The Development of Immortality through Backems (Part I, Technological Development)
Introduction
Arguably the most significant technology to appear in Western times was the backem, the ability to directly copy and back up the human mind. It ultimately resulted in the conquest of death: not merely "emmortality" (an end to death from old age) but true immortality (provided that a sufficiently current backup had been made). it offered the possibility of technological reincarnation: when the person perished, his backem was downloaded into a fresh body, and his life resumed.
Like most major technologies, it neither appeared suddenly nor in immediately-perfected form. Indeed, at the start it was not even immortality at all.
I. Technological Development
A. Sims
The most primitive form of backem was the sim. First appearing around the turn of the 21st century and perfected by the 2070's, the sim was a very simple, and initially very crude, sub-sapient simulation of a personality. A sim was a semblance rather than the reality of a person; it could interact and learn only in very stereotyped ways; it would would rapidly destabe if allowed to change in any significant way. Sims were originally for entertainment and educational purposes: during the period of large-scale warfare and increasing social violence from 2036 through 2077, they began to be used for commemorative purposes. By the end of this period, they had become very high-quality simulations indeed, though prolonged social contact would reveal the differences to those who knew the originals. Sims were in widespread use until the late 22nd to mid 23rd century, at which point they were superseded, save in situation where a better backem of the original personality was unavailable.
B. Geists
First developed in 2078, perfected by the end of the 23rd and in commercial use until the end of the 25th century, the geist was an aint onto which had been impressed the conscious thought pattern of a living person. A geist could interact and learn in complex ways, but if they changed too significantly were apt to destabe or diverge, because their apparent personalities were overlays, based on simplistic simulations of real subconscious emotions. Geists were thus not what would later be considered true backems, and were legally treated as aints rather than nats. Some geists managed to diverge into stabe aints, but this inevitably involved a degradation of their value as sims. In late Western and early Solar times, creation of a geist began to be viewed as highly immoral, and the practice has been everywhere outlawed by modern Solar civilization.
C. Ems
First developed in the early 23rd, perfected by the end of the 25th and in commercial use until the mid 33rd century, ems were the first true backems, because the personality could be copied down to the subconscious ("deep emotional") level. Ems were originally treated as aints, but in 2289 Murasaki the Great legally redefined them as human beings, a reform that by the 26th century had become accepted even in most Outie realms. This was later considered one of his more significant decisions, and one which went far toward securing the humaneness both of the American Mandate and of the mainstream Solar Civilization which was to emerge from its ruins.
Ems, while true backems, were however not very goodbackems. Because they did not simulate the underlying neurochemical substrate, there was a tendency to psychological instablity, and consequently personality changes were common once an em had been reactivated for a sufficiently long period. For this reason, embacks often changed their jobs, careers or even familial connections, and were thus somewhat distrusted by others. In particular, it was rare for an emback to continue his career in any important public position.
D. Holems
First developed in the 25th century, in part in response to the massive loss of life from the onset of the Great Plague in 2356 to the end of the War of the Twelve Tyrants in 2416, they were perfected by the end of the 30th century and in common use well into the end of the 38th century, which is to say that they lasted into Late Medieval Solar times. Holemming included the simulation of the neurochemical substrate, which largely solved the psychological problems and emotional instability of emming. There was however near-total astral detachment, meaning that holems were not strongly linked to their prior souls or destinies (a flaw not comprehended until the development of astral technology by the succeeding Solar civilization).
E. Perfem
First developed in the 30th century by the surviving Eastern Madate, perfemming involved the duplication of not merely the neurochemical but also the atomic substrates, which created a copy of sufficient fidelity to strengthen the astral attachments (though the Early Solar civilization did not really understand what it was thereby doing). Because of the generally depressed economic and educational conditions of the Solar Dark Ages, this technology was nevertheless slow to develop and spread: it was not perfected until High Medieval times around the end of the 36th century, by which time its more elementary forms began to spread to the ordinary middle classes. The widespread availability of advanced perfemming to even the poor, which existed in Solar Civilization by the mid-39th century, was one of the defining characteristics of that civilization at its height.
Conclusion to Part I
I hope to continue this with a Part II, "Social Development," which will examine the effects of these technologies on society and religion. In particular, the difficulty that earlier religions had in adapting to the development of emming, and the ease with which Changist and Messnic assumptions (in their different ways) embraced the concept, had much to do with the decline of those earlier faiths, and the rise of Changism and Messnim.
