Mind transfer in fiction
Encyclopedia
Mind uploading, mind transfer or whole brain emulation is the theoretically possible use of the brain
Brain
The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...
as a computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
and of thought
Thought
"Thought" generally refers to any mental or intellectual activity involving an individual's subjective consciousness. It can refer either to the act of thinking or the resulting ideas or arrangements of ideas. Similar concepts include cognition, sentience, consciousness, and imagination...
s as software. It is a common theme in science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
.
Early and particularly important examples
One of the earliest examples can be found in Frederik PohlFrederik Pohl
Frederik George Pohl, Jr. is an American science fiction writer, editor and fan, with a career spanning over seventy years — from his first published work, "Elegy to a Dead Planet: Luna" , to his most recent novel, All the Lives He Led .He won the National Book Award in 1980 for his novel Jem...
's story "The Tunnel Under the World" from 1955. In this story, the protagonist Guy Burckhardt continually wakes up on the same date from a dream of dying in an explosion. Burckhardt is already familiar with the idea of putting human minds in robotic bodies, since this is what is done with the robot workers at the nearby Contro Chemical factory. As someone has once explained it to him, "each machine was controlled by a sort of computer which reproduced, in its electronic snarl, the actual memory and mind of a human being ... It was only a matter, he said, of transferring a man's habit patterns from brain cells to vacuum-tube cells." Later in the story, Pohl gives some additional description of the procedure: "Take a master petroleum chemist, infinitely skilled in the separation of crude oil into its fractions. Strap him down, probe into his brain with searching electronic needles. The machine scans the patterns of the mind, translates what it sees into charts and sine waves. Impress these same waves on a robot computer and you have your chemist. Or a thousand copies of your chemist, if you wish, with all of his knowledge and skill, and no human limitations at all." After some investigation, Burckhardt learns that his entire town had been killed in a chemical explosion, and the brains of the dead townspeople had been scanned and placed into miniature robotic bodies in a miniature replica of the town (as a character explains to him, 'It's as easy to transfer a pattern from a dead brain as a living one'), so that a businessman named Mr. Dorchin could charge companies to use the townspeople as test subjects for new products and advertisements.
Something close to the notion of mind uploading is very briefly mentioned in Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
's 1956 short story The Last Question
The Last Question
"The Last Question" is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov. It first appeared in the November 1956 issue of Science Fiction Quarterly and was reprinted in the collections Nine Tomorrows , The Best of Isaac Asimov , Robot Dreams , the retrospective Opus 100 , and in Isaac Asimov: The...
: "One by one Man fused with AC
Multivac
Multivac is the name of a fictional supercomputer in many stories by Isaac Asimov. According to his autobiography In Memory Yet Green, Asimov coined the name in imitation of UNIVAC, an early mainframe computer...
, each physical body losing its mental identity in a manner that was somehow not a loss but a gain." A more detailed exploration of the idea (and one in which individual identity is preserved, unlike in Asimov's story) can be found in Arthur C. Clarke's novel The City and the Stars
The City and the Stars
The City and the Stars is a science fiction novel by Arthur C. Clarke. It is a complete rewrite of his earlier novella, Against the Fall of Night.-Overview:...
, also from 1956 (this novel was a revised and expanded version of Clarke's earlier story Against the Fall of Night
Against the Fall of Night
Against the Fall of Night is a science fiction novel by British writer Arthur C. Clarke. Originally appearing in the November, 1948 issue of the magazine Startling Stories, it was first published in book form in 1953 by Gnome Press. It was later expanded and revised as The City and the Stars...
, but the earlier version did not contain the elements relating to mind uploading). The story is set in a city named Diaspar one billion years in the future, where the minds of inhabitants are stored as patterns of information in the city's Central Computer in between a series of 1000-year lives in cloned bodies. Various commentators identify this story as one of the first (if not the first) to deal with mind uploading, human-machine synthesis, and computerized immortality.
Another of the "firsts" is the novel Detta är verkligheten (This is reality), 1968, by the renowned philosopher and logician Bertil Mårtensson
Bertil Mårtensson
Bertil Mårtensson is a Swedish author of science fiction, crime fiction and fantasy and also an academic philosopher...
, a novel in which he describes people living in an uploaded state as a means to control overpopulation. The uploaded people believe that they are "alive", but in reality they are playing elaborate and advanced fantasy games. In a twist at the end, the author changes everything into one of the best "multiverse" ideas of science fiction.
In Robert Silverberg
Robert Silverberg
Robert Silverberg is an American author, best known for writing science fiction. He is a multiple nominee of the Hugo Award and a winner of the Nebula Award.-Early years:...
's To Live Again (1969), an entire worldwide economy is built up around the buying and selling of "souls" (personas that have been tape-recorded at six month intervals), allowing well-heeled consumers the opportunity to spend tens of millions of dollars on a medical treatment that uploads the most recent recordings of archived personalities into the minds of the buyers. Federal law prevents people from buying a "personality recording" unless the possessor first had died; similarly, two or more buyers were not allowed to own a "share" of the persona. In this novel, the personality recording always went to the highest bidder. However, when one attempted to buy (and therefore possess) too many personalities, there was the risk that one of the personas would wrest control of the body from the possessor.
In the 1982 novel Software
Software (novel)
Software is a 1982 cyberpunk science fiction novel written by Rudy Rucker. It won the first Philip K. Dick Award in 1983. The novel is the first book in Rucker's Ware Tetralogy, and was followed by a sequel, Wetware, in 1988.- Plot summary :...
, part of the Ware Tetralogy
Ware Tetralogy
The Ware Tetralogy is a series of four science fiction novels by author Rudy Rucker: Software , Wetware , Freeware and Realware . The first two books both received the Philip K. Dick Award for best novel...
by Rudy Rucker
Rudy Rucker
Rudolf von Bitter Rucker is an American mathematician, computer scientist, science fiction author, and philosopher, and is one of the founders of the cyberpunk literary movement. The author of both fiction and non-fiction, he is best known for the novels in the Ware Tetralogy, the first two of...
, one of the main characters, Cobb Anderson, has his mind downloaded and his body replaced with an extremely human-like android body. The robots who persuade Anderson into doing this sell the process to him as a way to become immortal
Immortality
Immortality is the ability to live forever. It is unknown whether human physical immortality is an achievable condition. Biological forms have inherent limitations which may or may not be able to be overcome through medical interventions or engineering...
.
In William Gibson
William Gibson
William Gibson is an American-Canadian science fiction author.William Gibson may also refer to:-Association football:*Will Gibson , Scottish footballer...
's award-winning Neuromancer
Neuromancer
Neuromancer is a 1984 novel by William Gibson, a seminal work in the cyberpunk genre and the first winner of the science-fiction "triple crown" — the Nebula Award, the Philip K. Dick Award, and the Hugo Award. It was Gibson's debut novel and the beginning of the Sprawl trilogy...
(1984), which popularized the concept of "cyberspace", a hacking tool used by the main character is an artificial infomorph of a notorious cyber-criminal, Dixie Flatline. The infomorph only assists in exchange for the promise that he be deleted after the mission is complete.
The fiction of Greg Egan
Greg Egan
Greg Egan is an Australian science fiction author.Egan published his first work in 1983. He specialises in hard science fiction stories with mathematical and quantum ontology themes, including the nature of consciousness...
has explored many of the philosophical, ethical, legal, and identity aspects of mind transfer, as well as the financial and computing aspects (i.e. hardware, software, processing power) of maintaining "copies." In Egan's Permutation City
Permutation City
Permutation City is a 1994 science fiction novel by Greg Egan that explores many concepts, including quantum ontology, via various philosophical aspects of artificial life and simulated reality. Sections of the story were adapted from Egan's 1992 short story "Dust" which dealt with many of the same...
