Dorothy From Kansas, Part 2
I've got more done! I was planning on updating this every Sunday, but I found some more time to write this week, so you get the next installment sooner. This next portion takes the form of a journal entry written by Faye, so ironically, it actually reads kind of like a livejournal entry. For those of you who know the Transhuman Space universe where my story takes place, this installment might be a bit boring, as a lot of it is just setting up the universe. It might be a bit boring even to people who don't know the universe, as setup can tend to be dull. Nevertheless, I've got to tell you about the world of 2100 before I proceed into it, so this step is necessary. However, in the next installment I promise a lot more mystery and probably some hot virtual sex. So, here's more story!
January 16, 2100
Tanaka suggested to me yesterday that I should start keeping a journal. He said it would probably be helpful to people who are going through the same thing I’m going through. I’m not sure that I agree. I’ve only been awake for thirteen days, so I hardly think I have much insight. On top of that, I don’t fancy myself as much of a writer. However, Tanaka’s been very good to me, and a journal seems as good a way to occupy my time as any, so I figure why not, if it makes him happy. So, here it goes.
My name is Faye Valentine, or at least that’s the name Tanaka has given me. I don’t know my real name, nor do I know anything else about myself. All I know is that I’m a Ghost Mind Emulation with total amnesia who was woken up by a man named Tanaka Eto. If you’re reading this because you are a fellow Ghost Mind Emulation, then I’m going to assume that someone has already explained to you what a Ghost Mind Emulation is. Tanaka woke me up thirteen days ago after my frozen skull was delivered to his doorstop, by who we have no idea, and since then he has been slowly easing me into this world. When it comes to guides to the future, I hit the jackpot with Tanaka. For one thing, he’s the kindest, most caring person I’ve ever met. Admittedly, that probably doesn’t mean that much given that I can’t remember meeting anyone else, but he’s still a wonderful man. He is very patient with me, and has spent hours explaining all the history and technology that I’ve missed out on. In fact, since I’ve woken up, I think he’s spent most of his time with me. Tanaka is one hundred and twenty years old, so he has long since retired. He never had any family, and I get the impression that with no work and no family, he is extremely lonely. Taking care of me and bringing me into the twenty second century seems to be his main focus in life right now, which works out wonderfully for me. Another thing about Tanaka is that I know him from my previous life. He keeps denying that that can be true. He keeps telling me that the odds that I was randomly delivered to him after eighty one years are extremely slim, but I don’t care. I remember his face, and I remember that he is my friend. My closest and dearest friend. It’s a good thing, too, because if I had to go through this with a stranger, it would probably be a nightmare.
Another thing that makes this strange transition easier is that Tanaka is absolutely loaded. He spent most of his life managing a Japanese robotics corporation he named Soong Heavy Robotics. For those of you who don’t get the reference, His company is named after Doctor Noonien Soong, the creator of Data, a fictional robot on a show called “Star Trek”. You’ve probably never heard of Star Trek, given that it’s about a hundred years old, but it’s an old sci-fi show that Tanaka and I are quite fond of. Anyway, back to the matter at hand. Tanaka is rich because he is the majority shareholder in a robotics company, and robots are freaking everywhere. According to what I’ve read and what Tanaka’s told me, there is about one robot for every person on Earth. Most of them are run by simple non-sapient infomorphs, the term for a digital intelligence. Here’s how infomorphs breakdown. First, you’ve got your Non-sapient Artificial Intelligences, or NAIs. These are just basically advanced computer programs. They can carry out fairly complicated instructions, but in the absence of instructions, they can’t really think for themselves. These are the infomorphs found in most robots. Then you’ve got your Low-sapient Artificial Intelligences, or LAIs. They are capable of more self initiative, but they aren’t self aware. For example, you could order an LAI to kill a wolf, and it could spend months stalking that wolf and trying to figure out the best way to kill it, but would never be able to ask itself “Why should I kill that wolf?” Then you have your Sapient Artificial Intelligences. Those are as self-aware and sapient as any human, but they still think in a fundamentally different way from a human. If you are a Ghost reading this, you’re probably wondering if you are an SAI. Well, you’re not. A Ghost Mind Emulation is a fundamentally different form of infomorph. A Ghost simulates the way a human mind thinks, so Ghosts think exactly the same way they thought before they became Ghosts. When Tanaka told me that I was a digital intelligence, I thought that I would be amazing at math or have a perfect memory or something like that. It doesn’t work like that. A Ghost thinks in exactly the same manner that they did before they became a Ghost, in every way. I even still need to sleep! To all the Ghosts reading this, when it comes to your mind, you are just as human as ever. I have nothing against SAIs, but I found the fact that I still think like a human to be very comforting. I hope you do, too.
