BlossomThing: Mind Assimilation Process Retconned! · 12:03am Mar 27th, 2016
So I have changed part of chapter 17 to explain the assimilation process and mind preservation process in more detail. I have changed how it works. I highly encourage readers to at least read the new passage. I have the changed passage below if you only want to read that part, or you can go back to chapter 17 and see it in context. I hope you enjoy it. Please tell me your thoughts! Thanks!
“Alright, if you’re sure.” Anon nodded his head. “Okay, well let me start by explaining a few things. I must warn you that this will quickly get disturbing. So I don’t actually eat and digest anything. When I need new DNA I assimilate the organism. I can do this many ways but I usually do it by engulfing them and converting their cells to my own in a viral process. When I do this the parts of me that are touching them convert their cells on a cellular level. This is done virally where extremely advanced and efficient DNA, RNA, and specialized enzymes are injected through the membrane of the adjacent cells. Injected enzyme-based hivemind receptors -i'll fully explain the hivemind later- are attuned to the hivemind frequency and can receive commands of what types of enzymes to produce. At this point the cell is effectively assimilated as the cell’s DNA and enzyme contents can be quickly altered by rapid repurposing of the available proteins. Once their cells are converted I can control them through the hivemind and they infect the cell next to them and so on until the entire organism is converted to my advanced cells. As this happens, the general structure of the organism is saved in my organic memory matrix. Don’t ask me how it works because it is too complex for me to comprehend. I do know that it utilizes my telepathic hivemeind abilities- I’ll get to the hivemind later. I also suspect that the memory matrix utilizes some form of quantum entanglement that you described to me once but it is mostly above my head. The ancestors did save a lot technology information in my matrix so that is where I gleaned that information from and where I found out how the assimilation process happens.”
“Anyways, the body’s structure is saved as a kind of file in my organic memory matrix. However, the inserted enzymes and DNA sequences are programmed to pay special attention to the brain and nervous system to make sure that it is not damaged. Once the enzyme is inserted into a cell belonging to the nervous system it is programmed to not radically alter the chemistry but does produce a tranquilizer chemical as it virally spreads in order to calm the mind. Once all of the cells are infected and have the enzyme-based hivemind receptors, I can then completely shut down the mind’s activity and information flow chemically in every cell simultaneously, thus placing the nervous system into a kind of stasis. Nutrients are still fed in order to preserve the mind’s state and health. At this point the mind can be read or even altered with hivemind based algorithms designed by the Ancestors to commandeer the synapse transponders and receptors, and by carefully rearranging the nervous system's structure if the mind needs to be altered. Once whatever processing, mind reading, and mind altering is completed, I can then rebuild the organism’s body around the preserved nervous system using my cells as building blocks and reproduce the rest of the body very close to the same structure as I assimilated it. As you can imagine, preserving a nervous system can take up some biomass. But the assimilated biomass can be used to support it.”
“So you’re saying you can preserve a nervous system inside of yourself after you assimilate an organism?” Anon stared at Bloss.
“Yes. I do not like to kill organisms that I assimilate. I rebuild their bodies around their preserved nervous system and release them, but sometimes I have to alter their memory.”
Anon took a moment to ponder this process. “Wow, that is absolutely incredible.”
Is this to avoid the classic "Transporters are suicide booths" potential interpretation?
3829132 Yeah, pretty much TBH lol. I also really like this version of how assimilation works virally and with the use of enzyme structures.
3829136 Organic life has a great toolkit, might as well run with it! I love all the thought you're putting into it!
Magic and presumably souls are a thing...would you also be shoving the Soul back in?
3829718 I guess that depends on how the author thinks souls function, or even exist, in their story. Souls are tricky business because they are a completely fictional invention (Or at least in the sense it was made up by ancient man, and science hasn't even caught a hint of it, which means it doesn't exist until it is independently discovered. Kind of like leprechauns or fairies.) which means it's pretty touch to think of a logical way for them to function parallel to brain chemistry. Because for one thing, damage to the brain damages the mind. This logically means that in fiction where the mind and brain is the same, then a soul cannot be someone's personality or memories. So even if a soul exists, this means a soul is an entity with no thoughts, feelings, or experiences. The only thing it can do is observe through the wetware of someone's brain. And funnily enough, this makes the idea of a soul and qualia the same exact thing, except one is separate from the flesh, and the other is part of the flesh.
The biggest issue in my opinion is a specific logical paradox where if a brain is split into two, which half would someone's qualia, or a soul for that matter, stay in? Adding on the the thought experience, what would happen if you cloned both halves, and then put the cloned halves with the original halves, making two identical brains who both were the original at one point?
There are only four possibilities, and different interpretations of each, all of them depending on the nature of consciousness. And if you do believe in the soul, for some reason, just replace the word qualia with 'soul'. The result is the same. Well, until you get into the reasons, then the soul makes no sense.
1. The original person dies, and two new qualia are born.
2. One of the brains ends up with the original qualia, and one ends up with a new one.
3. Nothing happens, because qualia doesn't exist. (Which is unlikely since everyone can agree "I think, therefore I am".)
4. The strangest of them all; the original qualia experiences both brains at once.
Now I've thought long and hard for all of these, and option number four seems have some very strange implications. Like the implication that qualia doesn't change no matter what you do to the brain, or where the brain goes. One interpretation of this is that there is one qualia for every single brain in the universe. Which means everyone is technically experiencing everyone else's brain, but can never know that because brain's cannot communicate. This interpretation is only if the universe is completely physical, and has no spiritual element. It also brought me into the leading hypothesis on what consciousness is, and that is that consciousness starts from the ground up, not that it requires a brain. This means that certain complex interactions between fields and particles will have the 'master observer' experience more than a base state, which is the actual experience of experiencing, well, actual experience. And since the universe is four dimensional, and everything at one point was in contact, then everything all interacted with itself at one point. And as such one qualia.
That's only the first interpretation. I could go on and on about the others, and even expand on this one by actually going into the physics, but it's the one that personally makes the most sense to me. Even if I don't like the horrifying implications.
I kinda liked the original one better. This one runs on for far too long (and also repeats itself) it should probably be trimmed a bit.
Also, the preservation of the nervous system and not just the data is odd and doesn't fit with previous chapters. If it is to avoid the teleporters paradox, then the body would need to be preserved in a similar way to the brain, so I dont really see any point really. Yes, this does mean multiple clones are possible if brain data wasnt immediatly deleted upon reconstruction.
3832365 I suppose that the premise is that an exact 100% copy saved in data perfect in every way is impossible meaning that if the physical nervous system is destroyed then the person is destroyed. The rest of the body can be saved as a data file because if it is destroyed the person's mind is not destroyed because the mind exists in the nervous system and not in the rest of the body. If they don't get an exact copy of the rest of their body back it will not matter because their mind has been alive the whole time and they never really died.
I'll see what I can do about repetitions when I can. Going to see if I can start up another chapter today. Gotta get that idea machine moving.