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New user - Archailectheocrat - 05-16-2018
Heyhey, I'm a new member but longtime fan of the setting. I'm Dr. Deletus on the discord, so some of you may already know me
. I'm largely interested in writing a bit about panvirt, philosophy of mind aspects, and I would like to expand on corporate topics (megacorps, advertising, economy, NoZoCo topics).In real life, I'm a 26 year old Dutch entrepreneur, hardline transhumanist / immortalist, biohacker and angel investor. Given various midtech augmentation techniques I already use, I think I'd be classified as a nearbaseline bright in O.A
. I have a bit of an academic background in AI, information science, neuropsychology and business (especially innovation management).Pleasure to meet you all,
-Archailectheocrat
RE: New user - Drashner1 - 05-16-2018
Hi There - Welcome to the forums
By all means, feel free to weigh in in whatever part of the project catches your interest or attention, whether discussions on the forum or via EG articles.
For sake of completeness, here are our 'formal' How to Contribute guidelines. They sound much more intimidating then they actually are
Beyond that, if you have any questions or concerns about any aspect of the setting or OA project, please don't hesitate to ask.
Hope this helps and once again - Welcome!
Todd
RE: New user - Worldtree - 05-16-2018
welcome!
RE: New user - Archailectheocrat - 05-17-2018
Thank you for the kind welcome! I have an idea for a short story:
About a 1800 year old superbright that is a transsavant in several fields through transsapienttech augments (with a few dedicated hyperturings they rented from a local S3, in NoZoCo) - but the hyperturings, even though they are dedicated and monomaniacal, feel restricted in their ability to feed the superbright experiences due to his limited consciousness, and thus are quickly amassing more resources and memetic power (at a pace the superbright can't keep up with, even though they have a massive resource advantage) - he has 2 weeks until they'll overpower all his safeguards and transcend him (in order to be able to fully dedicate themselves to their job) or until he ascends, but he's terrified of losing his identity (which is why he spent over 1500 years studying transsapience in order to figure things out the best he can), he ends up ascending, and reflects on that experience as a new S1.
I especially want to focus on the mental experience on the ascension, describing the exponential addition of the mind-states, disorientation, how the centralised integration of these mind-states evolves and triggers a runaway explosion of complexity, how the superbrights abstract conjectures of transsapience get fleshed out (His understanding, even though being a transsavant and one of the most capable, dedicated and genius superbrights, ends up being similar to a vague, low-resolution echo of what transsapience is like, even though he likely understood it better than any, or at least better than 99.9999999% of all modos did, which is obviously still grossly insufficient) - and the S1 reflecting on the experience.
RE: New user - Drashner1 - 05-17-2018
Hm. Interesting idea. I will probably have further thoughts (both pro and con) after letting this percolate a while, but following is off the top of my head, both in terms of general thoughts as I was reading this (which might mirror how a potential reader might see things as well) and how OA Canon and the OA project in general works.
Moving forward...
(05-17-2018, 03:10 AM)Archailectheocrat Wrote: Thank you for the kind welcome! I have an idea for a short story:
About a 1800 year old superbright that is a transsavant in several fields through transsapienttech augments (with a few dedicated hyperturings they rented from a local S3, in NoZoCo) - but the hyperturings, even though they are dedicated and monomaniacal, feel restricted in their ability to feed the superbright experiences due to his limited consciousness, and thus are quickly amassing more resources and memetic power (at a pace the superbright can't keep up with, even though they have a massive resource advantage) - he has 2 weeks until they'll overpower all his safeguards and transcend him (in order to be able to fully dedicate themselves to their job) or until he ascends, but he's terrified of losing his identity (which is why he spent over 1500 years studying transsapience in order to figure things out the best he can), he ends up ascending, and reflects on that experience as a new S1.
First thought: If the hyperturings are doing this, they would generally be considered to be malfunctioning. Why wouldn't the character just contact either the S3 e is renting them from, or a local S2 or S3 or higher mind for help? Depending on the circumstances and nature of their creation, an S2 might be able to 'fix' the S1 hyperturings, or at least protect the character from them, even though they are the product of an S3. Another S3 or higher could easily fix, eliminate, or protect em from the hyperturings with trivial effort.
Second thought: In the latter part of the timeline, there are multiple and massive amounts of information on transapience and the process of ascension/transcension, including at least two major empires that make helping lower sophonts do it as safely as possible and various Transcension Mazes here and there that can do the same in a more automated manner. All of this still leaves a degree of uncertainty and danger around jumping to the next S-level - but its not a situation where the character is operating in a vacuum and having to rely entirely on eir own resources and learning to try to find out about the subject matter or to go through the ascension process. They can still have valid fears about it - but the story would probably need to make some acknowledgement of the background info mentioned here and how the character is interacting with that (or not as the case may be). Of course if the story is in the earlier part of the timeline that available knowledge base might be much smaller.
