occur in the forebrain, the area of the brain just behind your forehead. The rest of your brain—that is, the rest of the cortex, the limbic system, and the brain stem—supply automatic commands to the body or process data from the senses. In the normal course of things, that data is channeled to the forebrain for consideration. The sensory saturation threshold is that point where the brain is inundated with so much sensory information that there is insufficient processing power to channel information to the forebrain.
“Just as panic overloads the brain with neurotransmitters that put the brain in the here-and-now, capable of immediate actions but incapable of contemplation, an overload of sensory information requires so much processing that the brain is flooded with different neurotransmitters that put it in essentially the same state but without the urgency of panic.”
Farley said, “The mix of recorded animal experiences, graphical interpolation, and excitation of the other senses are our technical challenges. Keep in mind, a lot of what we’re doing is fooling the senses. Most of the audio and video are authentic recordings. Tactile sensations are a whole different matter.”
Still standing, Chopper went on. “The emulation of abrupt acceleration, increasing speeding, slowing down, and changing direction is our first major technical challenge. Second, the biometric feedback system must respond in milliseconds to user reaction and intent. And sonar-based visualization is third.”
Chopper took a breath and waited half a beat. Not long enough to allow a question, but long enough to give the impression that he’d accept one. “The data processing centers for each sense are concentrated in specific regions of the brain, but those processing centers overlap. For example, we’ll impart the feeling of acceleration by manipulating the user’s sense of balance, exciting the region of the inner ear called the labyrinth with pressure variations and vibrations. We’ll also embed images in the video that cause the sense of sight to produce the sensation of acceleration.” Chopper paused again.
Farley looked around the table and said, “Are you following?”
Bupin raised a finger. Then he wagged his head to the side. A gray cowlick popped straight up at the end of his otherwise neat part. A second passed. His head rotated vertical again and he asked, “The embedded images: You mean subtle, subliminal elements to cause optical illusion of falling?”
“Correct,” Chopper said.
“Let me ask you, please: This is called synesthesia?”
Chopper did a double take. “Yeah,” he said. His customary squint opened up for an instant. Farley started to relax. Bupin had just earned a penny of respect—a currency Chopper rarely spent.
Chopper turned to the other partners and said, “Synesthesia is a neurological condition where one sense evokes the perception of another, essentially cross talk between the brain’s processing centers. An abrupt noise can bring an image of fireworks; certain words are associated with tastes or colors. In extreme cases sounds can generate hallucinations. The effect can be triggered by hallucinogens like LSD.”
The bald VC said, “I didn’t see LSD sales in the business plan.” He laughed louder than the crack warranted. McKay joined in the laughter. “Didn’t the Pink Floyd guy Syd Barrett have synesthesia?”
Ringo added, “Nikolai Tesla had it.”
“Synesthesia effects are too unpredictable,” Chopper said. “I’ve researched selective sensory deception, where images or sounds generate the perception of a specific taste or the feeling of acceleration, like leaning into a turn or free fall, but at least for now, that technology is out of our scope.
“For scent, taste, and to control temperature as well as to simulate wind, we’ll rapidly inject and remove air through the helmet and jumpsuit—these are key elements for the Soaring Eagle and Polar Bear apps. In addition
“Just as panic overloads the brain with neurotransmitters that put the brain in the here-and-now, capable of immediate actions but incapable of contemplation, an overload of sensory information requires so much processing that the brain is flooded with different neurotransmitters that put it in essentially the same state but without the urgency of panic.”
Farley said, “The mix of recorded animal experiences, graphical interpolation, and excitation of the other senses are our technical challenges. Keep in mind, a lot of what we’re doing is fooling the senses. Most of the audio and video are authentic recordings. Tactile sensations are a whole different matter.”
Still standing, Chopper went on. “The emulation of abrupt acceleration, increasing speeding, slowing down, and changing direction is our first major technical challenge. Second, the biometric feedback system must respond in milliseconds to user reaction and intent. And sonar-based visualization is third.”
Chopper took a breath and waited half a beat. Not long enough to allow a question, but long enough to give the impression that he’d accept one. “The data processing centers for each sense are concentrated in specific regions of the brain, but those processing centers overlap. For example, we’ll impart the feeling of acceleration by manipulating the user’s sense of balance, exciting the region of the inner ear called the labyrinth with pressure variations and vibrations. We’ll also embed images in the video that cause the sense of sight to produce the sensation of acceleration.” Chopper paused again.
Farley looked around the table and said, “Are you following?”
Bupin raised a finger. Then he wagged his head to the side. A gray cowlick popped straight up at the end of his otherwise neat part. A second passed. His head rotated vertical again and he asked, “The embedded images: You mean subtle, subliminal elements to cause optical illusion of falling?”
“Correct,” Chopper said.
“Let me ask you, please: This is called synesthesia?”
Chopper did a double take. “Yeah,” he said. His customary squint opened up for an instant. Farley started to relax. Bupin had just earned a penny of respect—a currency Chopper rarely spent.
Chopper turned to the other partners and said, “Synesthesia is a neurological condition where one sense evokes the perception of another, essentially cross talk between the brain’s processing centers. An abrupt noise can bring an image of fireworks; certain words are associated with tastes or colors. In extreme cases sounds can generate hallucinations. The effect can be triggered by hallucinogens like LSD.”
The bald VC said, “I didn’t see LSD sales in the business plan.” He laughed louder than the crack warranted. McKay joined in the laughter. “Didn’t the Pink Floyd guy Syd Barrett have synesthesia?”
Ringo added, “Nikolai Tesla had it.”
“Synesthesia effects are too unpredictable,” Chopper said. “I’ve researched selective sensory deception, where images or sounds generate the perception of a specific taste or the feeling of acceleration, like leaning into a turn or free fall, but at least for now, that technology is out of our scope.
“For scent, taste, and to control temperature as well as to simulate wind, we’ll rapidly inject and remove air through the helmet and jumpsuit—these are key elements for the Soaring Eagle and Polar Bear apps. In addition
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