This is a continuation of the story posted on 9/17/2020. Click here for part 1,
I woke up. I was sitting in the big overstuffed leather chair in my home office. Weird. I felt like I had odd dreams. Odd connections more like, my wedding taking place in a hospital room. My brother David handing me the ring to give to my new wife.
I stood up still trying to parse what had happened. That’s right, I had gone back to Dr. Novella’s office. We needed to put me back into cloud storage while my new body was set up. So, this was the VR system.
I tone chimed from my desk. I walked over and clicked to answer the call. Dr. Novella’s face popped up on one of my screens. “What’s up doc?”
“You do know that got old after the second month of graduating med school, right.” He said said with a slight smile. “I see are setup in VR. Just want to check with how you are doing.”
“I feel OK. Definitely feels like the old me.”
“We have the ability to easily use the full sensory suite in VR. We really don’t have to worry about bridging the gaps we would in physical sensors and feedback systems.” The doctor said.
“The only odd part was waking up. I swear it felt like I was dreaming. I didn’t think I needed to sleep or dream.”
“It is true you don’t need to sleep.” Dr. Novella said. “You no longer need the rest for your body or brain. But we have found the purpose for much of dreaming was to fix or re-inforce neural connections, and some information cataloging, in your case, a database reindex. While their is not a schedule you should sleep,” he made air quotes on the screen, “about an hour a day. Not sure if you will always have the equivalent of dreams, but it is not abnormal. Really right now just calling to check on you. It seems you have adapted well to the the VR.”
“Seems like it,” I said.
“We are going to get your new body delivered to your house. The 5G there is great so should be no issue of getting the differential backup there once you are ready to transfer.”
“Am I going to be there before, the old me, arrives?”
“I figured that was what you would want. They are moving the body there now along with the support equipment for…I don’t know should we just call him James if you are going by Jim?”
“Makes sense to me,” I said.
“We will also have a cyber-physiotherapist there for you. Sometimes the proprioception needs tweaked so you might find walking and balance off a little initially.”
I opened my eyes again. I had sat down in my overstuffed leather chair, and closed my eyes. I had opened them again and was confused. I appeared to be sitting in the same chair. Then I looked up. I was in my home office, the real one this time. Similar to one I had in VR, but clearly this one had the messiness that comes with real life. I looked down at my hand on the arm of the chair, shiny white plastic. I gripped the arm of the chair a little tighter. I could feel my fingers sink into the leather, also the coolness of the leather. I guess this body was equipped with better sensors.
I looked over at my desk. I man was leaning against it with a tablet. He looked over at me. “Greetings Mr. Bach,” he said as he walked over to me and extending his hand. I instinctively shook it. It all felt natural. I started to stand.
“Please do not get up yet,” he said now holding up his hand. “I am Kannen Pind, and will be your cyber-physiotherapist.” Kannen glanced at his tablet and hit a few buttons. “OK, go ahead and stand up slowly let me know if you have any balance issues.”
I stood up slowly from my chair. I felt a little off. Kannen kept working on his tablet.
“Walk around the room a little,” he said. “You probably wouldn’t pass a DUI test just yet but give me a few minutes.”
I walked small circles around my office. Kannen was right I probably wouldn’t pass a drunk test. Did just feel a little dizzy, but it kept feeling better as I moved. Very quickly it felt natural. Kannen did a few other tests; the close your eyes touch your nose, touch your ears kind. Those seemed to feel right.
“OK, I am going to stay here and monitor for a bit.” Kannen said. “Feel free to do what you need. I will let you know if I see an issue.” He sat down in my overstuffed chair and continued to look at his tablet.
I walked up the stairs to the master bedroom. It felt pretty natural. I guess the new tweaks work pretty well. I looked in the bed was made and monitoring equipment an IV drug delivery system was there.
A phone rang, effectively in my head. I pulled up a virtual display of my old cell phone and accepted the call.
“This is patient transport, wanted to let you know Mr. Bach is nearly to your house if you can meet us.”
“No problem. I will be right down,” I said. I disconnected the phone and with a swipe of my hand dismissed the virtual phone. This new user interface was very intuitive. On the plus side in my new life I would never lose my cell phone again.
