The Ultimate Download The Ultimate Download by Andrew Hartman start 1A Fred sat behind his desk quietly thinking to himself. He could not believe that 12 years had passed since he first came to the company in 2006. The Japanese communications company had always treated him well and the Red Tacton project had been his baby. Twelve years ago he figured out how to use the human body as a broadband personal data network. People could easily use their own bodies to transfer data from a digital camera to a PC or from an MP3 player to a cordless headset. Since that time, it has been Fred's job to oversee the refinement of this technology. Fred thought to himself that if the company knew about his side project they might be disappointed. Fred had been developing the encephalomodem (an interface with the brain which would allow direct input of data from any source in to a person's memory bank. Getting the data to transfer over the human body was always easy. Finding a way to incorporate the data into the human mind had always been an obstacle. Success had finally been achieved the previous evening when he was able to download the instructions on how to build a birdhouse into the brain of a chimpanzee named Bobo. The chimpanzee quickly completed a birdhouse which was as good as any made by a human. The data had been transferred by the encephalomodem and the chimp was able to use the data effectively. CHOOSE FROM OPTION 2A OR 2B OPTION 2A Fred had been successful, but now he had to determine his next steps. Should he try the technology on a human test subject? Should he try more animal testing? Should he tell the executives at his company? He wondered what his boss Stanley would think if he knew. All these questions were going through his mind when he unlocked the door to his lab and went in. The next day Fred started the process of upgrading his Mac G6 5,000 computer stored all the data from his encephalomodem research. In addition he uploaded much of the data he would use in his next transfer experiments. He had a file which actually contained every piece of information currently stored at the Library Of Congress. The file was immense and he set out labeling the backup discs. Fred finished the afternoon’s work and headed home excited about the possibilities ahead. A good night’s sleep would clear his head and help him make a decision. Fred was sure that his invention would be one of the greatest since the light bulb or the internet. CHOOSE FROM OPTION 3A OR 3B OPTION 2B Fred's train of thought was interrupted when his boss Stanley came into his office to discuss the most recent sales figures. Stanley said, "Boy Fred, you seem to be excited about something" Fred, realizing his feelings must show, came up with an excuse. "I'm just excited about the sales figures It has been a good year", he responded. "Glad to see you're so happy. See you at lunch." With that Stanley left and Fred got back to the real matter at hand. He had been successful, but now he had to determine his next steps. Should he try the technology on a human test subject? Should he try more animal testing? Should he tell the executives at his company? All these questions were going through his mind when he unlocked the door to his lab and went in. Fred was surprised to see Jingles, Bobo’s cage mate, trying to build a bird house. “She must be imitating Bobo, very interesting,” Fred thought to himself. What he did not notice was that Bobo seemed to be communicating with Jingles more than he usual. Fred was in the process of upgrading his Mac G6 5,000 computer which he was using to store all the data from his encephalomodem research. In addition he uploaded much of the data he would use in his next transfer experiments. He had a file which actually contained every piece of information currently stored at the Library Of Congress. The file was immense and he set out labeling the backup discs. As he was in the process of labeling he was interrupted by the sound of Bobo clapping. He looked up and to his amazement Jingles had completed the bird house. Could it be possible that Bobo had taught Jingles what to do Fred thought. Certainly it was possible, and Fred thought that he would have to investigate further. But first he must finish up his labeling project. He would tend to Jingles and Bobo another time. Fred finished the afternoon’s work and headed home excited about the possibilities ahead. A good night’s sleep would clear his head and help him make a decision. After all, whatever he decided was certainly going to effect the company and the future of technology in general. Fred was sure that his invention would be one of the greatest since the light bulb or the internet. CHOOSE FROM OPTION 3C OR 3D OPTION 3A Fred returned to his office the next morning well rested and ready to go. He greeted Bobo and his cell mate Jingles with a cheerful hello. The chimps seemed to be happy and doing well. He woke up in the morning with a renewed enthusiasm for his project. The animal testing had gone well with no adverse events, and Fred could see no reason for not going ahead with testing the encephalomodem on a human subject. Fred knew just