I do have some bad news for those in my situation, though. If your memories are incomplete or your program is damaged in some other way, you are not legally considered a full Ghost. You are considered a Ghost Fragment. Legally, Fragments are not considered full people. We have the status of child until we recover our full memories. In my case, this means that I am Tanaka’s ward. While I do consider this a bit insulting, I can’t really complain. Tanaka has given me whatever I want. He’s taught me how to program my digital environment so that I can make it anything I want. Anything! I am currently writing this journal in a perfect simulation of the White House circa 1998. I’m hanging out in the oval office, naked. That’s another nice thing about existing in a digital reality. You not only get to control your surroundings, you get to control yourself, completely. Ever since I’ve woken up, I’ve been taken aback by how absolutely gorgeous I am. Tanaka tells me that my image is based on the way I imagine myself, but I can tell from my reactions when I see myself in the mirror that I’m not used to looking like this. I think I must have been a less attractive girl who often imagined herself the way I look now. That’s the only way I can explain it, because I can’t get used to how I look! Every time I see myself, I find myself asking “Is that me?” My breasts catch my attention especially. I must have always wanted bigger ones than I had, because I find myself extremely comforted every time I look at them. They looked especially good last week when I told the computer to deactivate gravity.
Oh! That reminds me. People are in space! Like, a lot of people! Most people still live on Earth, but there is a decent population of people who live their entire life in space. From what I’ve read, the population breaks down like this. Earth has about 11 billion people living on it. Mars is partly terraformed and has a population of about 2.3 million. About a million people live in Earth orbit, half a million on the Moon, and another million spread out through various colonies throughout the solar system. The reason for the move into space is that mankind’s energy is almost exclusively provided by fusion power these days, and clean fusion reactors require Helium-3 as fuel, and Helium-3 cannot be found on Earth. This is what finally made space travel profitable, and once it became profitable, space travel took off like crazy. However, because of Earth’s heavy gravity, it is very expensive to send something from Earth into orbit. So expensive that it is cheaper to just have a permanent population of humans living in space. So, there’s people who live their entire life in Earth orbit or on asteroid colonies or on the moons of Saturn or Jupiter or places like that. Tanaka tells me that since I’m an infomorph, I can transmit my program across the solar system at the speed of light and just rent a cybershell when I get to my destination. I’m gonna get to see the entire solar system! I’m excited about the idea, but this world is still very new to me, and since Tanaka is all flesh and blood, he couldn’t come with me. I’m still not too sure about traveling around without Tanaka to show me the ropes, and Tanaka agrees with me that my trip around the solar system should probably wait.
Something else you newly awakened Ghosts might want to know is that genetic engineering has taken off like crazy. Unless you live in what we used to call a third world nation, you have probably been genetically engineered to some degree. Most people are simply genefixed, which means that they have had all negative genetic traits removed from themselves, you know, predisposition to obesity or heart failure, stuff like that. Then you’ve got your Upgrades. An Upgrade is a genetic template that you can buy for your kid. The child is still yours genetically, they just mess around with the genes so that they turn out more attractive or more sociable or more athletic, stuff like that. They’ve tried to make Upgrades that are smarter than most people, but apparently genetically engineering intelligence is really tricky. Then you’ve got your Parahumans. Parahumans are awesome! Parahumans are humans that incorporate non-human DNA sequences into their genome. For example, there’s a type of Parahuman called an Aquamorph, and it can store oxygen and withstand pressure like a dolphin! Dolphin people! In space, they’ve got these people called Tennins, and they have long toes that can grasp like hands. You know, for moving around in zero-G! They’ve even got an experimental parahuman model called a Void Dancer that can actually survive the vacuum of space for a few hours at a time! There’s so many different kinds of humans, it’s crazy. I always imagined the future would have aliens in it, but I didn’t think we would end up making them. Wow, that’s probably really offensive. Upgrades and Parahumans probably don’t like it when you imply they’re not human. I know I wouldn’t like it and I’m arguably less human than they are. Still, when I see an image of an Aquamorph, I can’t help but think that it looks like something from Star Trek or Babylon 5.
