somewhere, a research outfit
claimed they were only a few years off from finding the solution.
The AI continued, “Normally, the human body readily
accepts the rejuvenation treatments without major complications. Of course,
over time the treatments become less effective. Natural aging will eventually
happen but not before tripling, sometimes quadrupling a human’s normal life
span. However, in the rare case of rejuvenation rejection, the body reacts
negatively to the treatment at some stage, and the human’s life is prematurely
cut short of its potential. As part of the body’s immune systems, the T-cells
begin …”
Owens interjected. “You can spare me the explanation.
I’m aware of rejuvenation rejection, at least in general terms, who isn’t these
days? Don’t bother with the medical detail. I sure as hell wouldn’t understand
any of it anyway.”
The AI agreed to forgo the technical aspects of the
medical condition. “Being that it was a selective rejection, it affected only a
portion of his brain. His body and other major organs continued to thrive under
the standard rejuvenation regimen. Unfortunately, in his case, his gross motor
functions began to degrade. After the diagnosis was confirmed, it was only a
matter of a few weeks before he was confined to a hover-chair. It was fortunate
that his higher brain functions had still not been affected, or at least so he
thought.”
“At first Hec was bitter. He figured he was being
cheated out of at least 85 years of extended life. He had long dreamed of
traveling extensively in his retirement and had planned accordingly. He wasn’t
a native, but had spent almost his whole adult life working on Genhome. He was
a little over a hundred and fifty centimeters tall and looked forward to
finding someone he could talk to eye-to-eye instead of the top of their head.
However, based on the doctor’s sole recommendation, the only trip he could look
forward to was the one to the corpsicle emporium. There he would sign-up for a
nice cozy freezer-stasis unit and suspend all conscious existence until a cure
could be found sometime in the indeterminate future.”
“Well, it sure beats the alternative,” Owens
interjected.
“Hell yes, it does. Anyway, time went on and his
condition gradually worsened. As his ability to control his body diminished,
Hec began to search for ways he could still, somehow fulfill his goal of
distant travel. Near the end, he figured out a way in which, if he couldn’t
personally roam the star-lanes, a reasonable facsimile might be created so that
at least a part of him could satisfy his dream of travel.”
Owens shook his head, “It sounds like your alter ego
was beginning to become a little unhinged. What was he thinking? If he got
caught…”
“I can’t disagree,” responded the AI. “Near the end,
Hec wasn’t totally rational. His obsession with travel grew proportionately
with the deterioration of his ability to control his body. He had no family to
speak of. The whole focus of his last ninety-five years was to put sufficient
money aside to allow him to travel anywhere in the civilized systems. He had
just about saved enough to travel in relative luxury for the remainder of his
life after retirement. He was only a few years away from retirement when the
rejuvenation rejection hit.”
“As his remaining time shrank, Hec had become more
desperate, and he began to research possible options. Now looking back, it’s
doubtful that he could have passed a standard sanity test. He became more and
more frantic as he failed to find a workable solution.”
“I think that I’m beginning to see where this might be
leading,” Owens said.
The AI continued, “Well, in the end Hec found what he
saw as the solution. He decided to create a mental template of himself in the
form of an AI personality matrix. Hec reasoned that the AI’s travel experiences
could eventually be transferred back into his memory once he was thawed
claimed they were only a few years off from finding the solution.
The AI continued, “Normally, the human body readily
accepts the rejuvenation treatments without major complications. Of course,
over time the treatments become less effective. Natural aging will eventually
happen but not before tripling, sometimes quadrupling a human’s normal life
span. However, in the rare case of rejuvenation rejection, the body reacts
negatively to the treatment at some stage, and the human’s life is prematurely
cut short of its potential. As part of the body’s immune systems, the T-cells
begin …”
Owens interjected. “You can spare me the explanation.
I’m aware of rejuvenation rejection, at least in general terms, who isn’t these
days? Don’t bother with the medical detail. I sure as hell wouldn’t understand
any of it anyway.”
The AI agreed to forgo the technical aspects of the
medical condition. “Being that it was a selective rejection, it affected only a
portion of his brain. His body and other major organs continued to thrive under
the standard rejuvenation regimen. Unfortunately, in his case, his gross motor
functions began to degrade. After the diagnosis was confirmed, it was only a
matter of a few weeks before he was confined to a hover-chair. It was fortunate
that his higher brain functions had still not been affected, or at least so he
thought.”
“At first Hec was bitter. He figured he was being
cheated out of at least 85 years of extended life. He had long dreamed of
traveling extensively in his retirement and had planned accordingly. He wasn’t
a native, but had spent almost his whole adult life working on Genhome. He was
a little over a hundred and fifty centimeters tall and looked forward to
finding someone he could talk to eye-to-eye instead of the top of their head.
However, based on the doctor’s sole recommendation, the only trip he could look
forward to was the one to the corpsicle emporium. There he would sign-up for a
nice cozy freezer-stasis unit and suspend all conscious existence until a cure
could be found sometime in the indeterminate future.”
“Well, it sure beats the alternative,” Owens
interjected.
“Hell yes, it does. Anyway, time went on and his
condition gradually worsened. As his ability to control his body diminished,
Hec began to search for ways he could still, somehow fulfill his goal of
distant travel. Near the end, he figured out a way in which, if he couldn’t
personally roam the star-lanes, a reasonable facsimile might be created so that
at least a part of him could satisfy his dream of travel.”
Owens shook his head, “It sounds like your alter ego
was beginning to become a little unhinged. What was he thinking? If he got
caught…”
“I can’t disagree,” responded the AI. “Near the end,
Hec wasn’t totally rational. His obsession with travel grew proportionately
with the deterioration of his ability to control his body. He had no family to
speak of. The whole focus of his last ninety-five years was to put sufficient
money aside to allow him to travel anywhere in the civilized systems. He had
just about saved enough to travel in relative luxury for the remainder of his
life after retirement. He was only a few years away from retirement when the
rejuvenation rejection hit.”
“As his remaining time shrank, Hec had become more
desperate, and he began to research possible options. Now looking back, it’s
doubtful that he could have passed a standard sanity test. He became more and
more frantic as he failed to find a workable solution.”
“I think that I’m beginning to see where this might be
leading,” Owens said.
The AI continued, “Well, in the end Hec found what he
saw as the solution. He decided to create a mental template of himself in the
form of an AI personality matrix. Hec reasoned that the AI’s travel experiences
could eventually be transferred back into his memory once he was thawed
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