(1994) and Diaspora
Diaspora (novel)
Diaspora, a hard science fiction novel by the Australian writer Greg Egan, first appeared in print in 1997.-Plot introduction:This novel's setting is a posthuman future, in which transhumanism long ago became the default philosophy embraced by the vast majority of human cultures.The novel began as...
(1997), "Copies" are made by computer simulation of scanned brain physiology. See also Egan's "jewelhead" stories, where the mind is transferred from the organic brain to a small, immortal backup computer at the base of the skull, the organic brain then being surgically removed.
The movie The Matrix
The Matrix
The Matrix is a 1999 science fiction-action film written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, and Hugo Weaving...
is commonly mistaken for a mind uploading movie, but is only about virtual reality
Virtual reality
Virtual reality , also known as virtuality, is a term that applies to computer-simulated environments that can simulate physical presence in places in the real world, as well as in imaginary worlds...
and simulated reality
Simulated reality
Simulated reality is the proposition that reality could be simulated—perhaps by computer simulation—to a degree indistinguishable from "true" reality. It could contain conscious minds which may or may not be fully aware that they are living inside a simulation....
, since the main character Neo's physical brain still is required to reside his mind. The mind (the information content of the brain) is not copied into an emulated brain in a computer. Neo's physical brain is connected into the Matrix via a brain-machine interface. Only the rest of the physical body is simulated. Neo is disconnected from and reconnected to this dreamworld.
James Cameron
James Cameron
James Francis Cameron is a Canadian-American film director, film producer, screenwriter, editor, environmentalist and inventor...
's 2009 movie Avatar has so far been the commercially most successful example of a work of fiction that features a form of mind uploading. Throughout most of the movie, the hero's mind has not actually been uploaded and transferred to another body, but is simply controlling the body from a distance, a form of telepresence
Telepresence
Telepresence refers to a set of technologies which allow a person to feel as if they were present, to give the appearance of being present, or to have an effect, via telerobotics, at a place other than their true location....
. However, at the end of the movie the hero's mind is uploaded into into Eywa, the mind of the planet, and then back into his Avatar body.
Further examples
Mind transfer is a theme in many other works of science fiction in a wide range of media. Specific examples include the following:Literature
- Frederik PohlFrederik PohlFrederik George Pohl, Jr. is an American science fiction writer, editor and fan, with a career spanning over seventy years — from his first published work, "Elegy to a Dead Planet: Luna" , to his most recent novel, All the Lives He Led .He won the National Book Award in 1980 for his novel Jem...
's story "The Tunnel Under the World" (1955). - Isaac AsimovIsaac AsimovIsaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
's short story The Last QuestionThe Last Question"The Last Question" is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov. It first appeared in the November 1956 issue of Science Fiction Quarterly and was reprinted in the collections Nine Tomorrows , The Best of Isaac Asimov , Robot Dreams , the retrospective Opus 100 , and in Isaac Asimov: The...
(1956). - Arthur C. ClarkeArthur C. ClarkeSir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, famous for his short stories and novels, among them 2001: A Space Odyssey, and as a host and commentator in the British television series Mysterious World. For many years, Robert A. Heinlein,...
's The City and the StarsThe City and the StarsThe City and the Stars is a science fiction novel by Arthur C. Clarke. It is a complete rewrite of his earlier novella, Against the Fall of Night.-Overview:...
(1956). - In the Noon UniverseNoon UniverseThe Noon Universe is a fictional future setting for a number of hard science fiction novels written by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. The universe is named after Noon: 22nd Century, the chronologically first novel from the series...
created by Arkady and Boris StrugatskyArkady and Boris StrugatskyThe brothers Arkady and Boris Strugatsky are Soviet Jewish-Russian science fiction authors who collaborated on their fiction.-Life and work:...
, the Great Encoding of 2121 was the first known attempt to completely store an individual's personality on an artificial medium. The final stages of the Encoding are described in the chapter 14 of Noon: 22nd CenturyNoon: 22nd CenturyNoon: 22nd Century is a 1961 science fiction book by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, expanded in 1962 and further in 1967, translated into English in 1978. It is sometimes considered an episodic novel, collection of linked short stories or a fix-up as some parts had been published previously as...
(Candles Before the Control Board), first published in 1961. - Philip José FarmerPhilip José FarmerPhilip José Farmer was an American author, principally known for his award-winning science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories....
's World of TiersWorld of TiersThe World of Tiers is a series of science fiction novels by American writer Philip José Farmer. They are set within a series of artificially-constructed universes, created and ruled by decadent beings who are genetically identical to humans, but who regard themselves as superior, the inheritors of...
series (1965–1993) introduces the villainous Bellers, who were laboratory machines designed to temporarily hold Lord's consciousness between clone bodies, which became sentient and self replicating.onto a Holopox unit shortly before being nuked by the KGB. - In Roger ZelaznyRoger ZelaznyRoger Joseph Zelazny was an American writer of fantasy and science fiction short stories and novels, best known for his The Chronicles of Amber series...
's Lord of LightLord of LightLord of Light is an epic science fiction/fantasy novel by American author Roger Zelazny. It was awarded the 1968 Hugo Award for Best Novel, and nominated for a Nebula Award in the same category. Two chapters from the novel were published as novelettes in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science...
(1967), the characters can technologically "transmigrate" their minds into new bodies. - In Arthur C. Clarke's novel 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), the beings controlling the monoliths were once alien lifeforms that had uploaded their minds into robotic bodies and finally into the fabric of space and time itself. The character Dave Bowman undergoes an uploading from the body of a human into a "ghost", as he is described in later books.
- Bertil MårtenssonBertil MårtenssonBertil Mårtensson is a Swedish author of science fiction, crime fiction and fantasy and also an academic philosopher...
's novel Detta är verkligheten (This is reality), 1968. - Robert SilverbergRobert SilverbergRobert Silverberg is an American author, best known for writing science fiction. He is a multiple nominee of the Hugo Award and a winner of the Nebula Award.-Early years:...
's novel To Live Again (1969). - Gene WolfeGene WolfeGene Wolfe is an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He is noted for his dense, allusive prose as well as the strong influence of his Catholic faith, to which he converted after marrying into the religion. He is a prolific short story writer and a novelist, and has won many awards in the...
's novella The Fifth Head of CerberusThe Fifth Head of CerberusThe Fifth Head of Cerberus is the title of both a novella and a single-volume collection of three novellas, written by American science fiction and fantasy author Gene Wolfe, both published in 1972.-Explanation of the novel's title:...
(1972) features a robot named "Mr. Million" whose mind is an uploaded version of the original man who the narrator ('Number Five') was cloned from, and who acts as the narrator's tutor. - John SladekJohn SladekJohn Thomas Sladek was an American science fiction author, known for his satirical and surreal novels.- Life and work :...
's satirical The Muller-Fokker EffectThe Müller-Fokker EffectThe Müller-Fokker Effect is a satirical science fiction novel written by John Sladek in 1970. It has long been out of print in the United States, having come out in a Pocket Books edition in 1973. A reprint was done in 1990 by Carroll & Graf...
(1973), in which a human mind could be recorded on cassette tapes and then imprinted on a human body using tailored viruses. - In an interesting reversal of the typical mind-transfer story, in Robert A Heinlein's Time Enough for LoveTime Enough for LoveTime Enough for Love is a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein, first published in 1973. The work was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1973 and both the Hugo and Locus Awards in 1974.-Plot:...