(05-17-2018, 03:10 AM)Archailectheocrat Wrote: I especially want to focus on the mental experience on the ascension, describing the exponential addition of the mind-states, disorientation, how the centralised integration of these mind-states evolves and triggers a runaway explosion of complexity, how the superbrights abstract conjectures of transsapience get fleshed out (His understanding, even though being a transsavant and one of the most capable, dedicated and genius superbrights, ends up being similar to a vague, low-resolution echo of what transsapience is like, even though he likely understood it better than any, or at least better than 99.9999999% of all modos did, which is obviously still grossly insufficient) - and the S1 reflecting on the experience.
Re this section...
First thought: As a general rule, OA does not go in for the use of superlatives to describe much of anything or anybody in the setting. Describing something/someone as the biggest, bestest, smartest, etc. or saying that they have an understanding greater than everyone else is simply not workable in a setting this size (a population measured in quadrillions to quintillions depending on who your counting). Beyond that, the idea that any one modo individual could understand the subject of transapience better than everyone else in the setting, including the various institutes, universities, and other organizations that make it their business to study and understand it, have hundreds to thousands of sophonts at least the equal of the protagonist at their beck and call, and have much more than 1500-1800 years of experience under their belt is rather illogical on the face of it.
You could potentially have the character be an acknowledged expert and perhaps even the most knowledgeable sophont on the subject in their particular sandbox (a hab, a world, a solar system, a chunk of space). But depicting them as the bestest and brightest in the entire setting on the subject is simply unworkable.
Second thought: Trying to depict the thought processes of a superhuman intelligence is a notoriously difficult task in SF in general and particularly in OA. A certain amount of care is likely to be needed here, especially in the latter part of the process or after e becomes an S1. Perhaps you could have em engaging in some kind of writing or dictation or other recording of the experience that is deliberately presented in a mode that an S0 (e.g., pretty much your entire audience) can understand, with a throwaway line to the effect that the true experience cannot be expressed in any way a modo could understand even if the new S1 were to create libraries of description about it - which e isn't inclined to do. But e does do this narrative or the like.
Ok, my initial thoughts off the top of my head. Likely others later, as mentioned above, in which case will post em as I have em.
The basic idea sounds interesting, I'm hopeful it will all come together and we can read it.
Thanks!
Todd
RE: New user - Archailectheocrat - 05-25-2018
Hey all, thank you for the feedback! So a few ideas I have based on that:
1) How about the character having gone into all existing transcension mazes, but having left them right before the "final" ascendence step, possibly creating copies of themselves, which proceed to fuse into a multitude "board of transsapient advisors" specialised in helping the original ascend as well as possible.
2) I have several ideas on transsapience, which I could present as ideas of this character (I am currently writing a philosophy paper on quantity maximization of reversible sentience-pattern integration states as preparation, in avoiding botched ascends / preventing “Transcension” during the technological singularity).
3) Them being "one of the great superbright experts" was perhaps more what I had in mind to be honest. With the diversity of sophonce types, the "best" would be difficult to measure; Perhaps they would be the best as seen from my current state, but this is a very subjective term and thus I agree with you on it not working as an universal "best."
4) I would like to work on translogic. Given my background in both AI and experience with cognitive augmentation, I think I could write an extra article on translogic. Maybe we could have one article written from a baseline perspective (that we already have), with a link to an additional article written from a "bright S0.4 perspective" - which I could try to write?
5) I would like to expand on several toposophic ideas; Some ideas I have follow (not necesarilly in OA terminology, I could put them in the right terminology after learning more, or expand the terminology):
I don't think the "Intelligence is incomprehensible to all sophonts below this level" is truly sufficient; A transhuman that has a form of intelligence completely incomprehensible to all humans, but doesn't necesarilly have all the capabilities of the baseline that evolved into that being (they "lost" certain human traits) - how do you measure such a being? How do you discern an animin from a modo that's incomprehensible to all other modos due to the utterly alien *form* of their consciousness?
I would say that even for humans, one could discern between baselines, superhumans (I would call this homo potens) and transhumans (homo transcedens).
A Homo Potens may have limitless longevity (they may not age due to extensive gene therapies, advanced automated stem cell procedures and DNA/epigenome repair (nano)technology. They may also have direct neural interface implant that allow them to access the internet with a “reality overlay”, for example the ability to see a Wikipedia article on any building they look at through “augmented reality” – they may also have implants that allow them to effortlessly do calculus or have an increased IQ. Note that a homo potens may even be a non-transsapient jupiter brain or other ISO, merely "experiencing humanity" a trillion times faster, without having "new" modes of thought.
A homo transcedens, on the other hand, would not merely have “expanded human abilities”: A transcedens would not only have vastly expanded human abilities, but also completely new abilities that no baseline human, nor a homo potens would have. A transcedens could, for example have the ability to see a larger part of the colour spectrum, advanced echolocation or electromagnetic senses (an ability no potens would have, as a potens is essentially a “Baseline human” with more “brute force” in their abilities: A potens may be able to live longer, think faster, access data easier or do anything a normal human can do better. A transcedens, on the other hand, has integrated abilities that no baseline human has whatsoever.
