However, while people have started to use this to travel across the globe, I can't bring myself to do it. The reason is simple. I will be killed off forever. Here's my rationale...
When the Transmat sequence begins, it starts by converting your matter to energy and during this process, every molecule and electro-chemical reaction in your body is recorded with the exact position, electrical charge, temperature... everything copied down into the network's distributed memory. This data is then sent to the rematerialisation hub nearest to your destination. The hub then generates the required energy to reproduce you, and then proceeds to convert your energy back into matter. Now in theory, this data could be duplicated and 2 copies of you could be generated. And here's where the disturbing truth comes in to play: you're no longer yourself.
Imagine you hacked a Transmat program to run through its routine, but instead of taking your matter and energy, it just copies it into memory. It then contacts a rematerialisation hub, say the one nearest you, to generate another you from that data. That "you" that has arrived will be completely the same as you, and he'll think "I'm a copy?". And you'll look at him knowing that's not you as you're looking from your original self. So that person *isn't* you. But in the normal Transmat process, you would have been converted to energy and this other "you" will go about convinced he's still the original, just arriving in a new location.
So you can see, transporter technology kills people and then creates people, but does it in a way to give the illusion of "transportation". It should really be called "destroying and cloning". I'll stick with the subterranean highways for now, at least until this promising portal technology becomes mainstream.
2 comments:
Exactly what I always thought, although much more succinctly put. It's also a similar reason to why 6th Day gave me nightmares.
I actually have a prototype of this device in my labs. But I do agree with your worries.
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