who the subject should be. He had thought about various options and determined that there would be no better subject then himself. By not involving anyone else he would be able to claim all the glory for himself. He imagined himself at the Nobel Prize awards ceremony, and hearing his name being mentioned in the same breath as Einstein and Edison. His invention could do away with school altogether. Imagine the time and money that would be saved. Once each year you could take your child in and just download the 4th grade curriculum right in to his Head, and then the following year the 5th etc.There would be no more illiteracy, and maybe even an end to poverty as we know it. Fred had a meeting with Stanley set for 3:00pm so he decided that he better get started. He got himself all hooked up to the encephelomodem. He turned to Bobo and joked, “I’m going to learn how to build a birdhouse.” Actually, Fred had decided that there was no point in starting small. Science had already shown that people only use a small percentage of their total brain capacity so Fred figured , why not use more. He inserted the disc containing all the information on file at The Library of Congress and fired up the encephalomodem. At first a warm feeling came over him, then like a bullet shot from a gun and endless stream of thoughts and images washed through his mind. Actually it was more like a raging river pounding the shores of his cerebellum. A flood of info, the waters rising higher and higher, the currents getting stronger and stronger. Works by Shakespeare, Aristotle, Tolstoy and Hemmingway, Magellan’s journal, the complete U.S. tax code, The Declaration of Independence, every issue of National Geographic and The New York Times. He recalled in his mind. He could see it all but not really, It was kind of like looking straight down at the white lines of a highway while going 100 mph., you can see the lines, but it is impossible to focus on just one. Fred started to sweat, and he felt his heart rate increase. Only a few minutes of actual time had elapsed and yet he felt like his experience was taking hours. More and more the images, words and pictures flooded his brain and with each passing second he became more and more aware that something awful was happening to his body. Somewhere in the back of his brain he even thought he heard Bobo and Jingles screaming……..The complete record of The Manhattan Experiment, The Treaty of Versailles, the info would not stop. He could no longer form any thoughts of his own yet on some level he was all to keenly aware that blood was beginning to stream from his pores, his eyes rolling back in his head, and still he heard the chimps screaming. Suddenly there was nothing. At three in the afternoon Stanley knocked on the door of Fred’s lab. When he did not get an answer he went in. On the floor lay one of the greatest scientists of all time, looking like he had been pushed through a meat grinder. Three months later , after many questions, and much grieving, Fred’s colleagues have finally resumed trying to develop the encephalomodem. Interestingly enough none of them seem to be in a hurry to resume human testing. THE END OPTION 3B Fred arrived at his office the next morning with a great feeling of excitement. He was going to move forward with his experiment. He unlocked the door to his lab and said a cheerful hello to Bobo and his cell mate Jingles. He had decided that he was going to include the rest of the executives in on his discovery. He already had a meeting scheduled for 3:00p.m. with Stanley so he could tell him then. In the meantime he wanted to get everything in order first. He also wanted to test things out just a little more. Bobo and Jingles watched Fred as he hurried around the office getting everything set for the big meeting. This was going to be very big. Fred even considered that he might become Time magazine’s “Man of The Year.” One thing he knew for sure, was that human testing was going to be needed. He wanted to have at least some experience with humans under his belt before he met with Stanley. He set up the computer and the encephalomodem. He was going to test it on himself. There was a new article in the latest issue of “Scientific American” which he had been wanting to read. He had a digital copy and decided he would just download the article into his brain and save himself some time. He placed the disc with the article in the drive and hooked himself to the encephalo modem. He pressed the button to initialize the process. Just as he did, he glanced at the encephalomodem and realized he had hooked it up in reverse. It was too late. At that moment every bit of knowledge that Fred had acquired in the 48 years he had been on the planet was suddenly sucked from his brain. He fell to the floor, instinctively crying like a baby. Bobo and Jingles did not know what to think. They watched Fred for hours until Stanley arrived at 3:00. Fred remains in an institution, slowly trying to relearn the basics of being alive. Meanwhile Stanley and his associates are desperately sifting through Fred’s journals and computer files trying to ascertain what happened. With any