjective. Page has an inimitable approach to soloing and has come up with riffs and hooks that are timeless. "Delbert Page" doesn't have a bad ring to it. ...

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Michał Przywara
20:42 May 09, 2023

This prompt naturally conjures up all manner of fantasy ideas, but of course - there are rock gods too :) It's a cool non-supernatural take, and a little chilling considering how plausible it is. Indeed, the piece read a bit like a documentary. The intro was a bit too long for my tastes, but it had a good pace once we met Harry Moore, and the tone was very fitting for a historical look back. A "Behind the Music" vibe. And it gives rise to some very interesting questions, about fame, art, technology, identity, and commercialism. Lots of pe...

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Mike Panasitti
22:19 May 09, 2023

Your comments give me as much to ponder (in terms of additional possibilities) as the story apparently gave you, Michal. The intro is a bit long, but most academic papers (of which the story is a simulation) usually are : ) I'd never thought about how the notion of faith plays into Moore's world view (or his view of himself), but you've definitely drawn my attention to a comparison (or metaphor) that is apt for much entertainment: religion. If this story every has a revised and more extensive version, I'll make sure to further explore th...

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Mary Bendickson
17:59 May 08, 2023

This was so intricately woven facts and fiction it was hard to pin point one from the other making a fascinating read and premise. Once again a masterful piece, Mike.

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Helen A Smith
07:51 May 08, 2023

Wow Mike! An incredibly interesting exposition. Fascinating facts and mind-blowing concepts here. For me, it is not so much a matter of which comes first: nature or nurture. I believe one cannot be separated from the other. In a way, they are co-dependant. The way I interpreted the part about the Elvis impersonator is that he could not escape his ‘fate’ which was perhaps what initially drew him to impersonating in the first place and even beyond that with the voice cloning and the ultimate outcome of his life. It was too strong a pull to r...

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Mike Panasitti
15:53 May 08, 2023

Helen, I've tried to portray Harry Moore as an artist striving for excellence. He wants to appease the god of Elvis's legacy, or is it a more personal, subconscious god? The seriousness with which he takes his vocation leads him down a bizarre and fateful path. At the end of his life he is stricken with nostalgia for another destiny that could have been, had fortune (nature? nurture?) been on his side. As always, thanks for reading. I appreciate the feedback.

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Unknown User
16:49 May 17, 2023

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