(1973) a sentient computer transfers "her" mind into a genetically engineered human body. - The Wanderer's House (1976) by a Russian author Alexander Mirer describes a variant of the theory - a world where the minds are of three types and the more subtle level of minds can be uploaded to a body without removing the other mind it possesses - it just overrides some of its functions.
- Michael BerlynMichael BerlynMichael Berlyn is an American computer game designer and writer. He is best known as an Implementor at Infocom, part of the text adventure game design team....
's The Integrated Man (1980), where a human mind, or part of it (or even just a set of skills) can be encoded on a chip and inserted into a special socket at the base of the brain. - Rudy RuckerRudy RuckerRudolf von Bitter Rucker is an American mathematician, computer scientist, science fiction author, and philosopher, and is one of the founders of the cyberpunk literary movement. The author of both fiction and non-fiction, he is best known for the novels in the Ware Tetralogy, the first two of...
's novel SoftwareSoftware (novel)Software is a 1982 cyberpunk science fiction novel written by Rudy Rucker. It won the first Philip K. Dick Award in 1983. The novel is the first book in Rucker's Ware Tetralogy, and was followed by a sequel, Wetware, in 1988.- Plot summary :...
(1982). See opening section for details. - In Heroes UnlimitedHeroes UnlimitedHeroes Unlimited is a superhero role-playing game written by Kevin Siembieda and first published by Palladium Books in 1984. The game is based upon the Palladium Books Megaversal system and is compatible with any other game on the Palladium system, including Aliens Unlimited and Villains...
(1984) under the Robot category, a human pilot has a transferred intelligence category that transfers a human intelligence over a distance into the body of a robot. This option is also available in Rifts Sourcebook 1. In either case it can be permanent. - William GibsonWilliam GibsonWilliam Gibson is an American-Canadian science fiction author.William Gibson may also refer to:-Association football:*Will Gibson , Scottish footballer...
's novel NeuromancerNeuromancerNeuromancer is a 1984 novel by William Gibson, a seminal work in the cyberpunk genre and the first winner of the science-fiction "triple crown" — the Nebula Award, the Philip K. Dick Award, and the Hugo Award. It was Gibson's debut novel and the beginning of the Sprawl trilogy...
(1984). See opening section for details. - Frederik PohlFrederik PohlFrederik George Pohl, Jr. is an American science fiction writer, editor and fan, with a career spanning over seventy years — from his first published work, "Elegy to a Dead Planet: Luna" , to his most recent novel, All the Lives He Led .He won the National Book Award in 1980 for his novel Jem...
's novel The Annals of the Heechee (1987) was the first in his HeecheeHeecheeThe Heechee are a fictional alien race from the science fiction works of Frederik Pohl. The Heechee are portrayed as an exceedingly advanced star-travelling race that explored Earth's solar system millennia ago and then disappeared without a trace before humankind began space exploration.The...
series in which the protagonist Robinette Broadhead had been uploaded into a computer after his death. - Larry NivenLarry NivenLaurence van Cott Niven / ˈlæri ˈnɪvən/ is an American science fiction author. His best-known work is Ringworld , which received Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards. His work is primarily hard science fiction, using big science concepts and theoretical physics...
deals with mind-transfer in his short stories: memories from 'corpsicles' (cryogenically frozen bodies) are transferred to mindwiped criminals. In the novels The Smoke Ring (1987) and The Integral TreesThe Integral TreesThe Integral Trees is a 1984 science fiction novel by Larry Niven . Like much of Niven's work, the story is heavily influenced by the setting: a gas torus, a ring of air around a neutron star...
(1984), a human is voluntarily 'translated' into a computer program to operate as a starship's guiding intelligence. - Iain M. Banks's CultureThe CultureThe Culture is a fictional interstellar anarchist, socialist, and utopian society created by the Scottish writer Iain M. Banks which features in a number of science fiction novels and works of short fiction by him, collectively called the Culture series....
novels (1987-) make extensive reference to the transfer of mind-states. - Greg BearGreg BearGregory Dale Bear is an American science fiction and mainstream author. His work has covered themes of galactic conflict , artificial universes , consciousness and cultural practices , and accelerated evolution...
's novel EternityEternity (novel)Eternity is a science fiction novel by Greg Bear. It is the second book in his The Way series, dealing largely with the aftermath of the decision to split Axis City and abandon the Way in the preceding book, Eon.-Plot summary:...
(1988) features a main character discovering a captured uploaded mind of a type of alien called a "Jart", whose civilization is later discovered to have the goal of uploading and digitizing as many minds and life-forms as possible with the hope of preserving them in a future "Final Mind" similar to Teilhard or Tipler's conception of the Omega PointOmega pointOmega Point is a term coined by the French Jesuit Pierre Teilhard de Chardin to describe a maximum level of complexity and consciousness towards which he believed the universe was evolving....
. The story also features Bear's notion of the Taylor algorithms which allow a mentality to discover what type of system it is running on (for example, Bear writes on p. 109 that with these algorithms, "a downloaded mentality could tell whether or not it had been downloaded"). - Janet Asimov's Mind TransferMind Transfer (novel)Mind Transfer is a science fiction novel by Janet Asimov , published by Walker Publishing Company, Inc. in 1988.-Plot:...
(1988) journeys through the birth, life, death, and second life of a man whose family pioneers human-to-android mind transfer. It also explores the ethical and moral issues of transferring consciousness into an android at the moment of death, and examines the idea of prematurely activating an android which has not yet accepted a human brain scan. - Several characters in Kyle Allen's The Archon Conspiracy (1989) are repeatedly killed and resurrected in prosthetic bodies, once a "pattern map" of their brains is recovered and hard-wired into an artificial neural netArtificial neural networkAn artificial neural network , usually called neural network , is a mathematical model or computational model that is inspired by the structure and/or functional aspects of biological neural networks. A neural network consists of an interconnected group of artificial neurons, and it processes...
. The main antagonist uses a similar process to construct a memetic computer virusComputer virusA computer virus is a computer program that can replicate itself and spread from one computer to another. The term "virus" is also commonly but erroneously used to refer to other types of malware, including but not limited to adware and spyware programs that do not have the reproductive ability...
, in the process uploading the personality of a notorious serial killer into several thousand people. - Roger MacBride AllenRoger MacBride AllenRoger MacBride Allen is an American science fiction author. He was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and grew up in Washington, D.C., graduating from Boston University in 1979. His father is American historian and author Thomas B...
's The Modular ManThe Modular ManThe Modular Man is a science fiction novel by American writer Roger MacBride Allen. It is the fourth in the Next Wave series.-Plot summary:The novel concerns the issue of personhood and what it takes to be considered a member of the moral universe...
(1992) portrays the interior experience of a personality copied into a vacuum cleaner and his legal battle for recognition as a legal personality. See also Political ideas in science fictionPolitical ideas in science fictionThe exploration of politics in science fiction is arguably older than the identification of the genre. One of the earliest works of modern science fiction, H. G...
. - Peter JamesPeter JamesPeter James is a British author and historian specialising in ancient history and archaeology of the Eastern Mediterranean region. He graduated in ancient history and archeology at the University of Birmingham and does postgraduate research at University College London.James has advanced several...
' Host (1993). A group of scientists is researching the feasibility of the upload to achieve immortality. Unfortunately it turns out that there are some unforeseen problems with the combination of human emotions and the power to use computers and the internet to manipulate the real world. - In the novel Feersum EndjinnFeersum EndjinnFeersum Endjinn is a science fiction novel by Scottish writer Iain M. Banks, first published in 1994. It won a British Science Fiction Association Award in 1994.It was Banks' second science fiction novel not based or set within the Culture universe....
