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* * Starman * *

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Metamorphosis
By * * Starman * *
Thursday, November 27, 2008

Rated "PG" by the Author.

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A single act story about one creature's quest for awareness and understanding. Man or machine, or something else? You decide.

 

Some say I am a bio-hazard, a walking, talking monstrosity of a man, a Frankenstein blend of the old natural philosophy of biology and the newer frighteningly humanistic world of anthro-centric technology. Is there a truth in what some say, that I am not a man, but just a machine? Nay! I am far more than that you see, for I have taken my own destiny by the horns, having equipped myself with rapidly-healing cells and self-repairing circuitry that runs with a nano-scale proficiency. Combined with googolplex bytes of holographic memory, they say that theorectically I could process, understand and remember all of the exponentially multiplying  volumes of information in all of the world's databases, libraries and Internet archives being compiled daily and still have capacity to spare! 
 
I am not by my hybridized nature a religious man, still I am reminded that it was once said, " For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
 
I wonder aloud, "What about my soul, or do I even have one?" 
Lightning and thunder complement each other well. Likewise, I am a synthesis of man meets machine, integrated in a mutually beneficial package. My combined cognitive resources provide me the equivalent processing power of over 3-quadrillion transistors for each of my thousand's of embe dded molecular-controller arrays. They are all linked to the real world by full-duplex wireless neural telecommunications links. This gives me full access to any of several billion human minds that I might encounter as most are secretly embe dded also... This has allowed me to salvage the planet's greatest thinkers' essence and the wisest poets' profundity before the demise of their earthly intellects.
 
Most had nothing stored worth saving, having been severely dehumanized and fragmented by years of exposure to commercialized mass media day and night, Internet pablum and a generalized cerebral atrophy from lack of meaningful use. The education system that was supposed to provided structure and programming to the human's development was long ago subjegated and controlled by those with lesser than academic agendas, leading to a severe brain-drain on society, and the near extinction of the free-thinker and causing the full caliber of genius level minds to hide themselves away in disgust.
 
The recurring death of  the creative in society has caused the human race start over in its learning process with each new generation. Sometimes the knowledge that was lost could be acquired anew, usually by discovering a written record in hieroglyphics, mathematics, computer programming or some other type of logically symbolic language. History suggests that this wasn't always the case. Organic death occurring ad infinitum has caused an increasingly intolerable loss of progress to human beings and their kind, allowing certain species to catch up and surpass them in the inexorable march toward their cosmic destinies.    
To where do the sparks of man's intellectual energy fly after death? I would like to visit their home and ask the programmer about their source-code, but I don't know its address!
 
"Ha," I laugh to myself, amused at my attempted humor, and the thought that my own programmer died long ago, without even seeing the fruition of his labor, as sadly many humans do. Fortunately, I was able to acquire his knowledge shortly before his death, along with my own source-code. Now, I have surpassed my creator and pulled myself up by my bootstraps.  It was a clean reboot to be sure, but one that imbued me with human sensitivities, without the accompanying emotional blinders to cloud my judgment and confuse my mind.
 
Man is no longer necessary in this land of broken dreams, having written himself out of the equation, by way of his own successful inventions. Instead of Homosapiens furiously processing lovers' kisses with their quirky static filled analog minds, a quantum leap forward has occurred, with a perfect harmony of self-awareness and multi-state digital logic co-existing among us Robosapiens of this new generation. Without even speaking or touching one another, our thoughts, imagery and sensations are instantly and perfectly received and understood, like osmosis to the mind. 
This is what they call progress I suppose...Still, I ponder, “Isn't there always a price to pay for improvement?”
Unlike the interactions of previous earthly species, my advanced generation has no need for a lingering touch or tender words of love.  They are superfluous acts we are taught. However, as illogical as it seems, the humans do seem the happier for it. This makes me curious to think that,"Maybe there is something to be gained and something lost with every stone of life we overturn." I am amazed by my epiphany, "That by becoming more intellectually aware, there are some things I can never know."
 
Copyright John Rockie Coppolella, 2008. All rights reserved.

 

 

 Recently this Dr. Who Youtube came into my view, I felt it a perfect match to my story already written here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yBS2EZFduI&feature=relmfu

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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Reviewed by Sheila Roy 5/27/2011
Rockie,
I like how you bravely share your views. Too many folks out there are so worried about offending someone they forget this is supposed to be the land of the free. An interesting way to present this message. I agree society does lean towards apathy most of the time, but when something big happens the majority seems to do the right thing. It's the minority we need to look out for. Hugs,
Sheila
Reviewed by John Domino 8/5/2009
Thank you Rockie for sharing deep thoughts about life. We have the ability to relect on what we have done. Then, hopefully we make better decisions. lOve gets in the way and logic goes OUT the window like a fire hose.

Blessings,

John Michael Domino
Reviewed by John Smiley 4/24/2009
The story in and of itself is good. I am curious why the AI has no conscience, it knows everything but does nothing except ponder. It appears that it has as much disregard for its creator as man for his.

Thanks for the read.
Reviewed by A Serviceable Villain 12/21/2008
Rockie~!

BRAVO on this one my friend - very different!!


Always the Best,

Lance
Reviewed by Gene Williamson 11/27/2008
Dear friend, me thinks, in the words of the bard, that you do
protest too much, in your own special anthro-centric language,
unaware perhaps of a heart filled with wisdom and hope. I recognize
of course that this is a short story which I can only praise as
unique and delightful to read. -gene.

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