luck, they won’t be successful. Maybe the world just isn’t ready for the encephalomodem yet. THE END OPTION 3C The next morning he entered his lab and greeted Bobo and Jingles with a cheerful hello. The chimps seemed to be in good spirits. He decided that morning that more animal testing would be the appropriate next step. He decided to download information into Jingles this time. He downloaded the information on how to operate the newest Ipod, and Within five minutes of the data transfer, music filled the lab while Jingles danced in his cage. It had been another success. Fred quickly documented the results in his journal and thought about what to do next. Suddenly, there were the sounds of two different songs bellowing throughout the lab. Fred spun around in his chair, and saw Bobo with an Ipod vigorously changing from song to song. This could not be the result of merely imitating Jingles. He realized that the chimps must have the ability to use their own language to teach each other the knowledge they had acquired. This was an unexpected but certainly a logical outcome. Why wouldn’t one animal try and teach another of its species what it knows? Certainly this is the behavior we see in humans, Fred thought. Still it was a little surprising. He decided that he would try something a little more complex next. Fred let Bobo and Jingles out of their cage and led them to a large table he had set up in the center of the lab. Next he hooked up the the encephalomodems to both chimps, and downloaded the information on how to play checkers to each chimp. As he expected, a few minutes later, the chips were challenging each other in a heated checkers match. Fred could hardly contain his excitement. He knew he had to backup all of this newest information he had compiled. He inserted the master disc, which contained all the information concerning the encephalomodem experiment, into his hard drive. As soon as he did, his beeper went off. “Darn it! What does that Stanley need now?” he said to himself. He hurried out of the lab and upstairs to Stanley’s office. Fred sat at Stan’s desk not really listening to a word Stan was saying. Fred just nodded at the appropriate times until at last his meeting was over. Thankful that he was done he, bid Stan goodbye and hurried back to his lab. Fred entered the lab and was shocked. Bobo and Jingles were not there. The cables from the master computer hang off the edge of the table. One encephalomodem still attached at one end, and the other missing. He rushed to the hard drive only to find the master disc detailing every aspect of his research was missing and the disc form the Library of Congress was in the hard drive instead. “ No, no, no. It can’t be possible” Fred screamed. Quickly he analyzed the recent usage of the computer. The task manager indicated that the entire contents of the research disc had been downloaded through the encephalomodem. The chimps had the all the knowledge. “They must have accidentally started the download. Then, with the knowledge of how the technology worked, they must have downloaded the information from the library of congress. What have I done?” Fred exclaimed. Fred fell to the floor and started to shake. He realized that he may have created two super apes: One male and one female. Not only did they have the knowledge, but they also had the equipment. Before long there would be an entire race of super apes. Suddenly Fred remembered a movie from his childhood. What was it called? … Planet of the Apes he remembered… His blood ran cold… THE END OPTION 3D The next morning he entered his lab and greeted Bobo and Jingles with a cheerful hello. The chimps seemed to be in good spirits. He decided that morning that more animal testing would be the appropriate next step. He decided to download information in to Jingles this time. He downloaded the information on how to operate the newest Ipod, and Within five minutes of the data transfer, music filled the lab while Jingles danced in his cage. It had been another success. Fred quickly documented the results in his journal and thought about what to do next. Suddenly, there were the sounds of two different songs bellowing throughout the lab. Fred spun around in his chair, and saw Bobo with an Ipod vigorously changing from song to song. This could not be the result of merely imitating Jingles. He realized that the chimps must have the ability to use their own language to teach each other the knowledge they had acquired. This was an unexpected but certainly a logical outcome. Why wouldn’t one animal try and teach another of its species what it knows? Certainly this is the behavior we see in humans, Fred thought. Still it was a little surprising. He decided that he would try something a little more complex next. Fred let Bobo and Jingles out of their cage and led them to a large table he had set up in the center of the lab. Next he hooked up the the encephalomodems to both chimps, and downloaded the information on how to play checkers to each chimp. As he expected, a few minutes later, the chips were challenging each other in a heated checkers match. THE END
Copyright © 2006 Felix Hartman |