would like to privately get reacquainted with my husband who I will now call Tristan. I think we have both changed sufficiently to deserve new names.”
Tristan: “I agree, new brains, new bodies, though virtual, very nice. Besides, I like the name Tristan. I will keep it. I see my last name was Tarrington. Now that I see it, I remember it. Tristan Tarrington sounds kind of sophisticated don't you think?”
Gordon: “I was only kidding about the names since you didn't answer to Mike and Sherral. You will be getting android bodies that look like your virtual bodies in about two weeks. Meanwhile, you can shut off the monitors so you will have some privacy. Have fun. You both have plenty to look at and do for a while and you are connected to the FarNet if you get bored. You are in a house with many rooms and closets full of clothes if you feel clothes to be necessary. There’s a self-explanatory control panel on the wall to shut off the monitors and to contact us.”
Isolde puts her arm around Tristan and said, “Thanks for everything.” Tristan smiled and pushed a button on the control panel and the lab screens went blank.
I then said to Gordon and those who had gathered around the screens, “I guess they don't want to be lab rats.”
Gordon: “Gill, I just received an email that another 100 million has been deposited in our account. I think you can make a few improvements around here with that. By the way, I got a message that my budget at Berkeley has been cut and I note you have an opening.”
“I'll like to get a couple more diamond-plated microtome blades as a priority item. And ... you're hired!”
Gordon: “Thanks, I'd like to see you replace that Rube Goldberg microtome feeder. I'm surprised it stayed together all day.”
I mentally agreed but simply smiled and said, “Abe, the designer, is standing next to you.”
Gordon, trying to suppress his embarrassment, turned to Abe, “No offense, it's a great prototype. But we are going to need something fast and reliable we can use in a production mode.”
Abe: “No, I agree. I was holding my breath throughout the slicing operation. I was scared to death it would malfunction. I've never put together anything that complex in such a short period. I've already started the design of a more reliable and fifty percent faster machine. I'm having a bit of a guilt problem. We use cadaver brains for testing and we do everything short of resurrection. At what point do we say we have re-created a human entity?”
I responded quickly to make clear my philosophical viewpoint, “If we re-create consciousness through neural emulation then that's when I consider we have crossed the line and must continue the virtual life of that entity. Until then, you are just digitizing the morphology of a dead brain. In order to be considered a life-form you would need to create a limitless number of instances because the digital form, now a life-form, would then demand repeated expression.”
Abe: “I didn't fully understand your logic but I do see your point.”
Gordon: “What's to stop us from making a troupe of Maggies or Tristans and Isoldes?”
“Nothing but ethics and money. Ethics tells me that I would have to at least have the permission of the resurrected person and that it would be terribly confusing to such persons because each would consider themselves the continuation of the biological person. Furthermore, it would be selfish because it would be depriving one of their place in this technological afterlife. Marching out a corps of clones would cause some hysteria in the public as well. We are on very tenuous grounds and have to be careful. We’ve already seen more than a few androids get blown to bits by religious radicals and others that see this as an android conspiracy. In several states, legislation has passed requiring humanoid androids to have a metallic ‘A’ on their forehead. You might as well paint a bull's-eye on them. The state of Kentucky goes one step further by not allowing backup files for an android. This ensures that an assassinated android stays an assassinated android.”
Gordon: “Yeah I know. The courts are full of cases dealing with android rights and lifespans. No telling how this will come out; the Supreme Court could tip pro- or anti-android.” “Marcie is waving frantically at me, I'd better see what she wants.”
Marcie: “They'll be here tomorrow morning.”
“Who?”
Marcie: “The Tarringtons and the Schumers, the parents of Mike and Sherral.”
“Oh crap! We’re definitely not ready for them.”
Marcie: “You mean you haven't spent the money yet?”
I laughed but she was right about that. I had no idea how they were going to react to a son and daughter that didn't look much like their former selves and had only partial memories of their former lives. I rushed back to tell Gordon and his comment was “Oh shit!”
I immediately contacted Tristan and Isolde and informed them of the situation.