I walked down the stairs an opened the front door, a nurse and the driver were helping old me out of a van and into a wheelchair. They pushed him up to the front door. I had to help them get the chair over the step of the door. I looked behind me to the stairs. I guess we didn’t think this out completely. “Do you think you can make it up the stairs?” I said.
“Barely,” James said. He already looked out of breath. “You have a new look.”
Funny, I hadn’t taken a moment to look in the mirror. Come to think of it this body should be as strong as I used to be, probably stronger. “Why don’t I carry you up?”
“If you think you can go ahead,” said old me. “You still have a better chance than I do.”
I squatted down and carefully got my arms around his back and behind his knees and carefully lifted him up. He felt much lighter than I thought. I carefully made my way up the stairs, followed by the nurse. I carefully set him on the bed.
“I think I have it from here,” old me said. “Give me a little privacy.”
“OK. I will check back on you in just a little bit,” I said. I know, when I was in that bed fighting the exhaustion of changing clothing, I didn’t want to be seen. I glanced in the master bathroom mirror on my way out. A fairly nice sleek android body all in shiny white plastic with black accents.
I roamed downstairs to a small library I had. Glanced through the books. I found what I wanted, a thick hardback shelved with the A’s. OK, so I sort my books by author, what of it. I waited for a little while to let other me get settled and headed back upstairs.
The nurse sat next to my bed and old me comfortably resting on a pile of pillows. “You can probably head out if you like. I should be able to take care of it from here for now.”
The nurse looked at me for a moment, then at old me. “Are you sure?” She asked. I think more toward old me.
“Yes.” We said in unison.
She grabbed her things and headed out of the room.
“I think she wanted your validation more,” I said to old me.
“Probably thinks crazy robot is going to kill me,” old me said. “Not that it is much effort, all you probably need to do at this point is, nothing.”
I sat down in the chair beside the bed. Odd, not as much difference to me between standing and sitting other than being polite. I glanced at the book in my hand. “Remember when we were sick as a kid? Mom, used to sit and read to us.”
“Yep.” Old me said. “Actually I also now remember Sally reading to me when I had a royally bad case of the flu.”
“Not much chance of that now,” I said. “That divorce didn’t go well.”
“Should have been more focused on her than work. Oh, well maybe in the next life I will do better.” Old me said with a slight smile.
I picked up the book, turned to the last short story and started reading aloud for him. It was Isaac Asimov’s The Bicentennial Man. Definitely a little pulpier than I remembered it. Old me just laid back and listened. I think it took a couple times of old me taking a nap, but we finished the story.
“A little hokier than I remember it,” old me said. “I think the movie polished up the edges. But you probably remember that better than me.”
“Nope.” I said. ” Remember what the doctor told us the process just maps the existing stucture of the connectome over to the brain emulation environment. Memory still is based on the connections you formed and the reconstruction you make. I won’t remember anything better than you did. Our memories smooth out our rough edges just as Hollywood does for old short stories.
“I will remember everything from this moment, a constant recording of all the audio and visual that happens to me. Will be able to retrospect much better as long as I can remember the time it happened. I don’t know if that will be better. It might be better to leave the past as you remember it…”
“…or have forgotten it.” Old me finished. “Maybe not the best thing to recall all your failings. Just let them fall into the past. Also to polish up all your success.”
“Well, I will find out.” I said. “I am thinking this will be one memory that is good to remember. Our final transition.”
“Did like the story.” Old me said. “So, a story about a robot giving up his life after two hundred years to be considered human. So here I am about to give up my life to be a robot.”
“The irony is probably why I picked the story. Although I guess not a robot. You’re the one that gets to shuffle off this mortal coil, and I get a whole new hardware abstraction layer. Pretty much get to be reborn now an immortal.”
“And I am ready.” Old me said. “I swear they have cranked up the morphine pump to almost the LD50 level, and it is not helping as much. You will stay till the end?”
“Of course.” I said. I held my old hand feeling still weaker in my new hand.
So I sat. An advantage of the android body is it doesn’t get tired, it could stay in the same position for as long as I needed. I will say I cheated a little my body may have stayed in the chair sitting watching old me I switched over to my VR body in the VR office. A big screen TV across from my desk. I visual feed from my android body on the screen. I just looked over a bunch of my legal documents, just a final check on getting my affairs in order. I wasn’t really sure what I needed to do now. I did what I always did found some job to busy myself with.