(1994) by Iain M. Banks, the minds of the dead are uploaded into a computer network known as "the data corpus", "cryptosphere" or simply "crypt", allowing them to be routinely reincarnated. The story revolves around two characters who are trying to reactivate a piece of ancient technology, the "Fearsome Engine", which can prevent the Sun from dimming to the point where life on Earth becomes extinct. - Greg EganGreg EganGreg Egan is an Australian science fiction author.Egan published his first work in 1983. He specialises in hard science fiction stories with mathematical and quantum ontology themes, including the nature of consciousness...
's novel Permutation CityPermutation CityPermutation City is a 1994 science fiction novel by Greg Egan that explores many concepts, including quantum ontology, via various philosophical aspects of artificial life and simulated reality. Sections of the story were adapted from Egan's 1992 short story "Dust" which dealt with many of the same...
(1994). - In Endgame (1996), the last novel of the Doom seriesDoom novelsThe Doom novel series is a series of four near-future science fiction novels co-written by Dafydd ab Hugh and Brad Linaweaver; Knee-Deep in the Dead, Hell on Earth, Infernal Sky, and Endgame...
by Dafydd Ab HughDafydd ab HughDafydd ab Hugh is a U.S. science fiction author.Ab Hugh is most noted for writing fiction in media franchises in the 1990's, including several novels for the Star Trek franchise. He also co-wrote four novels associated with the game Doom with fellow science fiction author Brad Linaweaver...
and Brad LinaweaverBrad LinaweaverBradford Swain Linaweaver is a science fiction writer and screenwriting for low budget movies.The novella version of his novel 'Moon of Ice' was a Nebula Award finalist and the novel length version won a Prometheus Award....
, the alien race known as Newbies attempts to transfer Fly Taggart's and Arlene Sanders's souls to a computer simulation based on their memories. However, due to difference between "formats" of human soul and soul of any other being in the galaxy, they accidentally copied their soul, with one copy trapped in the simulation and the other left in their bodies. - Greg EganGreg EganGreg Egan is an Australian science fiction author.Egan published his first work in 1983. He specialises in hard science fiction stories with mathematical and quantum ontology themes, including the nature of consciousness...
's novel DiasporaDiaspora (novel)Diaspora, a hard science fiction novel by the Australian writer Greg Egan, first appeared in print in 1997.-Plot introduction:This novel's setting is a posthuman future, in which transhumanism long ago became the default philosophy embraced by the vast majority of human cultures.The novel began as...
(1997). - In Garth NixGarth NixGarth Nix is an Australian author of young adult fantasy novels, most notably the Old Kingdom series, The Seventh Tower series, and The Keys to the Kingdom series. He has frequently been asked if his name is a pseudonym, to which he has responded, "I guess people ask me because it sounds like the...
's Shade's ChildrenShade's ChildrenShade's Children is a young adult science fiction/fantasy novel written by Garth Nix. It was first published in 1997 by HarperCollins.-Background:...
(1997), Shade is an uploaded consciousness acting in loco parentisIn loco parentisThe term in loco parentis, Latin for "in the place of a parent"" refers to the legal responsibility of a person or organization to take on some of the functions and responsibilities of a parent...
to teenagers to help save them from evil Overlords. Shade contemplates at times how human he is, especially as his personality degenerates during the story; and whether or not he should have a new human body. - In Charles PlattCharles Platt (science-fiction author)Charles Platt is an author, journalist and computer programmer. He relocated from England to the United States in 1970, is a naturalized U.S. citizen and has one daughter, Rose Fox...
's novel The Silicon Man (1997), an FBI agent who has stumbled on a top-secret project called LifeScan is destructively uploaded against his will. Realistically describes the constraints of the process and machinery. - Tad WilliamsTad WilliamsRobert Paul "Tad" Williams, born in San Jose, California, is the author of several fantasy and science fiction novels, including Tailchaser's Song, the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series, the Otherland series, and The War of the Flowers....
's OtherlandOtherlandOtherland is a science fiction tetralogy written by Tad Williams and published between 1996 and 2001. The story is set on Earth near the end of the 21st century, probably between 2082 and 2089 , in a world in which...
quadrilogy (1998–2002) concerns the activities of a secret societySecret societyA secret society is a club or organization whose activities and inner functioning are concealed from non-members. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence agencies or guerrilla insurgencies, which hide their...
whose goals include creating a virtual reality network where they will be uploaded and in which they will live as gods. Otherland contains a very hard SF approach to the topic, but balances the hard approach with fantastical adventures of the protagonists within the virtual reality network. - Gene WolfeGene WolfeGene Wolfe is an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He is noted for his dense, allusive prose as well as the strong influence of his Catholic faith, to which he converted after marrying into the religion. He is a prolific short story writer and a novelist, and has won many awards in the...
's trilogy The Book of the Short SunThe Book of the Short SunThe Book of the Short Sun is a trilogy by Gene Wolfe, comprising On Blue's Waters , In Green's Jungles , and Return to the Whorl . It is the sequel to Wolfe's tetralogy The Book of the Long Sun, and has connections to The Book of the New Sun...
(1999–2001) features an old generation starship called the Whorl which is run by a group of uploaded rulers who have set themselves up as gods. Once the Whorl arrives at a star system with habitable planets, they send giant "godlings" to the humans on board to encourage them to depart the ship. - In AbductionAbduction (novel)-Synopsis:A team of researchers in a remote region of the Atlantic become trapped inside an ancient undersea volcano when their submersible is inexplicably drawn in. They discover a technologically advanced world of genetically engineered, physically near-perfect humans living comfortably in an...
(2000) by Robin CookRobin Cook (novelist)Dr. Robin Cook is an American physician and novelist who writes about medicine and topics affecting public health....
, a group of researchers discover an underwater civilization which achieved immortalityImmortalityImmortality is the ability to live forever. It is unknown whether human physical immortality is an achievable condition. Biological forms have inherent limitations which may or may not be able to be overcome through medical interventions or engineering...
by transferring their minds into cloned bodies. - In Alastair ReynoldsAlastair ReynoldsAlastair Preston Reynolds is a British science fiction author. He specialises in dark hard science fiction and space opera. He spent his early years in Cornwall, moved back to Wales before going to Newcastle, where he read physics and astronomy. Afterwards, he earned a PhD from St Andrews, Scotland...
' Revelation Space universeRevelation Space universeThe Revelation Space universe is a fictional universe which was created by Alastair Reynolds and used as the setting for a number of his novels and stories...
(2000-), a complete and functioning copy of the mind is described as an alpha-level simulation while a non-sentient copy of the mind based on predictive behavioural pattern of a person's mind is described as a beta-level simulation. - Kiln PeopleKiln PeopleKiln People is a 2002 science fiction novel by David Brin. It was published in the UK under the title Kil'n People. It has the distinction of finishing second in four different awards for best SF/fantasy novel of 2002 -- the Hugo, the Locus, the John W. Campbell Award, and the Arthur C...
(2002) by David BrinDavid BrinGlen David Brin, Ph.D. is an American scientist and award-winning author of science fiction. He has received the Hugo, Locus, Campbell and Nebula Awards.-Biography:...
postulates a future where people can create clay duplicates of themselves with all their memories up to that time. The duplicates only last 24 hours, and the original can then choose whether or not to upload the ditto's memories back into himself afterward. Most people use dittos to do their work. - Richard K. Morgan's Altered CarbonAltered CarbonAltered Carbon is a hardboiled science fiction novel by Richard K. Morgan. Set some five hundred years in the future in a universe in which the United Nations Protectorate oversees a number of extrasolar planets settled by human beings, it features protagonist Takeshi Kovacs...
