POSTS

Cortexpod – Do not steal information

By hisham

Blurb

Derivitive? Blatantly. Contrived? For sure. Fun? I think so. Have a read if you will. I began writing this while surrounded by a cacophony of text message notifications and cellphone chatter…

“Books?” the young man of ten said, looking at his uncle. “Why would anyone use them when you can use a cortexbox?”

“You don’t use books, Kamal. You read them,” Uncle Sharif said.

“Read them? You mean like word after word, like in the old days?”

“Old days? Yes, like in the old days. You’d read word after word, sentence after sentence, image after image.”

“Sounds boring. I’d rather use a cortexbox. At least that way I get the information sent straight to my head.”

“It’s different. What makes reading special is that you get to use your mind’s eye instead of some computer code or some guy in Tokyo interpreting information for you. You use your own mental faculties to…”

“You sound like a Luddite!” Kamal said, giggling. “Mom, uncle sounds like a Luddite!”

Such was the way in 2064. Reading was, in a sense, a vintage pastime. Everything was cortexized. You’d be shopping and at the same time you’ll have a sportscast beamed directly to your short term memory via a cortexbox; or if you’re into trendy gadgets, a shiny new cortexpod. Whether you wanted to recall the information years later, it was up to you to transfer it to long term memory. Push button style of course, for people didn’t have to worry about frowning and squeezing their foreheads against wooden desks to remember things.

It was all so easy thanks to the work of the Cortical Electronics Association. Sort of like the Bluetooth Special Interest Group back in the early part of the century, except the CEA; led by a Ukranian neurophysicist, was setting the pace for a new world of cerebral connectivity.

A world which connected to you; rather than you connecting to it. Similar to early internet desktop gadgets bringing nuggets of information to your desktop. Only this time the nuggets where chucked right into your head.

Technology evangelists all over embraced the new interyou, were people constantly connected and interacted with one another on a level far more advanced than typing a mere email. The whole world; at least the developed countries and those well to do in other places, were in constant sync. Always aware of the qualms, the trials and tribulations of everyone on their buddy lists… or were they?

White, clinical, clean, sharp, edgy, and bright. Words that described NeuroApple’s retail outlets. Every shop was minimalist in design. In the middle, a cortexpod or two were placed atop a transparent stand.

“Look at this place, such a waste of space. Go ask the lady for one,” uncle told Kamal.

It was Kamal’s tenth birthday, and as promised, he would be getting a new cortexpod.

“The new ones were so much better than last year’s. They’re smaller, don’t heat up as much and you can clip on OLED-screen covers,” he said more times than uncle cared to remember.

“Hello young man, let me see… yes, ok,” the shoplady said as Kamal messaged her directly using his old cortexpod. Finally! No talking, he thought.

Uncle refused to use a cortexpod. Not believing in having instant information or conversations sent to your neurons, he was one for the old style. Yes, I’m like a Luddite Tribe member. Dead trees, pixels and yapping mouths are my information sources he’d say, in reference to the hooligan band of teachers that attempted to burn down AppleNeuro’s NeuroApple’s headquarters fifteen years ago.

“Here you go young man. Be sure to neuroload the instructions first, usage is a bit different than your old model,” the lady said.

Kamal smiled as he held the shiny, crisp black box of his new gadget. It had the obligatory warning label: