A neurograph, also known as a Nakajima-neurograph and informally referred to as a brain scan, entails the scanning of a brain and the copying of that brain's consciousness, personality, memories, into a data format. Its creator is a Japanese man by the name of Nakajima Shin, who performed the first brain scan on an anonymous Japanese woman only known as “Nanami” on March 12, 2014. Dr. David Munshi would later pioneer the technology in 2015.
History
On March 12, 2014, the first-ever brain scan was performed by Nakajima Shin on an anonymous Japanese woman known as “Nanami”. Shin presumably created the technology, considering neurographs are sometimes referred to as ‘Nakajima-neurographs’.
In 2015, David Munshi, a Ph.D. student in computer science, and Dr. Paul Berg, his colleague and graduate student in neuroscience, improved on the Nakajima-neurograph at PACE Laboratories in Toronto. The objective was to use brain scans to develop treatments for brain damage patients by conducting tests on the scan and finding the optimal treatment for each patient.
The use of the concept in medicinal science was not, at least initially, successful due to Simon Jarrett, a volunteer test subject, dying because of the proposed treatment failing. The concept was however adopted by the robotics field, where the brain scans were used as templates for artificial intelligence.
In 2103, the WAU, the warden AI of PATHOS-II, used the pilot seat system to scan the brains of its operators. Following this, usage of pilot seats was disallowed. As the WAU's method was superior to any previous methods, Dr. Catherine Chun reverse-engineered a scan created by the WAU, which she used as the base for her ARK project.
After the Impact Event, the WAU began uploading scans of pilot system operators to machines, creating the so-called Mockingbirds as part of its mission to preserve humanity.
Mental effects
- <span {{[[Template:|]]}}>Simon Jarrett: “So my mind is covering it up; pretending nothing is different.”
- Dr. Catherine Chun: “If it didn't you probably would be incapable to interact with the world at all, and the stress would either kill you or make you go insane.”
- ―Dialogue between Simon Jarrett and Dr. Catherine Chun
There may be limits to how much mental pressure a copied personality can endure; for example, complications have been known to occur if the copied personality is not given the appropriate conditions:
- Brandon Wan's scan will terminate due to excessive stress levels. Dr. Catherine Chun implies that this is to prevent the simulated person from becoming insane.
- Imogen Reed's scan in the Vivarium was unable to behave appropriately with other simulated people. It is unknown if other simulated versions of Reed share this perception; the original Reed disliked the concept of a virtual reality due to her not accepting it as real.
- Catherine's scan over-loaded the cortex chip and short-circuited the terminal she was uploaded in, presumably due to excess stress in an argument.
Catherine believed that the type of physical body the scan is loaded into affects the mental state of the simulated person. A mechanical body, such as BULL (UH3)s and Mockingbirds, cause unreliable behavior. A cyborg body, such as Simon Jarrett's, seems to be the most capable. Though Catherine managed to retain her mental faculties in a Mockingbird body and even when uploaded to an Omnitool, she felt a sensation of floating and suspension in air. If her scan was disabled and later re-enabled, from her perspective no time had passed at all.
Scans implanted into robotic bodies seem to adapt to any means available with which to perceive the world. For instance, an Occu-Torch can provide the perception of sight and sound. As such, many scans believe they still have an organic body and stay in denial even after discovering the truth.
Examples
- Robin Bass' scan in a Mockingbird is confused and unable to determine if she is on the ARK. The possibility that she isn't on the ARK seems to distress her.
- Javid Goya's simulation in a UH3 is completely delusional, not directly acknowledging Simon Jarrett's presence and believing that he is merely remotely controlling the UH3 using a pilot seat.
- Carl Semken's simulation in a Mockingbird refused to acknowledge that he was anything but human, claiming its metallic hands were organic.
- Adam Golaski's simulation in a Mockingbird refused to acknowledge that he was anything but human, believing he could stand when he was actually immobile on the floor and later amazed by the similarity of the original Adam Golaski when it met him.