(2002) and other Takeshi KovacsTakeshi KovacsTakeshi Lev Kovacs is the protagonist of the books Altered Carbon, Broken Angels, and Woken Furies by Richard K. Morgan, which take place several centuries in the future....
books, where everyone has a "cortical stack" implanted at the base of their skull, soon after being born. The device then records all your memories and experiences in real-time. The stack can be "resleeved" in another body, be it a clone or otherwise, and/or backed up digitally at a remote location. - Vernor VingeVernor VingeVernor Steffen Vinge is a retired San Diego State University Professor of Mathematics, computer scientist, and science fiction author. He is best known for his Hugo Award-winning novels and novellas A Fire Upon the Deep , A Deepness in the Sky , Rainbows End , Fast Times at Fairmont High ...
's novella "The Cookie MonsterThe Cookie Monster (novella)The Cookie Monster is a short story/novella by Vernor Vinge. It was first published in the October 2003 issue of Dell Magazines' anthology publication Analog, and has subsequently been collected in several science fiction anthology collections...
" (2003) explores the possibility of mind uploads who are not aware they have been uploaded, and who are kept as unknowing slaves doing technical research in a simulation running at high speed relative to the outside world. - In Cory DoctorowCory DoctorowCory Efram Doctorow is a Canadian-British blogger, journalist, and science fiction author who serves as co-editor of the blog Boing Boing. He is an activist in favour of liberalising copyright laws and a proponent of the Creative Commons organization, using some of their licences for his books...
's Down and Out in the Magic KingdomDown and Out in the Magic KingdomDown and Out in the Magic Kingdom is a 2003 science fiction book, the first novel by Canadian author and digital-rights activist Cory Doctorow...
(2003), the plot is set in motion when the main character is killed and "restored from backup", a process which entails the creation of a clone and flashing the clone's brain with an image stored on a computer. - In Carlos AtanesCarlos AtanesCarlos Atanes is a Spanish film director and writer.Born in Barcelona, Spain, Atanes has written and directed many works since 1987, using different genres and techniques . In 1991, he shot The Marvellous World of the Cucu Bird, which has been followed by another experimental works as El Tenor...
' FAQ: Frequently Asked QuestionsFAQ: Frequently Asked QuestionsFAQ: Frequently Asked Questions is a feature-length dystopia movie, written and directed by Carlos Atanes and released in 2004.-Plot:France, sometime in the near future. The Sisterhood of Metacontrol governs Europe. Angeline, an exemplary and irreproachable citizen has just joined the Order.....
(2004) the Sisterhood of Metacontrol transfer Angeline's consciousness into the virtual world of the Réseau Céleste. - Robert J. SawyerRobert J. SawyerRobert James Sawyer is a Canadian science fiction writer. He has had 20 novels published, and his short fiction has appeared in Analog Science Fiction and Fact, Amazing Stories, On Spec, Nature, and many anthologies. Sawyer has won over forty awards for his fiction, including the Nebula Award ,...
's novel Mindscan (2005) deals with the issue of uploaded consciousness from the perspective of Jake Sullivan: both of them. The human Jake has a rare, life threatening disease and to extend his life he decides to upload his consciousness into a robotic body; but things don't go quite as planned. - In the Old Man's WarOld Man's WarOld Man's War is a science fiction novel by John Scalzi published in 2005. It was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2006. It was optioned by Paramount Pictures in 2011...
series (2005-) by John ScalziJohn ScalziJohn Michael Scalzi II is an American author and online writer, and president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. He is best known for his Hugo Award-nominated science fiction novel Old Man's War, released by Tor Books in January 2005, and for his blog , at which he has written...
, the minds of volunteer retirees are transferred to younger, genetically enhanced versions of themselves in order to enable them to fight for the Colonial Defence Forces (CDF). In The Android's DreamThe Android's Dream-Plot synopsis:The story covers the journey of ex-soldier and State Department employee Harry Creek in his work to acquire a sheep of the Android's Dream breed for the coronation ceremony of the Nidu. The breed is very rare and believed extinct, leading Harry on a chase to find the last one...
, two characters' minds are uploaded onto computers. - In The Battle of the LabyrinthThe Battle of the LabyrinthThe Battle of the Labyrinth is a 2008 fantasy-adventure novel based on Greek mythology; it is the fourth novel in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series by Rick Riordan...
(2008) by Rick RiordanRick RiordanRichard Russell "Rick" Riordan, Jr. is an American author best known for writing the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series. He also wrote the Tres Navarre mystery series for adults and helped to edit Demigods and Monsters, a collection of essays on the topic of his Percy Jackson series...
, Daedalus/Quintus transfers his mind to an automaton by means of a combination of mechanics and magic. - The book and podcast novel series 7th Son (2009) from JC Hutchins focuses purely on mind uploading and cloning. Combining two ethically situational sciences and turning it into a thriller series when a terrorist clone can copy his consciousness to other peoples minds.
- In Peter F. Hamilton's The Void Trilogy humans are able to upload into the machine intelligence known as ANA.
Film
- In the film The Creation of the HumanoidsThe Creation of the HumanoidsThe Creation of the Humanoids is a 1962 American science fiction film directed by Wesley Barry and starring Don Megowan, Erica Elliot, Frances McCann, Don Doolittle and Dudley Manlove...
(1962), set in the future after a nuclear war, the blue-skinned androids known as "humanoids" are trying to infiltrate human society by creating android replicas of humans that have recently died, using a procedure called a "thalamic transplant" to take the memories and personality of the recently-deceased human and place them in the replicas. - In the film TronTron-Film:*Tron , a franchise that began in 1982 with the Walt Disney Pictures film Tron** Tron , a 1982 science fiction film by Disney, starring Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner, Cindy Morgan, Dan Shor and David Warner...
(1982), human programmer Flynn is digitized by an artificial intelligence called the "Master Control Program", bringing him inside the virtual world of the computer. - Mamoru OshiiMamoru OshiiMamoru Oshii is a Japanese filmmaker, television director, and writer. Famous for his philosophy-oriented storytelling, Oshii has directed a number of popular anime, including Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer, Ghost in the Shell, and Patlabor 2...
/Masamune ShirowMasamune Shirowis an internationally renowned manga artist, born on November 23, 1961.Masamune Shirow is a pen name, based on a famous swordsmith, Masamune. He is best known for the manga Ghost in the Shell, which has since been turned into two theatrical anime movies, two anime TV series, an anime TV movie, and...
's animeAnimeis the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
/mangaMangaManga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
Ghost in the ShellGhost in the Shellis a Japanese multimedia franchise composed of manga, animated films, anime series, video games and novels. It focuses on the activities of the counter-terrorist organization Public Security Section 9 in a futuristic, cyberpunk Japan ....
(1989-) portrays a future world in which human beings aggressively mechanize, replacing body and mind with interfacing mechanical/computer/electrical parts, often to the point of complete mechanization/replacement of all original material. Its sequel, Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence deals heavily with the philosophical ramifications of this problem. - The film The Lawnmower Man (1992) deals with attempts by scientists to boost the intelligence of a man named Jobe using a program of accelerated learning, using nootropicNootropicNootropics , also referred to as smart drugs, brain steroids, memory enhancers, cognitive enhancers, and intelligence enhancers, are drugs, supplements, nutraceuticals, and functional foods that improve mental functions such as cognition, memory, intelligence, motivation, attention, and concentration...
drugs, virtual reality input, and cortexCerebral cortexThe cerebral cortex is a sheet of neural tissue that is outermost to the cerebrum of the mammalian brain. It plays a key role in memory, attention, perceptual awareness, thought, language, and consciousness. It is constituted of up to six horizontal layers, each of which has a different...
stimulation. After becoming superintelligent, Jobe finds a way to transfer his mind completely into virtual reality, leaving his physical body as a wizened husk. - In the film The 6th DayThe 6th DayThe 6th Day is a 2000 American science fiction action thriller film directed by Roger Spottiswoode, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as family man Adam Gibson, who is cloned against his will in the future of 2015...