One of the monitors by my old body started beeping. It caused my consciousness to snap back from VR to the android body. Ow, that was maybe a little too sudden. I refocused on the room around me again. The heart monitor seemed to be indicating a problem. I silenced the alarm. No real reason for alarms anymore.
I took my old body’s hand in my new ones, and just watched. Breathing now shallow, occasionally stopping and taking larges gasps of air. I looked at the monitor pulse rising and blood pressure dropping. Back to my body gasping for air more and more. I think this was now the remaining software of the lizard brain running. A few more strong gasps of breath, and then, nothing. I glanced up at the monitors, everything showing a flatline.
I looked down at my old hand in my new ones. The temperature sensors in my new ones weren’t the best, but could start to feel the temperature cooling. All the hardware shutdown, and with it all the software shutdown. The soul gone, but not gone. All the software and my soul was now here running on this new hardware.
I looked in the mirror. I brushed my hair a little. Looked at my face. A still younger face looked back at me. For the final body I had opted for a younger more vibrant me. I adjusted my black suit jacket. Looked at my open collared shirt. Debated for the tenth time if I should wear a tie. No, I think informal is still best for me. I glanced at myself one last time and walked out the men’s room door. I walked into the viewing room.
People were talking and some people clustered around my casket. Others were already seated. There was a large series of reporters with cameras in the back. I guess I couldn’t avoid those, at least we made them bring silent digital cameras that didn’t need lights or flash.
I walked over to my casket, at least one of us was wearing a tie. I reached down and held old me’s dead hand. The sensors in my new fingers were better it was easier to feel the cold, hardware with no software to run it. I set my old hand down. Well at least I looked peaceful enough.
Now that I had made my entrance more people were sitting. People were giving me a wide berth for the moment. I am not sure if I would know what to say to me if the situation were reversed. Attending your own funeral is just odd.
I walked over to the podium, conversations started to die down. Looks like fifty or sixty people had come to see me, not counting the media; my brother, some friends, more casual friends, and then employees and coworkers.
“Good afternoon everyone,” I said. The room quieted down more and everyone looked up at me. I had written an eulogy, the text floating in front of me like a virtual teleprompter. I brushed it away. Feels better to just wing it.
“Some people have considered it a good exercise to write your eulogy while you are still alive. Think through what people would say about you. It is a harder thing to write after you die. I thought I wrote one that made me look good, but let’s be honest. I was a dick.”
Some muffled snickering from some of my former employees toward the back.
I gestured over to them. “Go ahead get it out, I am sure you said it behind my back. I am out so I can’t fire you.
“Where was I? So after a lifetime of experience apparently the best pearl of wisdom I have is don’t be a dick.” More snickering from the peanut gallery. “But it is practical advice I probably should have taken.
“As I got older there were less and less beginnings and more endings, less weddings and more funerals. Everytime I went to a funeral i remembered I should have spent more time with that person. I should take time to cherish and enjoy the friends around me. Then you get back to work and career and forget your observations. I created a good company. Created a bunch of apps for a bunch of companies the bulk of which no one will remember. Did way to much work. Lost a wife for not paying her enough attention.”
I glanced over at a cluster of my closer friends. “To my friends, I am sorry. I know I wasn’t there enough for you. Give me another chance and I will be there.
“So here I am, born again as the Christians might say, reincarnated as the Buddhists and Hindus would say, As an atheist I will say not only is my soul saved, I have backups.
“Ready to start my second life, now. I am grateful for the opportunity. All I can say right now is try and get the first one right. Oh, yeah and don’t be a dick.”
I started to walk away from the podium. The room was silent for a moment and then my well wishers came to their feet and applauded, not thunderous, but polite. I waited for a moment and then stepped over to my brother. Hey,” I said.
My brother came and embraced me in a big bearhug. I hugged him back. “You know old you called me from the hospital.” He said.
“I didn’t know,” I said. “I advised me to do it. Wasn’t sure old me would take the advice.”
“He, you did.” My brother replied. “We just spent a long time talking. You, old you was very tired and obviously in pain, but he took the time. We certainly have talked like that in years.”
“In theory, I now truly have all the time in the world. But I just now want to live like every day is my last. Why don’t we sit and you can tell me all about it.”