In my novel Babylon Dreams, I imagine what it would
be like to continue life after death as a file in a computer program--a
"post-biological destination." Several years ago I read
about the possibility of "mind uploading"--copying your mind,
personality, etc. and making a file--uploading it into a computer program that
mimics physical life ala The Matrix, except the real you isn't stuck in a gooey
pod.
Now, because it might get
confusing---say you die but you've made several copies of yourself and they're
all living it up in different programs--which one is you? So maybe there should
be only one copy to decide who gets the family silver, my Honda, whatever and
I/you begin virtual life when biological existence ceases. You're dead but
you're not--or are you? Whatever you are, whatever options there are on the
computer menu depends on what you can pay. So where you end up after you die is
no longer about your good deeds or prayers or charity donations but what's in
those IRA's. Damn those Goldman Sachs! Will it never end? They and maybe you or
I (say one of us married rich) end up in a Virtual Paradise/Shangri/Disneyland
combined--a post biological Wonderland--reserved like the Hilton for those who
can pay for it... I can have anything I want--eternal youth, health, and I
could be forever gorgeous--experience any fantasy--no effort or luck
required--just wish it and the computer genie would make it so.
Companies providing "after-death destinations" make a lot of
money--the more bells and whistles, the higher the stock price. What would I
want? After that? I might run out of wishes. What then? How would societies
adjust to a reprieve from the Grim Reaper? What if you were poor?In this blog I
extend the story of Babylon Dreams--a
place where people discover the answer to "What then?" Here, you'll
find excerpts from the novel and new material--fictionalized news stories based
on what happens in "Bali Hai,"the post-biological environment which
is the setting of Babylon Dreams and you'll also find links to real science
articles--in other words, "science" that relates in some way to my
"science fiction" On this blog and in my novel, I look at what is
happening and what can happen. Better start making a list of what you want
because you never know--HAL might be your new best friend