- Simon Jarrett's simulation did not notice he was a scanned copy until the illusion could no longer be maintained due to him being able to breathe underwater.
Neurographic pseudoscience
“Continuity”
The “continuity” theory regarding the ARK was suggested by Mark Sarang and proposes that after being scanned, during a short moment the original consciousness and the copy (i.e. the scan) are identical, but will soon become two distinct entities due to diverging experiences. The proposed method to counter this is to end the previous, original, existence during or quickly after the scanning procedure, as this will cause the original to cease experiencing the real world but leave behind an identical copy of that will be ready to explore the virtual world of the ARK.
Many crew members misinterpreted this theory and believed that the original consciousness could transfer onto the ARK if the physical body died. This led to many suicides shortly after scans.
Mark Sarang did not reveal his belief before he was brain scanned by Catherine. After the scan, he committed suicide using cyanide salt. John Strohmeier and others attempted to learn why this occurred, forcefully entering Mark Sarang's room in Theta in violation of Carthage Industries' company policy. Sarang's “continuity” belief spread at PATHOS-II and was soon adopted by other like-minded people who committed suicide after their scan. After six suicides, John Strohmeier put the ARK project on hold indefinitely.
The “Coin Toss”
The continuity theory was later erroneously likened to a coin toss. The belief was that the outcome of the scan is chance-based, with there being a 50% chance of the original consciousness transferring to the new body.
In reality, the outcome is fixed. The original consciousness will always stay in the original body, with an independent copy transferring to the new body. For example, a person who realizes that only their copy will enter the ARK will be unsurprised after the scan, while their copy on the ARK will be surprised, as they could not initially determine that they are the copy. Likewise, a person believing that they will be the one transferred to the ARK will often be disappointed after the scan, while their copy on the ARK is unsurprised. The disgruntlement of some who belonged to the latter group tended to unleash their feelings against Catherine.
List of neurographic scans
Below is a list of known neurographic scans.
Legacy scans
A legacy scan is the term given by Catherine for some of the first neurographic scans ever performed. According to her, they're “included with every development kit.”
March 12, 2014
- Nakajima Shin scans an anonymous Japanese woman only known as “Nanami”, making her the first person to have a captured neurograph.
April 28, 2015
- Dr. David Munshi scans Dr. Paul Berg.
- Dr. Berg scans Dr. Munshi.
May 2, 2015
- Dr. Munshi scans Simon Jarrett.
2015 – 2103
Between 2015 and 2103, no known neurographic scans are performed. It is not confirmed if any neurographic scans were performed in this time.
PATHOS-II scans
January 19, 2103
- The WAU scans Carl Semken without his knowledge after modifying the Pilot Seat at Upsilon.
At some point after Carl's incident, Gavin Finley also experiences brain scan side effects after using a pilot seat. Chief Factor Jane Adams orders the Upsilon crew to stop using the pilot system.
June 6, 2103
- Imogen Reed, while investigating the Vivarium, finds her own brain scan in its virtual reality. She was likely scanned by the WAU when using the pilot system.
July 4, 2103
- Dr. Catherine Chun scans herself.
July 5, 2103
- Catherine scans Nicolai Ivashkin.
July 6, 2103
- Catherine scans Jasper Hill.
July 7, 2103
- Catherine scans Sarah Lindwall
July 8, 2103
- Catherine scans Ian Pedersen.
July 10, 2103
- Catherine scans Heather Wolchezk.
July 12, 2103
- Catherine scans Mark Sarang, who then commits suicide immediately after the scan by chewing gum containing cyanide salts folded into it.
July 29, 2103
- Catherine scans Emma Alvaro.
July 31, 2103
- Catherine scans Imogen Reed.
August 1, 2103
- Catherine scans Louise Meuron, who then commits suicide.
August 3, 2103
- Catherine scans Jessica Davis.
