The #KennedyShanahan ongoing campaign for the US Presidency was overwhelming, and Bobby relished the few times he could retreat to his private aircraft with confidants and team members, away from the press and public. He increasingly valued a seat next to Nicole Shanahan, his nominee for VP. The two delighted in discussions about je ne sais quoi - both of them were deeply informed across almost any subject - as many an ill-informed interviewer had discovered.
As their plane took off from LAX toward a sequence of whistle stops across the southwest that morning, Bobby sat down beside her and floated a hypothetical for her comments.
“Are you familiar with Epicurus, Nicole - as the Greek guy who suggested that we ‘eat drink and be merry, because when we die we’re done.”
She looked sideways to estimate whether Bobby was serious or jesting, and asked “Feeling footsteps?” as a rejoinder. Dying was always a topic in the star-crossed Kennedy landscape, so Bobby clarified.
“No, just digressing - for once. In the past week I’ve had messages from Putin and Johnny Cash, and they’re somehow connected. Can you turn on your AI beam for me?”
“if you order me an Earl Grey, I’m sure I can help you. What is it this time?” she smiled.
“OK, so picture this. Last week on my bus, I got a VPN call from Vladimir Putin himself suggesting we had coherent views on Africa and Ukraine - as I recounted earlier - and that we might work together.
Nicole nodded, Bobby continued.
“I agree that we can do so many things if in sync, it could untie the Gordian knot, of generations of suspicion. As we wound the conversation down, after arranging our next VPN he asked - somewhat sardonically - if I knew Johnny Cash.”
“In the present tense?” she asked.
“That’s what he meant. He explained that he had been a fan of Cash when he had been a KGB operative in East Germany, early in his career. But we broke off the topic at that point - it’s as if he were requesting a fan meetup with him.”
Shanahan rolled her eyes. “He may have been referring to that publicity a few years back, that a clone of Cash existed, somewhere in Canada. Did you Google that?”
“Yes, and Perplexity reported that it was never confirmed nor disproved, that the imposter as it were is now a genetics professor in Vancouver. The reason I mention it was Putin’s interest, of course, but more because the search a photo of this “JR” character in Pacific Yachting, dated last winter.”
Nicole took a closer look at the image of “JR” Bobby had on his cellphone.
“Looks like Cash alright, but when and who it actually is - didn’t he die twenty years ago?”
“In 2003. And this guy isn’t 71 years old. Cash had one boy, and this isn’t Carter Cash. So I believe Putin may be onto something, which made me thing of Epicurus.”
Nicole was always game for intellectual twists, so they both searched for Epicurus to refresh their knowledge of him. Here was Claude 3’s reply to the quick prompt:
|What were the teachings and conclusions of Epicurus?|
Answer
Epicurus taught that the purpose of life is to attain happiness by pursuing pleasure and avoiding pain. His key teachings and conclusions were:
Pleasure is the highest good and the aim of life, but he defined pleasure as the absence of physical pain and mental disturbance (ataraxia), not just sensual indulgence.14 The quantitative limit of pleasure is the removal of all pain.4
Happiness arises from living simply, limiting desires, and gaining self-sufficiency. Wealth and luxury do not lead to lasting happiness.14
There is no afterlife, so death should not be feared.12 The soul is material and mortal, composed of atoms that disperse at death.2
The gods, though they exist, do not intervene in human affairs or the workings of the universe, so they should not be feared or worshipped.12
All things are made up of atoms moving in empty space. There is no supernatural realm or divine cosmic force governing the universe.23
Knowledge comes from the senses, and reason is used to confirm or deny sense perceptions. Skepticism about our ability to gain knowledge is untenable.2
Virtue is valuable because it leads to pleasure by allowing one to live rationally, moderately, and justly. The greatest virtue is prudence, the ability to judge what will lead to tranquility.4
In essence, Epicurus advocated a life of simplicity, moderation, and absence of fears to attain lasting happiness and inner tranquility.124
Bobby pointed to line 3: There is no afterlife, so death should not be feared.12 The soul is material and mortal, composed of atoms that disperse at death.2
Nicole could see what Bobby’s counterpoint would be, and offered her take on it. “So if there is an afterlife, death should be feared, and it would be a shame to be dispersed at death.”