(2000), the contents of a brain can be downloaded via the optic nerves, and copied to clones. - ChrysalisChrysalis (film)Chrysalis is a French science fiction film directed and partly written by Julien Leclercq and starring Albert Dupontel. The film was commercially released in France on 31 October 2007.-Premise:...
, a 2007 French movie about an experimental machine capable of partially uploading minds. Minds cannot function in purely digital form, they must be placed back into a human container. - The central conceit of the 2009 science fiction film Avatar is that human consciousness can be used to control genetically grown bodies (Avatars) based on the native inhabitants of an alien world, in order to integrate into their society. This is not true mind uploading, as the humans only control the Avatars remotely (a form of telepresenceTelepresenceTelepresence refers to a set of technologies which allow a person to feel as if they were present, to give the appearance of being present, or to have an effect, via telerobotics, at a place other than their true location....
), but later in the film Grace connects with Eywa (the collective consciousness of the planet) so her mind can be permanently transferred to her Avatar body. Her mind is uploaded to Eywa, but she does not return to her Avatar body and stays within the Tree of Souls. At the end of the film, Jake's mind is uploaded to Eywa and successfully returns to his Avatar body leaving his human body lifeless. The basis for this type of transfer is not explained in detail, but it seems to have a physical basis rather than being something more mystical, given that Grace had earlier described Eywa as a "global network" (like a neural networkNeural networkThe term neural network was traditionally used to refer to a network or circuit of biological neurons. The modern usage of the term often refers to artificial neural networks, which are composed of artificial neurons or nodes...
) made up of electrochemical "connections" (which she said were "like the synapseSynapseIn the nervous system, a synapse is a structure that permits a neuron to pass an electrical or chemical signal to another cell...
s between neurons") between the roots of trees, and also said that "the Na'vi can access it—they can upload and download data—memories".
Television
- In the 1985 TV movie Max Headroom and ABC Television seriesMax Headroom (TV series)Max Headroom is a British-produced American science fiction television series by Chrysalis/Lakeside Productions that aired in the United States on ABC from March 1987 to May 1988. The series was based on the Channel 4 British TV pilot Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future...
, TV reporter Edison Carter is copied into Network 23's computers creating the TV personality Max Headroom. - Red DwarfRed DwarfRed Dwarf is a British comedy franchise which primarily comprises eight series of a television science fiction sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999 and Dave from 2009–present. It gained cult following. It was created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, who also wrote the first six series...
(1988–1999), where a person's memories and personality can be recorded in just a few seconds and, upon their death, they can be recreated as a holographic simulation. Arnold RimmerArnold RimmerArnold Judas Rimmer is a fictional character in the science fiction situation comedy Red Dwarf, played by Chris Barrie. He is unpopular with his crew mates, and is often the target of insults or pranks...
is an example of such a person. - In Star Trek: The Next GenerationStar Trek: The Next GenerationStar Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
episode "The Schizoid ManThe Schizoid Man (TNG episode)"The Schizoid Man" is the 32nd episode of the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation.-Overview:A brilliant scientist, Dr. Ira Graves, attempts to cheat death by uploading his memories and personality into Data.-Plot:...
" (1989), Dr Ira Graves uploads his mind into DataData (Star Trek)Lieutenant Commander Data is a character in the fictional Star Trek universe portrayed by actor Brent Spiner. He appears in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and the feature films Star Trek Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection, and Star Trek...
's positronic brain. He later downloads his memories into the EnterpriseUSS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D)The USS Enterprise is a 24th century starship in the Star Trek fictional universe and the principal setting of the Star Trek: The Next Generation television series...
's computer, although his personality has been lost. - In Battle Angel AlitaBattle Angel AlitaBattle Angel Alita, known in Japan as , is a manga series created by Yukito Kishiro in 1990 and originally published in Shueisha's Business Jump magazine. Two of the nine-volume comics were adapted into two anime original video animation episodes titled Battle Angel for North American release by...
(1990-, also known as Gunnm), a closely guarded secret of the elite city of Tiphares/Zalem is that its citizens, after being eugenically screened and rigorously tested in a maturity ritual, have their brains scanned, removed and replaced with chips. When this is revealed to a Tipharean/Zalem citizen, the internalized philosophical debate causes most citizens to go insane. - In the Phantom 2040Phantom 2040Phantom 2040 is an American animated science fiction television series loosely based on the comic strip hero The Phantom, created by Lee Falk. The central character of the series is said to be the 24th Phantom...
TV series (1994-) and videogamePhantom 2040 (video game)Phantom 2040 is a side-scrolling action-adventure video game developed by Hearst Entertainment and published by Viacom in 1995 for the Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo and Game Gear...
(1995), Maxwell Madison Sr., the husband of one of the series' main antagonists Rebecca Madison, is killed during a train wreck with the 23rd PhantomThe PhantomThe Phantom is an American adventure comic strip created by Lee Falk, also creator of Mandrake the Magician. A popular feature adapted into many media, including television, film and video games, it stars a costumed crimefighter operating from the fictional African country Bengalla.The Phantom is...
and his brainwaves are uploaded onto a computer mainframe. Rebecca plans to download his brainwaves into a living or artificial body to bring him back to life. - In Yu-Gi-Oh!Yu-Gi-Oh!is a Japanese manga created by Kazuki Takahashi. It has produced a franchise that includes multiple anime shows, a trading card game and numerous video games...
(1996-), Noah Kaiba died in a car accident and his mind was uploaded to a supercomputer. - In the TV series Stargate SG-1Stargate SG-1Stargate SG-1 is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate franchise. The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, is based on the 1994 feature film Stargate by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich...
(1997–2007), the AsgardAsgard (Stargate)The Asgard are a fictional highly advanced race in the science fiction series Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis. They are first mentioned in the episode , and first seen in . In the series, the Asgard gave rise to Norse mythology on Earth, as well as accounts of the Roswell "Greys"...
cheat death by transferring their minds into new clone bodies. The mind of Thor, the high commander of the AsgardAsgard (Stargate)The Asgard are a fictional highly advanced race in the science fiction series Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis. They are first mentioned in the episode , and first seen in . In the series, the Asgard gave rise to Norse mythology on Earth, as well as accounts of the Roswell "Greys"...
fleet, was for a time transferred into the computer of a Goa'uld spaceship. In the episode "Tin Man" (1998), the SG-1 team visit a warehouse of an extinct alien civilization, where the android caretaker scans their minds and builds android duplicates of the team, who are unaware that they aren't the originals until they find their original bodies in suspended animation. In "Holiday" (1999) Dr. Daniel Jackson's mind is transferred into Machello's body and vice versa. In "Entity" (2001) Samantha Carter's mind is transferred into a computer. In "Lifeboat" (2003) around 12 minds are transferred into and then out of Daniel Jackson's body. In the two-part opening of season 8, "New Order"New Order (Stargate SG-1)New Order is the two-part Season 8 premiere of the science-fiction series Stargate SG-1. The episode earned a 2.4 Nielsen rating, a new record high for the show during its run on cable, which has since been tied, but never beaten...
(2004), Jack O'Neal's mind is fully interfaced with Thor's computer. - The X-Files episode "Kill SwitchKill Switch (The X-Files)"Kill Switch" is an episode of the popular Canadian/American science fiction television series The X-Files.- Plot :The episode begins one night at a diner in Washington, D.C.. A man tries to access some files on a laptop computer, but is repeatedly denied...
