I’ve spent the last two weeks listening to an anime soundtrack station on Pandora. So I get a lot of Cowboy Bebop, FMA, and Ghost in the Shell. The third one on that list keeps making me stop to listen because I don’t always remember how good the soundtrack was there. This got me thinking about a few questions in regards to the Ghost in the Shell concept. Not that one. These:
- If you could put your mind into a cyborg body, would you do it and why?
- Do you think it’s possible for there to be a ‘ghost’ in a machine?
- How do you think people would react if cyborgs came into existence?
And staying on topic:
If you like the idea of cyborgs/robots and how they fit into the human world then click on the cover below.
Cover art by Sean Harrington
The story stars Lisa Burton who can be found hosting a character interviewing radio show at Entertaining Stories. Click on her her picture below to visit and say hi. If you’re an author then look into being a guest on her show.
Legends of Windemere 
1 – I wouldn’t. Mainly because of cowardice. I reckon it’s a lot safer to proceed with life and all that naturally.
2 – I do. I’m sure that made things can sometimes have some sort of sentience, and that there are actual spooks around – just not around me thanks. 😀
3 – That’s a good one. We’ll probably coo and humanise them till they attack us and squish our eyeballs.
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1- Guess it depends on the situation too. If you’re already dying then the mind swap would be an extension. Could be seen as a way to immortality too.
2- Let’s just hope machines don’t evolve into trolls. It would be like Terminator only they’re insulting our mothers and making death threats to our dogs instead of trying to kill us.
3- Unless we do it first out of an attack of paranoia. Then they’ll counterattack and the whole war will set off. Honestly, I can kind of see humans initiating the whole mess more than machines.
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If you could put your mind into a cyborg body, would you do it and why? I think it would be fun to do some neat tricks (You know, knock down a building or two.)
Do you think it’s possible for there to be a ‘ghost’ in a machine? Yeah, that would be a concern. I could see old Marley the previous life form wandering around in the circuits moaning.
How do you think people would react if cyborgs came into existence? I would try to stay indoor or move to a place where they were not present.
Nice promo.
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1- Good point. Though what if the new body isn’t any stronger than a peak human? It would be more about durability and resistant to age/disease/etc.
2- That does explain why my laptop turns on and sounds like chains rattling.
3- Terminator and The Matrix really made us think cyborgs would try to kill us.
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We shouldn’t really be afraid.
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Thanks for the promotion. I really appreciate it. Okay #1.) What? And give up all of this awesomeness? 2.) I think it’s possible. They talked about gremlins in WWII. 3.) I think people would freak the hell out and lobby for special bathrooms. I’m going to work on a couple of cyborg stories soon, and may explore prejudice in one of them.
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1- But it could result in immortal awesomeness. 🙂
2- Good point. Thought those were fairies or demons, but it could be ghost-like. We aren’t counting the movie ones, right?
3- I could see that bathroom fight going on even after the cyborgs point out that they don’t need them. Is that going to be a new short story collection?
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1.) Okay, but I’m keeping the beard.
2.) Maybe not the Twilight Zone version, but I’m keeping the Bugs Bunny version.
3.) I’ll probably start a baseball one this week called The Enhanced League. I hope to put these out in another book.
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1- There really should be more cyborgs with beards. Were there any in Blade Runner?
2- I’m remembering the Simpsons spoofing that Twilight Zone episode. Mostly when the bus driver looks out the window to see someone driving a Gremlin instead of the creature.
3- That actually reminds me of an old Nintendo Game called Base Wars. It was robots instead of cyborgs though and had no plot whatsoever.
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3. ) I promise a plot, and some shock.
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A free stun gun with every purchase? I’m in. 😀
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Reblogged this on Entertaining Stories and commented:
Charles is asking you about cyborgs today. He also gives a nice nod to my favorite robot girl. Stop by and weigh in on the questions.
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Thanks for the reblog.
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Thanks for the promo.
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If you could put your mind into a cyborg body, would you do it and why? – Yes! For the experience if nothing else. Would I then be immortal? The downside is never being human again if the mind cannot go back to the host.
Do you think it’s possible for there to be a ‘ghost’ in a machine? – Yes, but a very long way off. Like half a century + we cant even transplant a head yet.
How do you think people would react if cyborgs came into existence? – Terribly. Peoples default seems to be hate that which is not like you, I doubt cyborgs would find life to be any easier.
