A Traveler Returns by Ian Cordingley

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Robert_Moriyama
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Re: A Traveler Returns by Ian Cordingley

Post by Robert_Moriyama »

And let us not forget such classics as "They Saved Hitler's Brain!" or the in vivo variants like "The Thing With Two Heads"; the "Re-Animator" series; and the Steve Martin spoof "The Man With Two Brains"!

(The "Dean Koontz's 'Frankenstein'" series also featured at least one disembodied brain in a vat, if I recall correctly -- a bio-engineered, never-human brain, but still a ball of grey-pink jello in aspic.)

I thought the more intriguing aspects of the story lay in the varying definitions of humanity -- the girl with half a brain; the disembodied repaired and expanded portion of that brain, now an independent entity; the many upgraded minds merged into some kind of shared consciousness. Which, if any, would qualify as fully 'human'? (We have insufficient information about the half-brained (but not half-alive) girl -- did she have the full gamut of emotions, creativity, etc.? If not, did that make her less human than her father, who spent much of his time in virtual reality?)

Moral of the story: a brain in a jar is worth two dicks in a box, even if one of the dicks belongs to Justin Timberlake. (Or maybe ESPECIALLY if...)

Also worth thinking about: the option to discard unwanted memories, which I think included REAL-WORLD memories as well as virtual-world memories (see also "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" ... or Scientology). If we are the sum (product, or other function of) our genetic potential, physical environment (nutrition, etc.), and experiences, would we become someone else if we deleted some of the experiences that contributed to our current state?
You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.

Jack London (1876-1916)
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