Comments, criticisms and suggestions are extremely welcome.
Arguably the most significant technology to appear in Western times was the backem, the ability to directly copy and back up the human mind. It ultimately resulted in the conquest of death: not merely "emmortality" (an end to death from old age) but true immortality (provided that a sufficiently current backup had been made). it offered the possibility of technological reincarnation: when the person perished, his backem was downloaded into a fresh body, and his life resumed.
Like most major technologies, it neither appeared suddenly nor in immediately-perfected form. Indeed, at the start it was not even immortality at all.
I. Technological Development
A. Sims
The most primitive form of backem was the sim. First appearing around the turn of the 21st century and perfected by the 2070's, the sim was a very simple, and initially very crude, sub-sapient simulation of a personality. A sim was a semblance rather than the reality of a person; it could interact and learn only in very stereotyped ways; it would would rapidly destabe if allowed to change in any significant way. Sims were originally for entertainment and educational purposes: during the period of large-scale warfare and increasing social violence from 2036 through 2077, they began to be used for commemorative purposes. By the end of this period, they had become very high-quality simulations indeed, though prolonged social contact would reveal the differences to those who knew the originals. Sims were in widespread use until the late 22nd to mid 23rd century, at which point they were superseded, save in situation where a better backem of the original personality was unavailable.
B. Geists
First developed in 2078, perfected by the end of the 23rd and in commercial use until the end of the 25th century, the geist was an aint onto which had been impressed the conscious thought pattern of a living person. A geist could interact and learn in complex ways, but if they changed too significantly were apt to destabe or diverge, because their apparent personalities were overlays, based on simplistic simulations of real subconscious emotions. Geists were thus not what would later be considered true backems, and were legally treated as aints rather than nats. Some geists managed to diverge into stabe aints, but this inevitably involved a degradation of their value as sims. In late Western and early Solar times, creation of a geist began to be viewed as highly immoral, and the practice has been everywhere outlawed by modern Solar civilization.
C. Ems
First developed in the early 23rd, perfected by the end of the 25th and in commercial use until the mid 33rd century, ems were the first true backems, because the personality could be copied down to the subconscious ("deep emotional") level. Ems were originally treated as aints, but in 2289 Murasaki the Great legally redefined them as human beings, a reform that by the 26th century had become accepted even in most Outie realms. This was later considered one of his more significant decisions, and one which went far toward securing the humaneness both of the American Mandate and of the mainstream Solar Civilization which was to emerge from its ruins.
Ems, while true backems, were however not very goodbackems. Because they did not simulate the underlying neurochemical substrate, there was a tendency to psychological instablity, and consequently personality changes were common once an em had been reactivated for a sufficiently long period. For this reason, embacks often changed their jobs, careers or even familial connections, and were thus somewhat distrusted by others. In particular, it was rare for an emback to continue his career in any important public position.
D. Holems
First developed in the 25th century, in part in response to the massive loss of life from the onset of the Great Plague in 2356 to the end of the War of the Twelve Tyrants in 2416, they were perfected by the end of the 30th century and in common use well into the end of the 38th century, which is to say that they lasted into Late Medieval Solar times. Holemming included the simulation of the neurochemical substrate, which largely solved the psychological problems and emotional instability of emming. There was however near-total astral detachment, meaning that holems were not strongly linked to their prior souls or destinies (a flaw not comprehended until the development of astral technology by the succeeding Solar civilization).
E. Perfem
First developed in the 30th century by the surviving Eastern Madate, perfemming involved the duplication of not merely the neurochemical but also the atomic substrates, which created a copy of sufficient fidelity to strengthen the astral attachments (though the Early Solar civilization did not really understand what it was thereby doing). Because of the generally depressed economic and educational conditions of the Solar Dark Ages, this technology was nevertheless slow to develop and spread: it was not perfected until High Medieval times around the end of the 36th century, by which time its more elementary forms began to spread to the ordinary middle classes. The widespread availability of advanced perfemming to even the poor, which existed in Solar Civilization by the mid-39th century, was one of the defining characteristics of that civilization at its height.
Conclusion to Part I
I hope to continue this with a Part II, "Social Development," which will examine the effects of these technologies on society and religion. In particular, the difficulty that earlier religions had in adapting to the development of emming, and the ease with which Changist and Messnic assumptions (in their different ways) embraced the concept, had much to do with the decline of those earlier faiths, and the rise of Changism and Messnim.
Comments, criticisms and suggestions are extremely welcome.