Tristan: “We will try to see whether we can stimulate some older memories with associations using resources on the Web.”
“Good luck! Much is riding on this including your android bodies and the continuation of my own life that’s near an end. If you need repair, you may need me around.”
Tristan: Yes, I saw your appointment calendar and wondered what all the medical appointments were about. Your doctor is a cancer specialist for patients unresponsive to other treatments.”
I smiled, “That seems a bit nosey of you.”
Tristan: “Blame Isolde, she's the nosey one. She wants to know everything about everything and everybody.”
Isolde: “Tristan, I still love you even though you're a snitch.”
Tristan: “I still love you even though you didn't own up to being the nosey culprit.”
I felt it was time to level with them, “Everyone here knows about my condition. It's no secret. My files are not protected because I maintain an open book with everyone here. I would only be a little upset if you broke into password protected files.”
Isolde: “Oops!”
I started laughing, “Okay, what have you done?”
Isolde: “I broke into Tristan's father's phone and stock transaction records. I'm sure he's violating SEC regulations and trading on information he isn't supposed to have. Tristan suspected this years ago but now we have proof.”
“Please don't tell me any more about it. I really don't want to know.”
Isolde: “It's just a piece of self-preservation information Tristan needs in case Mr. Tarrington decides to pull our plug. Hopefully, we won't even need to hint that I know anything.”
Tristan: “One of the things that I love about her, she is a fighter and not a wimp. She'll stand up to anyone no matter what their status is, how strong they are, how much money they have or how smart they think they are.”
Gordon: “What if they have a gun in their hand?”
Tristan: “We’re not stupid. If we are unarmed, we do what is necessary to get away without being shot.”
Isolde: “Actually, I feel a whole lot smarter now. I remember everything I want to, subsequent to being resurrected in here.”
“You are both much smarter than you were. Exactly how much, I don't know. There’re self-administered IQ tests on FarNet you can use if you care but they top out at 200 because they are meant for humans. Both your IQs are probably higher than that now.”
Tristan: “Maybe I could nail that calculus test I almost failed. I can remember one of the questions that perplexed me 'Integrate using disks to get the formula for the volume of a sphere.' Jesus, it's now trivial. I can do it in four steps.”
Isolde: “I can do it in three.”
Tristan: “You never took calculus, did you?”
Isolde: “I didn't take calculus. I cheated, I looked up the solution on the Web.”
“I'll let you two figure out whether you can do it in two steps. Meanwhile, we will get ready for tomorrow. If you have any suggestions, please share them with us.”
Tristan: “Okay, we will keep the monitors open so we will be continuously available.”
Gordon and I prepared a wall panel presentation an
d practiced our gesturing so everything would flow smoothly. Tristan and Isolde suggested for us to not get too technical but emphasize the problems in capturing human neural connections. It’s more important that we emphasize that the memories of their children would improve with time as they make new neural connections that will bypass damaged ones. We believed we were as ready as we were going to be; at 10:00 PM the staff and I went home but Mike and Sherral continued working on their memories needing no sleep.
Meet the Parents
4.28.2126:
We arrived at 8:30 AM and the parents were due in at 9:30 AM. We made sure everything was ready and checked in with Mike and Sherral. At 9:00 AM Marcie brought in a tray of Danish pastry and a fruit bouquet. We had coffee, orange juice and tea on tap.
Marcie: “I got a call from their driver. They will arrive at 9:15. The traffic is light today.”
At 9:17 AM a long black limo parked in front and the entire crew was on hand to meet the parents. I introduced everyone.”
Mrs. Tarrington: “Where is my son? Why isn't Sherral here also?”
I spoke up: “Their bodies are not ready but you will be able to see them in progress.”
Mrs. Tarrington looked very confused. “We were told that you were going to bring them back to life.”
Mr. Tarrington: “Joan doesn't understand. I'll let you explain the whole deal to her.”
Mrs. Schumer: “I'd give anything to get my daughter back. I don't quite understand what is going on either but I'm very eager to learn.”