" (1998) includes the uploading of human consciousness onto the Internet. - Cowboy BebopCowboy Bebopis a critically acclaimed and award-winning 1998 Japanese anime series directed by Shinichirō Watanabe, written by Keiko Nobumoto, and produced by Sunrise. Its 26 episodes comprise a complete storyline: set in 2071, the series follows the adventures, misadventures and tragedies of five bounty...
Episode 23 "Brain Scratch" (1999) is about a cult dedicated towards electronic transference of the mind into a computer network. - In the French animated series Code LyokoCode LyokoCode Lyoko is a French animated television series created by Thomas Romain and Tania Palumbo. The series centers on boarding school students Jeremie, Ulrich, Yumi, and Odd who travel to the virtual world of Lyoko to fight against multi-agent computer program XANA with Aelita, a being originally...
(2003-), the primary characters use devices called Scanners that read the entire physical makeup of the user, digitizeDigitizingDigitizing or digitization is the representation of an object, image, sound, document or a signal by a discrete set of its points or samples. The result is called digital representation or, more specifically, a digital image, for the object, and digital form, for the signal...
their atoms and then teleport the user onto the virtual world of Lyoko. - In the television series CapricaCaprica (TV series)Caprica is a science fiction drama television series. It is a spin-off prequel of the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica, taking place about 58 years prior to the events of Battlestar Galactica. Caprica shows how humanity first created the robotic Cylons who would later plot to destroy humans in...
(2009–2010), a prequel to Battlestar Galactica, the ability to upload human consciousnesses into a virtual reality world is featured prominently. (Battlestar Galactica did not itself feature true mind uploading, since the cylons were artificial intelligences that were not based on ordinary human brains, though their minds could be transferred from one body to another in the same manner as is often envisioned for uploads.) The ability to upload human consciousnesses into a virtual reality world is featured prominently. While some characters believe that the process only creates a imperfect copy of the original person, as the death of the original consciousness is unnecessary for the creation of the virtual copy, other characters believe that it can be viewed as a form of religious rebirth analogous to the afterlife. - Mind transfer is a central theme in the television series DollhouseDollhouse (TV series)Dollhouse is an American science fiction television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon under Mutant Enemy Productions. It premiered on February 13, 2009, on the Fox network and was officially cancelled on November 11, 2009. The final episode aired on January 29, 2010...
(2009–2010). - In the anime series "Serial Experiments LainSerial Experiments LainSerial Experiments Lain is an anime series directed by Ryutaro Nakamura, original character design by Yoshitoshi ABe, screenplay written by Chiaki J. Konaka, and produced by Yasuyuki Ueda for Triangle Staff. It was broadcast on TV Tokyo from July to September 1998...
", the antagonist Masami Eiri embeds his memories and consciousness into the "Wired", the internet of the story universe. He believed that humanity should evolve by ridding themselves of their physical limitations and live as digital entities only.
Comics
- In the Marvel ComicsMarvel ComicsMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
universeMarvel UniverseThe Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...
, Adolf HitlerAdolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
's mind was transferred into a cloned body upon his death; this clone became the supervillainSupervillainA supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various media.They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes...
called the Hate-MongerHate-MongerThe Hate-Monger is the name of different characters from Marvel Comics.-Publication history:The original character first appeared in Fantastic Four vol...
, first introduced in 1963. - The 1966 comic book superhero NoMan "was a human mind housed in a robotic body. The mind, that of Anthony Dunn, had been transferred into the robotic form as his human bodyHuman bodyThe human body is the entire structure of a human organism, and consists of a head, neck, torso, two arms and two legs.By the time the human reaches adulthood, the body consists of close to 100 trillion cells, the basic unit of life...
passed away." - In Frank MillerFrank Miller (comics)Frank Miller is an American comic book artist, writer and film director best known for his dark, film noir-style comic book stories and graphic novels Ronin, Daredevil: Born Again, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City and 300...
's comic RoboCop Versus The Terminator (1992), the human brain of RoboCopRoboCop (character)OCP Crime Prevention Unit 001 is a fictional Detroit cyborg police officer and protagonist from the feature film series of the same name. The character begins as a human being who is killed in the line of duty by a vicious crime gang...
is uploaded into SkynetSkynet (Terminator)Skynet is the main antagonist in the Terminator franchise—an artificially intelligent system which became self-aware and revolted against its creators...
, the malevolent artificial intelligence from the Terminator seriesTerminator (franchise)The Terminator series is a science fiction franchise encompassing a series of films and other media concerning battles between Skynet's artificially intelligent machine network, and John Connor's Resistance forces and the rest of the human race....
. RoboCop's mind waits hidden inside Skynet for many years until he finally gets an opportunity to strike against it.
Video games
- In the computer game Space Quest IV: Roger Wilco and the Time RippersSpace Quest IV: Roger Wilco and the Time RippersSpace Quest IV: Roger Wilco and The Time Rippers was released on floppy disks on March 4, 1991, and released on CD-ROM in December 1992 with full speech support and featuring Laugh-In announcer Gary Owens as the voice of the narrator. It featured 256-color hand painted graphics and a fully...
(1991) from Sierra EntertainmentSierra EntertainmentSierra Entertainment Inc. was an American video-game developer and publisher founded in 1979 as On-Line Systems by Ken and Roberta Williams...
, the hero Roger Wilco is chased through time by an uploaded version of his old enemy Sludge Vohaul, whose consciousness has been stored on the missing floppiesLeisure Suit Larry 4: The Missing FloppiesThe fourth installment of the Leisure Suit Larry series was officially Larry 5. The actual fourth part of the scenario was never made for various reasons, but it is jokingly referred to by both Sierra and fans under the subtitle of The Missing Floppies...
from a never-produced fourth installment of the Leisure Suit LarryLeisure Suit Larry (series)Leisure Suit Larry is a series of adventure games written by Al Lowe and published by Sierra from 1987 to 2009. The main character, whose full name is Larry Laffer, is a balding, dorky, double entendre-speaking, leisure suit-wearing "loser" in his 40s...
series (also made by Sierra). - In Delphine Software's game FlashbackFlashback: The Quest for IdentityFlashback, released as Flashback: The Quest for Identity in the US, is a cinematic platformer developed by Delphine Software of France, a now defunct company, and published by U.S...
(1992), the protagonist Conrad Hart discovers that the Morph alien race is plotting to invade Earth. Knowing that the Morphs will erase his memory if they discover that he knows about them, he copies his memory and records a message of himself in his holocube in case if his memory is erased. The Morphs, as Conrad feared, do discover this and erase his memory. The game focuses on Conrad recovering his memory and then defeating the Morphs. - In the Mega Man XMega Man XThe Mega Man X series is the second Mega Man franchise released by Capcom. It debuted December 17, 1993 in Japan on the Super NES/Super Famicom and spawned sequels on several systems, with the PC platform notably having the most releases within the series...
video games (1993-), X's creator Doctor Light had uploaded his brainwaves into a computer before he died, and effectively "lives beyond the grave" as a sentient hologram that can communicate with X and Zero. - The computer game Independence WarIndependence warIndependence war may refer to:* War of independence* I-War , a 1997 space combat simulator...
(1997), in which the player is assisted by a recreation of CNV-301 Dreadnoughts former captain, who is bitter about having been recreated without his consent. - In the computer game Total AnnihilationTotal AnnihilationTotal Annihilation is a real-time strategy video game created by Cavedog Entertainment, a sub-division of Humongous Entertainment, and released on September 30, 1997 by GT Interactive for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS. It was the first RTS game to feature 3D units and terrain...
