Samuel Conner

Image- touch to parallel worlds, by Andrey Kiselev, Source Adobe Stock, processed using Adobe Creative Cloud Express.

The first human to physically connect
​to the internet.

During the late 1st Age of Humanity, but before the formation of the Social Media Net, humankind was increasingly incorporating cybernetic components into human biology. Most cybernetics were focused on cybernetic limb actuators and specific organs being replaced, such as eyes with cybernetic eyes. But the idea of directly connecting the mind to the internet had always been a goal of many in the cybernetic field. It wasn’t until Samuel Conner, a cybernist specialist, had developed the cognitive interface processor (CIP) did the idea of “jack’n” (a cybernist colloquial phrase for connecting to the internet) become possible.

The CIP allowed the compressed data stream of the internet to be processed by the human brain at a rate that allowed for comprehension and control. Then it would send out the instructions to the internet in a way that commands could be executed. By simply closing one’s eyes, it was now possible to surf the internet with your mind through visualizations and voice commands.

The Experiment

Conner was a firm believer in experimental ethics and refused to test his invention on animals or others. Instead, he surgically had himself adapted to use his own device.

His first dozen attempts were uneventful, but it was after that he suffered from mental problems when removed from the CIP. He suffered from periodic blackouts finding himself in unusual locations; he suffered from intense mood swings and outbursts around friends and co-workers, and many times he would find himself in mid-process of destroying his apartment’s furniture.

The breaking point was when he was arrested on charges of aggravated sexual assault but recalled none of it. He couldn’t even remember the time he waited in jail pending the trial. The Court found him competent to stand trial, and the jury acquitted him. Determined not to see Conner again in her Court, the judge ordered Conner to seek medical and/or psychiatric treatment for his condition. It was discovered that Conner’s personality had been shattered, and he had lost control of his own identity because of the experiment. The official diagnosis was he was suffering from an internet induced form of dissociative identity disorder. Psychiatric scholars speculated the CIP couldn’t filter out the vast amounts of personal information available on the internet. At least enough to ensure one would maintain identity cohesion. What literally happened to Conner, according to these scholars, was the neural pathways that formed his identity were re-written by the direct access to the internet. They speculated it was done via a maladapted form of neuroplasticity caused by the CIP itself.

End Results of Conner's Experiment

Conner’s financial backers urged him that the best course of action was for him to be placed in cryogenic storage while being permanently “jacked in.” In doing so his mind would still be active despite his body being in cryogenesis. Keeping the mind active through stimulation was seen as key to survival in cryogenesis. At least this was the operating theory at the time. The hope was that this issue with the technology could be resolved, and they could revive Conner later. Conner agreed with his backers.

After Conner was put on ice, it became apparent to Conner’s staff that the information of the internet was too much for the human mind to handle, despite the CIP’s ability to buffer it. They couldn’t come up with a solution to the problem and they shelved the idea. They left Conner in permanent cryogenic storage.

The result was that cybernetic technology continued its path through the cybernetic augmentation of the human physical form without direct mental connection to the internet or artificial intelligence. Only briefly did humans attempt to augment the human mind with artificial intelligent processors, but societies quickly outlawed this around the world after an extremely violent incident in Los Angeles, California.

Later, humans attempted fully converted cybernetic bodies with the human brain still intact. Thus, creating a true cybernetic organism. This caused the full cyborg to lose their humanity via a condition known as cyberpsychosis, where they would become increasingly intolerant and violent against flesh-based humans. The net result was the global banning of this procedure.

Humans then turned their attention towards manipulating the human genome and androids for its technological solutions in these areas. This still hasn’t stopped a political dissident group operating in Europe, during Rosella’s time, from trying to merge with android technologies and become fully cybernetic.​

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