Equilibrium

Consciousness has been described differently by men, women and society at large across the ages of humanity. Theologians said it is a gift from the Gods. Some biologists call it an evolutionary anomaly, while mathematicians describe it as a chaotic mutation. A school of psychology may say however that Consciousness is life's or The Universe's realization of ego.

It can and has been described in many ways over millennia but, it is most commonly defined by the three following characteristics:

1) To be awake and responsive to external stimuli

2) To be able to sense and interact with the self and external stimuli

3) The ability to feel emotions, question and reason concepts

In these ways, many have wondered what the implication of creating Artificial Intelligence will be and whether or not it is possible for an AI to develop 'Consciousness'. Most scientists have argued that in order to facilitate consciousness, elements of organic matter from a living consciousness must be present to contextualize and characterize emotions and physical senses. In this way, AI may never be considered its own consciousness.

In this bizarre world, there exists colossal global company called OmniCorp. OmniCorp hoards one third of the worlds wealth, boasting enormous scientific, robotic, agricultural and entertainment innovations. New drugs, chemicals and GCOs were by far their most lucrative venture. The Omnicorp science teams had been working tirelessly attempting to answer the questions surrounding consciousness and with measurable success started to design a new way of living.

Every television set, tablet, laptop or phone has at least 1 component in it. Any display device that has licensed equipment will play their ads. Almost everything these days can be skipped, for a price, but not OmniCorp ads.

Their last and most controversial 5 minute advertisement was as follows:

"Transhumanism, like eugenics, has been demonized for daring to change the divine human form. What some call unethical, others simply see it as a new frontier to conquer. Pushing the boundaries of aesthetics, overcoming genetic limitation and even eradicating disease are all noble goals."

The mere mention of transhumanism and eugenics made people panic. The uproar came from several different prongs; some due to leaked documents from several countries DoD (Departments of Defense) about hacking and disabling transhuman combatents or potential dizidents mods and using eugenics to make the perfect sleeper agents and infiltrators. others had large moral objections over eugenics from a historical perspective while others speculated over the dangers of changing genetics to overcome disease.

The ad continued;

"Here at OmniCorp, we aren't looking to enhance the human body, we're looking to replace it. Now, with our simulacrum shells, we can integrate your consciousness into an immortal hub and input that hub into a body. All of a host consciousnesses experiences, sensations, and emotions from a good belly hearted laugh and feeling joy, to the inconvenient pain of stubbing your toe but with no wear and tear in this shell. With haptic feedback into our synthetic organic tissue stored within each shell, helping sensory information be processed in real time along with the individuals feelings."

The sleek designs and constructed footage of these simulacrums left people speechless. A completely alien concept to most people that left some wondering how the process of transferring consciousness worked and if what they were proposing was truly possible, and how could anyone really know for sure?

The ad continued;

"Even better, each shell comes with an AI companion, helping you learn, grow and understand more than possible in an organic lifetime. Artificial neurons and synthesized gray matter fire across one quadrillion simulated synapses, transmitting throughout your shell at the speed of light. When you first integrate with your shell, your companion AI will help you acclimatize to your new body. Aren't sure how something works? Want to learn facts about something you've never heard of? Your AI companion is here to help."

Those that already felt cautious about AI found this idea deeply disturbing, some claiming that Omnicorp was only using AI to map how people think to enhance their profits... Others questioned how a person could trust their life to an AI.

The ad continued;

"Perhaps you would like to experience augmented or virtual reality? Each shell has the ability to Digitally Reboot Enhanced Andoid Mechanisms or DREAM for short. This process creates a virtual sub-conscious world for the host to interact with anytime they choose to rest or allow hardware or software updates. Even with our bronze package, each simulacrum will be stronger, faster and far more durable than possible in any human body. With it's hydrogen core, each shell is guaranteed to stay powered up to 1000 years. Want to see the depths of the ocean? Fearlessly go on a wildlife safari? Become immersed in a new culture and learn the language? Try that interstellar trip you've always wanted to take? Well now, you can!"

Was this too good to be true? With all of these marked benefits, what are the downsides? People started discussing the possibilities of damage, sensation and ease of replacement. If you lost a limb, would it hurt? Could it run out of battery or memory? What if the hydrogen core became compromised? But with each question being led away from the questions of humanity, a change in the climate of emotion was already possible!

The ad continued;

"As our founder and CEO Sierra Bloom age 93 was one of the 1st to opt-in and grab herself an upgrade. Sierra is the 1st human consciousness setting out on an extraterrestrial colonial voyage, trailblazing over 2.5 billion miles and 1.3 years to Saturn's largest moon. The Titan project has been looking for colony volunteers for years, but OmniCorp have overcome this hurdle. One of the many benefits to investing in a simulacrum shell is that, you can pilot any of our robotics such as those used in the Titan project. What would typically take a team of 50 to do in weeks, one user's hub plus a handful of robots can complete in a matter of days.

The advert showcased real footage of Seirra signing her OmniCorp simulacrum contract, then her being 'transferred' from her old body into her new shell. She waves goodbye to the camera from one body and in seconds waves hello from another. The footage continued;

"Now, Sierra will break new ground on the soil of Saturn's largest moon this time next year, boldly taking the next giant step to the future, not just for OmniCorp but for humanity as a whole. Think big, think OmniCorp."

The ad showed pictures of Sierra across her career, her last picture with her grandchildren in her old body and them playing with her new one. Footage of her entering Titan 1 space capsule and the OmniCorp logo on it's side... This advert showed the world a triumph of engineering and the potential next step in human evolution. The panic, horror and questions had been gently diffused seeing the CEO herself having lived in a shell and remarkably going where no human had gone before.

Sales and contracts began piling up, as what began as concerned citizenry for the future, morality and ethics became a divided people, some full of curiosity and full on the promises of OmniCorp. What would the future look like after one hundred or even one thousand years later? Perhaps, similarly to the founder, man would take to the stars. No longer bound by time or restrained by resources people could persue the larger questions of existence, hone their crafts or conquer new horizons.

Then again, maybe that's not what happened at all. Maybe your consciousness couldn't handle the download and your AI companion has trapped you in this virtual reality where you can see, feel and experience 'organic' life once more as it pilots it's new body... We'll never know.