Manna: Two Visions of Humanity's Future by Marshall Brain

into the auditory nerves coming from
the ears, along with taste and smell nerves from the tongue and nose.
We can pump artificial sensory perceptions right into these main
sensory nerve bundles as they enter the brain." Linda explained.
    "Holy
shit. What about touch?" I asked.
    "We
handle touch as well. The way we do that is to hook right into the
spinal cord. That lets us pick up all touch sensations, and also gain
control of all the muscles as well." Linda said.
    "What?"
    "I
know it sounds farfetched. But we actually put shunts into every
nerve pathway heading to the brain. And we do that whether it is a
sensory nerve fiber heading toward the brain or a muscle control
fiber heading out." She explained.
    "How
do you do that?"
    "For
the spinal cord, what they do is they replace three of the upper
cervical vertebrae in your spine. Right about here." She touched
the back of my neck, and then showed me where on the back of her
neck. "That's where the computer system is embedded -- in the
three new vertebrae they install. There's also the power module and
the wireless transmitter."
    "Inside
of you right now?" I asked.
    "Right
here." She held the back of her neck.
    "Why
is there no scar?" I asked, looking at her neck.
    "The
surgical procedures in the Australia Project are just as innovative
as everything else." She said.
    "Where
does the power come from? Do you have to recharge yourself every
night?" I asked, only half joking.
    "No.
There's a fuel cell in the third vertebra, and it uses glucose in the
blood for power. It has a nice side benefit -- it helps you keep your
weight down. That's one reason why there are no fat people in the
Australia Project."
    "Oh
my God. I knew there had to be a reason for that. I figured that
there were forced feeding limitations or something. No one could ever
go on a luxury cruise and stay thin."
    "No,
the Vertebrane system actually takes care of your weight for you. But
that's a bonus. It has nothing to do with the real goal of the
Vertebrane system." Linda said.
    "So
let me see if I have this straight. You are saying that surgeons
replace three of the upper vertebrae in your spine." I said.
    "Yes."
She said. "Actually it is robotic surgeons, but yes." She
said.
    "And
they sever the spinal cord and essentially reroute it into a computer
in one of those new vertebrae." I said.
    "Yes.
Very good." She confirmed.
    "And
they also tap into the major sensory nerves, like the optical nerves
and the auditory nerves." I said.
    "Exactly."
She replied.
    "You
are blowing my mind." I said. I had to close my eyes for a
minute. "Is that how you are wired right now?"
    "Yes,
that is how I am wired. And let me tell you, it is fantastic."
She said.
    "How
does it feel?" I asked.
    "It
is very freeing." She said.
    "How
so?" I asked.
    "Let's
say that I want to talk to Cynthia. I can call her and talk to her.
Or I can send her a letter. To call her, I just think through it to
connect. Then it is just like we are talking to each other normally.
I hear her voice as though it is in my ear. What's happening is that
when she thinks about talking, the Vertebrane system intercepts the
signals and sends them to the network wirelessly. They are
transmitted to me, and my computer sends the words she is speaking
into my auditory nerves, overlaid on the ambient sound around me. Or
I can turn the ambient sound off if I want to. That's great if you
are in a noisy place."
    "So
you can turn your ears off?" I asked. "That would be cool.
There are lots of times I have wanted to close my ears just like I
close my eyes."
    "There
are a lot of people who meditate by turning off everything. They turn
off sight, sound, touch, taste and smell. Their brains are completely
disconnected from the world. It is like you are floating in a
complete isolation chamber. I don't like it myself unless I am trying
to fall asleep, but lots of people swear by it."
    "What
else can you do?" I asked.
    "Everyone
listens to music this way. It streams from the network