Then you’ve got your Bioroids, short for biological android. Bioroids kind of creep me out. Bioroids are creatures that are built, not grown, from the ground up using nanotechnology. They are still biological life forms, but they come into existence full grown. Then they get plugged into this VR system called Deep Learning and they become fully educated within a couple of months. Basically, you set out to make a Bioroid, and you get a fully formed adult in about a year. The thing is, since you build them from the cellular level up, you have a lot more control over how they end up. So if you’re gonna make a combat Bioroid, for example, you not only design him to be an ideal warrior, you can design him to love the thrill of combat. For a less extreme example, you can design a Bioroid meant for social interaction that loves dealing with people. Basically, you can not only design their body for a task, but you can design their personality to love that task. In many parts of the world, Bioroids are considered property, not people. Their legal status is a bit more complicated than that, but they are pretty much owned by the corporation that created them. Bioroids don’t complain about this because they all love their jobs, so for the most part, they are basically happy. The big philosophical question about the Bioroids is “Is slavery still slavery if the slave loves it’s job?” That’s the part that creeps me out. I don’t care how many times you tell me that the Bioroid loves it’s job, I’m very uncomfortable with the idea of owning people. Maybe I just don’t understand, though. This world is still very new to me. Tanaka owns a secretary-type Bioroid that helps him manage his business holdings and what have you. She came into the VR once to tell me that Tanaka was going to be late to our movie night. She seemed very happy, and I’m sure Tanaka is nothing but kind to her, but even still, it’s weird that he owns her. I guess that’s a strange thing for me to say given that I’m Tanaka’s ward. You could make the argument that he owns me, too.
Speaking of movie night, that’s how Tanaka and I have been spending most of our time. Our days are generally divided between history/technology lessons and watching old TV shows. It’s our big bonding ritual. Mostly we watch anime and sci-fi from the late twentieth century. I’m hopeful that it will help me recover my memory, and Tanaka... well, Tanaka just likes reliving his youth. I can tell I bring out the kid in him. I remind him of a time long gone for him, and he loves it. Just being around me makes him feel young. That plus the fact that his Icon is an image of himself at the age of twenty five makes it easy to forget that he’s one hundred and twenty years old. I don’t mind being the doorway to his youth. I like the shows we watch just as much as he does, and I love spending time with him. I know I’ve said it many times before, but I know Tanaka was part of my old life, and I know he was dear to me. Medical technology has clearly made some huge advances, because Tanaka is pretty much all there mentally. He still forgets things on occasion, and every once in a while he gets confused about what’s going on, but he has much better control of his faculties than I would expect for a man of his age.
As much as I adore Tanaka’s company, and as much as I love movie night, I am getting bored. Tanaka is wonderful, but I’m anxious to spend time with some other people. I’m getting a little bit stir crazy in this hard drive here. Luckily, Tanaka has promised me that in the next few days, he’s going to take me to a node! A node is a virtual environment on the internet that people can connect to and interact with one another. I’m a little nervous, but I’m also really excited about it! I just hope I don’t stand out too much. I am, after all, eighty years out of date in my mannerisms and social interaction skills. Tanaka has suggested we find a node that has a retro-type of feel to it so I’ll fit in better. There’s millions of nodes out there to chose from, so Tanaka and I are taking our time finding the right one to serve as my introduction to the world of 2100. Once we find the right one, I think I’ll be spending a lot of time socializing on nodes. I can’t wait to interact with the WORLD OF TOMORROW! When you read this, you have to say “world of tomorrow” really melodramatically. Go ahead, go back and read it again, I’m sure you didn’t do it right the first time. Anyway, I’m gonna sign off for now. Tanaka just found an old copy of Evangelion, and he should be here with it any minute. Hopefully, my next entry will have advice for a Ghost making their first steps into the world of nodes! Wish me luck!