August 4, 2103
- Catherine scans Peter Strasky, which is detailed in Item #4520 - "The Coin Flip".
August 5, 2103
- Catherine scans Nathan Grau, who then commits suicide.
August 8, 2103
- Catherine scans Maggie Komorebi.
August 9, 2103
- Catherine scans Dr. Nadine Masters.
August 10, 2103
- Catherine scans Vanessa Hart.
August 11, 2103
- Catherine scans Overseer Keith Fourqurean.
August 12, 2103
- Catherine scans Gavin Finley, who then commits suicide.
August 17, 2103
- Catherine scans Baxter Rogers, which is detailed in Item #4520 - "The Coin Flip".
August 18, 2103
- Catherine scans Chris Josic.
August 19, 2103
- Catherine scans Javid Goya.
August 20, 2103
- Catherine scans Astrid Krier, who then commits suicide.
August 24, 2103
- Catherine scans Alice Koster.
August 25, 2103
- Catherine scans Brandon Wan.
August 26, 2103
- Catherine scans Robin Bass, who then commits suicide by slitting her wrists in her bunk, which is detailed in Item #4520 - "The Coin Flip".
Catherine is reprimanded by Security Operative John Strohmeier, who tells her that “one more death” will end the project.
August 29, 2103
- Catherine scans Dorian Cronstedt.
August 30, 2103
- Catherine scans Martin Fisher.
August 31, 2103
- Catherine scans Vigdis “Jonsy” Jonsdottir.
September 1, 2103
- Catherine scans Matthew Frost.
September 2, 2103 or October 7, 2103
- Catherine scans Guy Konrad, who then commits suicide by using a high-powered microwave emitter (maser) on his head.
Note that both the dates September 2, 2103 and October 7, 2103 are provided in-game as the date Guy Konrad was scanned. While September 2, 2103 may make more sense as it follows the pattern of scans happening daily until Guy Konrad's suicide, the October 7, 2103 date is given twice in the game, once on one of the scan logs in Catherine's office and once on Dr. Nadine Masters' computer, giving it some credence. As such, both dates will be listed here until further notice.
Whatever action Catherine and Peter Strasky may or may not have taken after Konrad's suicide, it is the "one more death" that leads to the ARK project being suspended indefinitely by John Strohmeier
Other PATHOS-II personnel scheduled to be scanned were Joaquin Defreine, John Strohmeier, Richard Thabo, Jane Adams, Aashish Shankar, Marishika Daviau, and Shawn Evans. Unless they used pilot seats while the WAU was stealing brain scans, they were not scanned.
December 25, 2103
- Catherine scans Omicron personnel Claudia Eames, Richard Holland, Lisa Cameron, Raleigh Herber, Alan Waldeck, Eric Darby, Olavi Sorvari, Jacob Halperin, Julia Dahl, Paula Lansky, and Andrea Suther.
As Adam Golaski had relocated long before the ARK team arrived, if he was scanned it had to have been done at Theta or by the WAU at some point.
- Catherine scans surviving Tau personnel Vic Auclair, Dr. Johan Ross, Steve Glasser, Neil Tsiolkovsky, and Antjie Coetzee.
May 11, 2104
- Catherine scans Simon Jarrett at Omicron in order to put his neurograph into a Haimatsu Power Suit.
- Later the same day at Phi, Catherine scans Simon Jarrett and herself to be uploaded to the ARK before it's launched.
Behind the Scenes
- Though only similar in a figurative sense, the brain scan procedure has been likened to taking a picture. Simon Jarrett humorously jokes, on two occasions, that First Nations peoples once believed that cameras would steal their souls. Dr. Catherine Chun, when scanning Simon to copy and upload him in a new body, states that they would be correct in this case.
- Adam Golaski ceased to dream after his brain scan and suspected that the brain scanning procedure does something to the scanned brain, but what exactly is never revealed. Imogen Reed did not cease to dream, but her scanning procedure was interrupted by her having a seizure.