The replacement needed is for an ally of Slynky, not actually for Slynky. As far as how long the turns take I don't know.
If someone were running the empire, I wouldn't have a problem with the "AI should not make changes" option being set. This would prevent anything too aweful from happening if you missed the occasional turn. Having this option set for an empire where the player has left the game entirely though I think is a bad idea. As bad as the AI is it's probably better then nothing at all.
As far as it being temporary, if you want to take over go ahead. You can play a few turns and I'll keep looking for a permanent replacment. Unless you like what you see enought o change your mind that is.