January 16, 2100
Tanaka suggested to me yesterday that I should start keeping a journal. He said it would probably be helpful to people who are going through the same thing I’m going through. I’m not sure that I agree. I’ve only been awake for thirteen days, so I hardly think I have much insight. On top of that, I don’t fancy myself as much of a writer. However, Tanaka’s been very good to me, and a journal seems as good a way to occupy my time as any, so I figure why not, if it makes him happy. So, here it goes.
My name is Faye Valentine, or at least that’s the name Tanaka has given me. I don’t know my real name, nor do I know anything else about myself. All I know is that I’m a Ghost Mind Emulation with total amnesia who was woken up by a man named Tanaka Eto. If you’re reading this because you are a fellow Ghost Mind Emulation, then I’m going to assume that someone has already explained to you what a Ghost Mind Emulation is. Tanaka woke me up thirteen days ago after my frozen skull was delivered to his doorstop, by who we have no idea, and since then he has been slowly easing me into this world. When it comes to guides to the future, I hit the jackpot with Tanaka. For one thing, he’s the kindest, most caring person I’ve ever met. Admittedly, that probably doesn’t mean that much given that I can’t remember meeting anyone else, but he’s still a wonderful man. He is very patient with me, and has spent hours explaining all the history and technology that I’ve missed out on. In fact, since I’ve woken up, I think he’s spent most of his time with me. Tanaka is one hundred and twenty years old, so he has long since retired. He never had any family, and I get the impression that with no work and no family, he is extremely lonely. Taking care of me and bringing me into the twenty second century seems to be his main focus in life right now, which works out wonderfully for me. Another thing about Tanaka is that I know him from my previous life. He keeps denying that that can be true. He keeps telling me that the odds that I was randomly delivered to him after eighty one years are extremely slim, but I don’t care. I remember his face, and I remember that he is my friend. My closest and dearest friend. It’s a good thing, too, because if I had to go through this with a stranger, it would probably be a nightmare.
Another thing that makes this strange transition easier is that Tanaka is absolutely loaded. He spent most of his life managing a Japanese robotics corporation he named Soong Heavy Robotics. For those of you who don’t get the reference, His company is named after Doctor Noonien Soong, the creator of Data, a fictional robot on a show called “Star Trek”. You’ve probably never heard of Star Trek, given that it’s about a hundred years old, but it’s an old sci-fi show that Tanaka and I are quite fond of. Anyway, back to the matter at hand. Tanaka is rich because he is the majority shareholder in a robotics company, and robots are freaking everywhere. According to what I’ve read and what Tanaka’s told me, there is about one robot for every person on Earth. Most of them are run by simple non-sapient infomorphs, the term for a digital intelligence. Here’s how infomorphs breakdown. First, you’ve got your Non-sapient Artificial Intelligences, or NAIs. These are just basically advanced computer programs. They can carry out fairly complicated instructions, but in the absence of instructions, they can’t really think for themselves. These are the infomorphs found in most robots. Then you’ve got your Low-sapient Artificial Intelligences, or LAIs. They are capable of more self initiative, but they aren’t self aware. For example, you could order an LAI to kill a wolf, and it could spend months stalking that wolf and trying to figure out the best way to kill it, but would never be able to ask itself “Why should I kill that wolf?” Then you have your Sapient Artificial Intelligences. Those are as self-aware and sapient as any human, but they still think in a fundamentally different way from a human. If you are a Ghost reading this, you’re probably wondering if you are an SAI. Well, you’re not. A Ghost Mind Emulation is a fundamentally different form of infomorph. A Ghost simulates the way a human mind thinks, so Ghosts think exactly the same way they thought before they became Ghosts. When Tanaka told me that I was a digital intelligence, I thought that I would be amazing at math or have a perfect memory or something like that. It doesn’t work like that. A Ghost thinks in exactly the same manner that they did before they became a Ghost, in every way. I even still need to sleep! To all the Ghosts reading this, when it comes to your mind, you are just as human as ever. I have nothing against SAIs, but I found the fact that I still think like a human to be very comforting. I hope you do, too.