“Thank you,” Bobby replied “those are the implications I’m taking away from this episode. Putin sure has some zingers to share - what else does he know?”
Nicole took up the chase, completing a quick search of Perplexity, and showed that to Bobby.
|Describe the woman surrogacy industry for IVF in the Ukraine| and this was the result:
Answer
The surrogacy industry in Ukraine has become a major global hub for couples seeking affordable in vitro fertilization (IVF) and surrogacy services. Here are some key points about the surrogacy industry in Ukraine:
Legal Framework
Surrogacy is legal and regulated in Ukraine for heterosexual married couples who have medical reasons preventing them from carrying a pregnancy.12
Ukrainian law allows for gestational surrogacy where the child is not genetically related to the surrogate mother, but traditional surrogacy using the surrogate's egg is prohibited.1
Intended parents can establish legal parenthood relatively easily compared to other countries.5
Industry Growth
Ukraine has emerged as a popular destination for international surrogacy after bans in countries like India, Thailand, and Nepal.3
An estimated 2,000-2,500 children are born through surrogacy in Ukraine annually, with a major portion through the large agency BioTexCom.3
The surrogacy industry in Ukraine is worth tens of millions of dollars and continues to operate despite the ongoing war with Russia.4
Surrogates and Costs
Ukrainian surrogates typically receive around $11,000-$15,000 per pregnancy, a significant sum compared to average local incomes.3
Surrogate requirements include being 18-36 years old, having given birth before, and passing medical and psychological evaluations.1
For intended parents, the total cost of surrogacy in Ukraine ranges from $30,000 to over $100,000, much lower than in the US or other Western countries.23
Concerns and Criticisms
There have been reports of exploitation of surrogates, lack of support after birth, and unethical practices by some clinics described as "baby factories."34
Critics argue the industry commodifies women's bodies and children, with complex legal and ethical issues around parenthood.45
The war has highlighted the vulnerable positions surrogates can be placed in, torn between safety and contractual obligations.5
In summary, Ukraine's permissive laws, relatively low costs, and availability of surrogates have made it a major international surrogacy destination, but the industry also faces scrutiny over ethical concerns and treatment of surrogates, especially amid the ongoing conflict.345
Bobby and Nicole looked at each other pensively, then shared a smile. This activity was going on - thousands of births every year, legally, in Russia’s back yard - and had been for a while.
Nicole recognized the deep similarity between such surrogacy and the research being supported by her own Bia- Echo Foundation, which is dedicated to extending reproductive options for women beyond their limited time window to conceive children.
The implications went much further, for those interested in the technology.
“If you can arrange a surrogate woman to do that gestation for you” she summarized, “via SCNT cloning you can get a little Putin out of the deal quite readily. It’s all about whose DNA is riding in that surrogate’s oocyte. You can be quite sure that a number of those 2000 pregnancies each year result in a cloned human being, not - it’s an avenue to a second lifetime.”
Bobby just stared at her blankly, and for once the voluble Irishman was lost for words.
Nicole offered to “…shine some AI on the matter” and expand on the subject before Bobby’s next call with the Russian President.
As their plane prepared to land in Texas, Bobby returned to his mention of Epicurus. “So, the presumption for the ancient philosophers was that death was inevitable, always final and immutable. And you couldn’t worry about anything once you were dead - end of story?”
“If you parse life that way,” Nicole said “that attitude is fine on its own. But when your blueprint is good for more than one building, one phenotype, and can be utilized again - that tech does exist today if a surrogate does the heavy lifting. And SCNT takes exactly one molecule of your actual DNA as seed for the new body. As lawyers might say - you have established continuance.”