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1- That is the big question. I don’t see the human body lasting without the brain unless cryogenics is developed alongside cybernetics. Immortality seems right, but I would think destruction is still possible.
2- Hopefully it isn’t created from all the spyware and viruses out there.
3- I have to agree. There are people out there who are terrified of microwaves, so a cyborg would give them a coronary.
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I’ve seen ghost in the shell a few times and really liked it, but I saw random episodes in random order, so I’m pretty clueless about any overall plot.
Too tired to think about cyborg stuff tonight…
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Yeah. It’s definitely a series that you have to see in order to get the overall story. First time I saw it on TV, I missed an episode or two in the middle. Happened to be plot central ones, so I needed a friend to explain things.
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1. Probably only if I was dying, unless we’re talking about technology that can be practically guaranteed to last longer than a human lifespan.
2. To exactly the same degree one can be in a biological body.
3. I think it will happen (has already started happening, in fact) in a way gradual enough that there’s no sudden dramatic change to react to…and the biggest wave of anti-cyborg rhetoric will come decades after cyborgs are reasonably established, shortly after the forces of oppression lose a major battle against some other group.
(The anti-cyborg movement will fizzle out faster than most of these things, though, because some absolutists will alienate half their base by using a definition of “pure human” that excludes people with pacemakers.)
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1- I always assume a cyborg can live longer than a human as long as maintenance is done. The body isn’t flesh and blood, so diseases and old age wouldn’t factor in. Switching to a new body would probably help in some situations.
2- Makes sense.
3- Don’t forget people with prosthetic limbs, which would probably be robotic in nature. My only worry with that movement would be the true zealots who try to goad the cyborgs into fights. One wrong move and they’ll feel justified even if they were the aggressors.
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The whole ghost in machines concept is interesting. There is a TV series called Humans which dealt with this.
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/humans
I for one would hate to be trapped inside a machine.
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Interesting music video. Have to admit that I can’t put the sound on until more people in the house wake up. I did catch the first season of Humans, which was interesting. Never found out if the series continued though. There was another called ‘Almost Human’ that lasted a season. Cop procedural where one of the partners was an android who was ‘different’. Shame that one didn’t last long.
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yes there is to be another season of Humans, and I think Almost Human was on here too I shall look it up. The good ones often slip through the net. The lyrics to the video a very clever 😃
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Thanks. Finally got to listen to it and the song reminds me of the ending for an anime. Not a specific one, but something about it makes me think of that.
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I can see what you mean😃
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> 1) If you could put your mind into a cyborg body, would you do it and why?
I would be unlikely to opt for cyborgism (?) simply for its own sake. I kind of like flesh and blood, even if I do have arthritis and my fingers ache sometimes. Of course, if I developed some condition that brought extreme pain with it, I’d be far more likely to consider some sort of limited replacement parts. (Note, an android body with sufficient maintenance apparatus would be a different issue that a cyborg body with most of the same human limitations.)
> 2) Do you think it’s possible for there to be a ‘ghost’ in a machine?
If machines ever develop their own intelligence, I don’t think it will be a ghost or soul in the way we think of it. It will be it’s own thing.
> 3) How do you think people would react if cyborgs came into existence?
If presented strictly as a life-saving or life-enhancing measure — ie: better replacement limbs for wounded veterans — the reception would probably be positive. And some people would rush to do it just because it’s the newest, shiniest thing. However, there are those who would freak out and run around saying this is the start of super soldiers and it’s a plot by the Illuminati to take over the world. They would hastily pass laws forbidding creation of cyborgs.
If the technology is first presented as a way to enhance police and/or soldiers, I’d think you would have a lot more resistance to its introduction and even more hastily passed laws. Most likely it would still happen, because every government (and/or Illuminatus) would want to have their own latest, greatest super soldiers.
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1- That does make a lot of sense. To do it simply for the sake of doing it sounds short-sighted. You would miss out on some human abilities and events if you just jump into it. I’d assume replace parts would come before full body cybernetics. The real question would be how to control those while retaining most of your flesh and blood body.
2- I’m not sure where I fall on this one. There are so many definitions of what a soul is that I could see a ‘ghost’ being nothing more than a new one. Might depend on how it comes into existence.
3- Excellent point about the first impression. Saving life is a benevolent act while war enhancement is the opposite. I can see greed playing a part in both sides though. For the former, it would be insurance companies. Hard enough getting cancer treatment these days, so a robotic arm would be even tougher.
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