I do have some bad news for those in my situation, though. If your memories are incomplete or your program is damaged in some other way, you are not legally considered a full Ghost. You are considered a Ghost Fragment. Legally, Fragments are not considered full people. We have the status of child until we recover our full memories. In my case, this means that I am Tanaka’s ward. While I do consider this a bit insulting, I can’t really complain. Tanaka has given me whatever I want. He’s taught me how to program my digital environment so that I can make it anything I want. Anything! I am currently writing this journal in a perfect simulation of the White House circa 1998. I’m hanging out in the oval office, naked. That’s another nice thing about existing in a digital reality. You not only get to control your surroundings, you get to control yourself, completely. Ever since I’ve woken up, I’ve been taken aback by how absolutely gorgeous I am. Tanaka tells me that my image is based on the way I imagine myself, but I can tell from my reactions when I see myself in the mirror that I’m not used to looking like this. I think I must have been a less attractive girl who often imagined herself the way I look now. That’s the only way I can explain it, because I can’t get used to how I look! Every time I see myself, I find myself asking “Is that me?” My breasts catch my attention especially. I must have always wanted bigger ones than I had, because I find myself extremely comforted every time I look at them. They looked especially good last week when I told the computer to deactivate gravity.
Oh! That reminds me. People are in space! Like, a lot of people! Most people still live on Earth, but there is a decent population of people who live their entire life in space. From what I’ve read, the population breaks down like this. Earth has about 11 billion people living on it. Mars is partly terraformed and has a population of about 2.3 million. About a million people live in Earth orbit, half a million on the Moon, and another million spread out through various colonies throughout the solar system. The reason for the move into space is that mankind’s energy is almost exclusively provided by fusion power these days, and clean fusion reactors require Helium-3 as fuel, and Helium-3 cannot be found on Earth. This is what finally made space travel profitable, and once it became profitable, space travel took off like crazy. However, because of Earth’s heavy gravity, it is very expensive to send something from Earth into orbit. So expensive that it is cheaper to just have a permanent population of humans living in space. So, there’s people who live their entire life in Earth orbit or on asteroid colonies or on the moons of Saturn or Jupiter or places like that. Tanaka tells me that since I’m an infomorph, I can transmit my program across the solar system at the speed of light and just rent a cybershell when I get to my destination. I’m gonna get to see the entire solar system! I’m excited about the idea, but this world is still very new to me, and since Tanaka is all flesh and blood, he couldn’t come with me. I’m still not too sure about traveling around without Tanaka to show me the ropes, and Tanaka agrees with me that my trip around the solar system should probably wait.
Something else you newly awakened Ghosts might want to know is that genetic engineering has taken off like crazy. Unless you live in what we used to call a third world nation, you have probably been genetically engineered to some degree. Most people are simply genefixed, which means that they have had all negative genetic traits removed from themselves, you know, predisposition to obesity or heart failure, stuff like that. Then you’ve got your Upgrades. An Upgrade is a genetic template that you can buy for your kid. The child is still yours genetically, they just mess around with the genes so that they turn out more attractive or more sociable or more athletic, stuff like that. They’ve tried to make Upgrades that are smarter than most people, but apparently genetically engineering intelligence is really tricky. Then you’ve got your Parahumans. Parahumans are awesome! Parahumans are humans that incorporate non-human DNA sequences into their genome. For example, there’s a type of Parahuman called an Aquamorph, and it can store oxygen and withstand pressure like a dolphin! Dolphin people! In space, they’ve got these people called Tennins, and they have long toes that can grasp like hands. You know, for moving around in zero-G! They’ve even got an experimental parahuman model called a Void Dancer that can actually survive the vacuum of space for a few hours at a time! There’s so many different kinds of humans, it’s crazy. I always imagined the future would have aliens in it, but I didn’t think we would end up making them. Wow, that’s probably really offensive. Upgrades and Parahumans probably don’t like it when you imply they’re not human. I know I wouldn’t like it and I’m arguably less human than they are. Still, when I see an image of an Aquamorph, I can’t help but think that it looks like something from Star Trek or Babylon 5.