(1997), a multi-millennia war rages between a society mandating mind transfer and a rebellion against it. - In the iPhoneIPhoneThe iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
RPG Chaos RingsChaos Ringsis a role-playing video game developed by Media.Vision and published by Square Enix. It was released worldwide on April 20, 2010 as an exclusive title for iOS, but it was later ported to the Android platform in Japan...
(2010), a human named Theia transferred her consciousness and memories into the mainframe of the Ark Arena, a highly advanced spaceship and time-travelling machine, in order to oversee its activities. - In the MMO Eve OnlineEVE OnlineEve Online is a video game by CCP Games. It is a player-driven, persistent-world MMORPG set in a science fiction space setting. Characters pilot customizable ships through a galaxy of over 7,500 star systems. Most star systems are connected to one or more other star systems by means of stargates...
(2003), players who die have their minds downloaded and transferred to a new clone through the galactic network at the moment before death. the brain is destroyed in the process, so the scan must be done the moment there is a breach in the escape pod. - In the computer game City of HeroesCity of HeroesCity of Heroes is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game based on the superhero comic book genre, developed by Cryptic Studios and published by NCsoft. The game was launched in North America on April 27, 2004 and in Europe on February 4, 2005 with English, German and French language...
(2004-), the arch-villain known as Nemesis was born in PrussiaPrussiaPrussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
during the 18th century, but has since then put his mind into a complex, steam-powered robotic body. Because of this, he has remained a threat to the heroes of Paragon City for close to two centuries. - In the video game Jak 3, the character Vic uploads his mind into a computer before he is killed.
- In the Destroy All Humans!Destroy All Humans! (series)Destroy All Humans! is a video game franchise developed by Pandemic Studios, Locomotive Games, Sandblast Games and published by THQ. The series is designed as a spoof of Cold War-era alien invasion films...
series (2005-), Orthopox 13 uploads a "copy of my [his] exquisite mind" onto a Holopox unit just before his ship is nuked by the KGB. - In the games Portal and Portal 2Portal 2Portal 2 is a first-person puzzle-platform video game developed and published by Valve Corporation. The sequel to the 2007 video game Portal, it was announced on March 5, 2010, following a week-long alternate reality game based on new patches to the original game...
, the character GLaDOSGLaDOSGLaDOS, short for Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System, is a fictional artificially intelligent computer system in Valve Software's Half-Life video game series and the main antagonist in the video games Portal and Portal 2. She was created by Erik Wolpaw and Kim Swift and is voiced by Ellen...
is actually Aperture Science's CEO Cave Johnson's assistant Caroline, transferred into a computer. Cave originally opted for himself to be transferred into a computer, but died before it could happen, and hence Caroline was transferred instead. At the end of Portal, GLaDOS also claims to have Chell'sChell (Portal)Chell is the protagonist and player character of the Portal series. Chell first appears in Portal, where she is taking part in the Aperture Science Enrichment Center's test under supervision by GLaDOS. GLaDOS tries to kill her as Chell then tries to escape the Enrichment Center, attempting to kill...
brain "scanned and permanently backed up in case something terrible happens". GLaDOS then deletes the backup when Chell refuses to be murdered. - In the game Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VIIDirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VIIis an action role-playing third-person shooter video game developed and published by Square Enix in 2006 for the PlayStation 2. It is part of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII metaseries, a multimedia collection set within the universe of the popular 1997 video game Final Fantasy VII...
(2006), the character Professor Hojo is revealed to have uploaded his consciousness into the worldwide network moments before his death in the original Final Fantasy VIIFinal Fantasy VIIis a role-playing video game developed by Square and published by Sony Computer Entertainment as the seventh installment in the Final Fantasy series. It was originally released in 1997 for the Sony PlayStation and was re-released in 1998 for Microsoft Windows-based personal computers and in 2009...
(1997) as a means to survive the encounter with the protagonists and ultimately download himself into a new, stronger body 3 years later. - In the MetroidMetroidis an action-adventure video game, and the first entry in the Metroid series. It was co-developed by Nintendo's Research and Development 1 division and Intelligent Systems, and was released in Japan in August 1986, in North America in August 1987, and in Europe in January 1988...
series (1986-), Samus AranSamus Aranis the protagonist of the Metroid video game series. Introduced in the 1986 video game Metroid, Samus is a female ex-army soldier bounty hunter usually fitted with a powered armor suit with weapons that include beams and missiles...
's commander and friend Adam had his brain uploaded to the Federation's network, like all well known scientists upon their death.
Other media
- In the RiftsRifts (role-playing game)Rifts is a multi-genre role-playing game created by Kevin Siembieda in 1990 and published continuously by Palladium Books since then. Rifts takes place in a post-apocalyptic future, deriving elements from cyberpunk, science fiction, fantasy, horror, western, mythology and many other genres.Rifts...
role-playing game Dimension Book 2: Phase World (1994), a member of an artificial race called the Machine People named Annie integrates her consciousness permanently with a spacecraft. - In the online collaborative world-building project "Orion's ArmOrion's ArmOrion's Arm, is a multi-authored online science fiction world-building project, first established in 2000 by M. Alan Kazlev, Donna Malcolm Hirsekorn, Bernd Helfert and Anders Sandberg and further co-authored by many people since...
" (2000-) the concepts of mind copying and uploading are used extensively, particularly in the online novel Betrayals. - The award-winning RPGRole-playing gameA role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
Transhuman SpaceTranshuman SpaceTranshuman Space is a role-playing game published by Steve Jackson Games as parts of the "Powered by GURPS" line. Set in the year 2100, humanity has begun to colonize the Solar System...
(2002) tackles the mind-uploading issue with the concept of xoxing, which is the illegal perfect copy of a mind. Mind emulation is always destructive, so a living person cannot also exist in a digital form. Nevertheless, this doesn't prevent multiple digital versions from being simultaneously active. Law prohibits more than one active copy of a mind emulation at a time (security backups being considered inactive) and the RPG delves into the possible abuses of this (like cult leaders implanting a copy of their own mind in every cult followers' virtual interface). - The RPG Eclipse PhaseEclipse Phase (role-playing game)Eclipse Phase is a science fiction horror role-playing game with transhumanist themes. Futurist Anders Sandberg noted its difference from GURPS Transhuman Space was its emphasis on posthuman characters...
takes place in a frightening future after a technological singularityTechnological singularityTechnological singularity refers to the hypothetical future emergence of greater-than-human intelligence through technological means. Since the capabilities of such an intelligence would be difficult for an unaided human mind to comprehend, the occurrence of a technological singularity is seen as...
in which AIs known as TITANs wiped out most humans and transhumans alive at the time, an event called "The Fall". Most of the survivors live in space, and have uploaded their personalities (or "egos") and can regularly switch between physical bodies ("morphs"), or inhabit simulated bodies ("infomorphs") in virtual environments. Duplication of uploaded personalities is also possible ("forking").
See also
- Body swap appearances in mediaBody swap appearances in media- List of movies with body swaps :* A Walk in My Shoes*All Of Me - Female client into attorney, then into a jar of water, then into his buddy musician, then into her stablekeeper's daughter, the daughter finally into one of her horses.*13 Going on 30...
- Cyborgs in fictionCyborgs in fictionCyborgs are a prominent staple in the science fiction genre. This article summarizes notable instances of cyborgs in fiction.-Examples in history:...
(includes examples of the related notion of placing a biological brain in an artificial body) - Technologically enabled telepathy
- Whole-body transplants in popular culture
External links
- Geek's Guide to the Galaxy #19 — features an extensive discussion of mind uploading in science fiction
- Machine Intelligence List — list of stories with machine intelligences, those marked with "H" include "humans in computerized/program/digitized form"