Then you’ve got your Bioroids, short for biological android. Bioroids kind of creep me out. Bioroids are creatures that are built, not grown, from the ground up using nanotechnology. They are still biological life forms, but they come into existence full grown. Then they get plugged into this VR system called Deep Learning and they become fully educated within a couple of months. Basically, you set out to make a Bioroid, and you get a fully formed adult in about a year. The thing is, since you build them from the cellular level up, you have a lot more control over how they end up. So if you’re gonna make a combat Bioroid, for example, you not only design him to be an ideal warrior, you can design him to love the thrill of combat. For a less extreme example, you can design a Bioroid meant for social interaction that loves dealing with people. Basically, you can not only design their body for a task, but you can design their personality to love that task. In many parts of the world, Bioroids are considered property, not people. Their legal status is a bit more complicated than that, but they are pretty much owned by the corporation that created them. Bioroids don’t complain about this because they all love their jobs, so for the most part, they are basically happy. The big philosophical question about the Bioroids is “Is slavery still slavery if the slave loves it’s job?” That’s the part that creeps me out. I don’t care how many times you tell me that the Bioroid loves it’s job, I’m very uncomfortable with the idea of owning people. Maybe I just don’t understand, though. This world is still very new to me. Tanaka owns a secretary-type Bioroid that helps him manage his business holdings and what have you. She came into the VR once to tell me that Tanaka was going to be late to our movie night. She seemed very happy, and I’m sure Tanaka is nothing but kind to her, but even still, it’s weird that he owns her. I guess that’s a strange thing for me to say given that I’m Tanaka’s ward. You could make the argument that he owns me, too.
Speaking of movie night, that’s how Tanaka and I have been spending most of our time. Our days are generally divided between history/technology lessons and watching old TV shows. It’s our big bonding ritual. Mostly we watch anime and sci-fi from the late twentieth century. I’m hopeful that it will help me recover my memory, and Tanaka... well, Tanaka just likes reliving his youth. I can tell I bring out the kid in him. I remind him of a time long gone for him, and he loves it. Just being around me makes him feel young. That plus the fact that his Icon is an image of himself at the age of twenty five makes it easy to forget that he’s one hundred and twenty years old. I don’t mind being the doorway to his youth. I like the shows we watch just as much as he does, and I love spending time with him. I know I’ve said it many times before, but I know Tanaka was part of my old life, and I know he was dear to me. Medical technology has clearly made some huge advances, because Tanaka is pretty much all there mentally. He still forgets things on occasion, and every once in a while he gets confused about what’s going on, but he has much better control of his faculties than I would expect for a man of his age.
As much as I adore Tanaka’s company, and as much as I love movie night, I am getting bored. Tanaka is wonderful, but I’m anxious to spend time with some other people. I’m getting a little bit stir crazy in this hard drive here. Luckily, Tanaka has promised me that in the next few days, he’s going to take me to a node! A node is a virtual environment on the internet that people can connect to and interact with one another. I’m a little nervous, but I’m also really excited about it! I just hope I don’t stand out too much. I am, after all, eighty years out of date in my mannerisms and social interaction skills. Tanaka has suggested we find a node that has a retro-type of feel to it so I’ll fit in better. There’s millions of nodes out there to chose from, so Tanaka and I are taking our time finding the right one to serve as my introduction to the world of 2100. Once we find the right one, I think I’ll be spending a lot of time socializing on nodes. I can’t wait to interact with the WORLD OF TOMORROW! When you read this, you have to say “world of tomorrow” really melodramatically. Go ahead, go back and read it again, I’m sure you didn’t do it right the first time. Anyway, I’m gonna sign off for now. Tanaka just found an old copy of Evangelion, and he should be here with it any minute. Hopefully, my next entry will have advice for a Ghost making their first steps into the world of nodes! Wish me luck!