A transcedens also does not necesarilly have to be transsapient: After all, I am myself a transcedens, given the fact I have magnetic senses due to my implants, and I certainly am not a post-singularity being (I wish!). The abilities a transcedens has may well be theoretically understood by a baseline human or potens. For example, an intelligent baseline human can fully understand there being more colours than their eyes can see or brain can process, or there being “extensions” to the sense of touch or hearing that allow more information (or more varied information) to be processed.
How it is to be to be potens can be extrapolated in direct imagination (what would it be like to think faster?), and how it is to be transcedens can be extrapolated in theoretical extension of what it’s like to be baseline (What would it be like if we had five, and not 3 colour receptors?) – even though we can’t directly imagine what it’s like to *experience* being a homo transcedens without being one, we can very well extrapolate it and make good models. However, what it would be like to be transsapient is completely incomprehensible to a baseline (or even a homo potens or transcedens).
A baseline human may be able to do in a million years what may take a potens a few centuries, and they may model what a transcedens experiences with sufficient time and brainpower. The mind-states of a transsapient are neither a brute force improvement (faster), nor extensions (more modes of human mind-states), but completely new mind-states that are as vastly incomprehensible to a human being as a nuclear reactor is to a bacteria – no matter their resources or “human intellect”, they won’t ever be able to comprehend the transsapient, just like the bacteria will never, no matter how far you streamline it’s metabolic processes or how much time you give it, invent a nuclear reactor.
An important aspect here is to understand that transcedens is not superior to potens (or the other way around) - In fact, being both at once are the first step up the "big exponential" towards S1 - the start of the rapidly increasing curve. The idea is that transsapiens constitutes the *integrated central awareness* of rapidly expanding states (Human reversibly expands their mind-states into transcedens, proceeds to increase their processing speed into potens in order to be able to function well and process the expanded transcedens mind-states, proceeds to expand their new potens-transcedens mind into a homo potens transcedens-transcedens, reverts into potens-transcedens and adds aditional "transcedens-supporting brute force" to expand into a permanent homo potens-potens transcedens-transcedens, integrates all these states into their new form, and proceeds to do this recursively - as soon as this recursion is stable, the agent is a transsapient, as the second "transcedens" leap upwards is incomprehensible to the baseline)
6) Unrelated question: In OA terms, what toposophic are reapers from mass effect?
RE: New user - stevebowers - 05-25-2018
I think the old terms that Anders imported into OA were 'transhuman' and 'posthuman', where transhuman means a transitional state and posthuman means a fully altered state.
From the Transhuman Terminology list, which was imported unchanged into the earliest versions of OA;
https://www.aleph.se/Trans/Words/t.html#TRANSHUMAN
https://www.aleph.se/Trans/Words/p.html#POSTHUMAN
RE: New user - Drashner1 - 05-26-2018
Hm. Various thoughts on this, but in the office today and just on my phone, so typing is limited. Will post more completely tonight after I get home.
More later,
Todd
RE: New user - Drashner1 - 05-26-2018
Got out of work early due to the holiday weekend (yay!). Thoughts and comments below...
(05-25-2018, 03:18 PM)Archailectheocrat Wrote: Hey all, thank you for the feedback! So a few ideas I have based on that:
1) How about the character having gone into all existing transcension mazes, but having left them right before the "final" ascendence step, possibly creating copies of themselves, which proceed to fuse into a multitude "board of transsapient advisors" specialised in helping the original ascend as well as possible.
Hrm. Thinking about this, I see some...challenges. Specifically:
a) Given that some transcension mazes are designed to ascend the user to the Second or even the Third Singularity, this implies either that the character left before the process was even barely started or that they ascended at least one, or possibly two, S-levels before leaving the maze.
b) Even in the mazes that only help a user ascend to the First Singularity, the process of ascension involves a great deal of augmentation and possibly intelligence increase, as well as a lot of psychological adjustment and mental discipline.
c) OA bases its ideas on Singularity on the ideas of Stanislaw Lem and his concept of 'toposophy'. More specifically, we presume that there is not a single path to post-Singularity intelligence, nor that there is only one kind of post-Singularity intelligence, but rather that there is a 'landscape' of potential toposophic levels and types, and a plethora of possible paths to different parts of the 'landscape'. The upshot of all this is that it is possible that a post-Singularity entity created in a particular transension maze (or via some other process) might be drastically different in its form of mind from another entity who arose from a different transcension maze. Even if those beings are the same species or one is a copy of the other.
Putting the above together, I think it might be very challenging, possibly verging on impossible for a host of different minds created by different mazes to all merge together successfully, at least without the aid of a yet higher-S entity. And you seem to be trying for a DIY approach to this.
Another issue here - and possibly a great one - the results of all these transcension maze visits are all going to be heavily augmented, and possibly already S1 or S2 entities (depending on how you're defining 'final' above). Which means that individually and collectively they are going to be vastly more intelligent than their...progenitor. From a reader perspective, it begs the question of why such entities (or a fusion of them) continue to be subservient to the character. From an OA perspective, if they are transapient or even really highly augmented, the character is going to be little more than a clever animal to them (if that) and it is most likely that they will either take off on their own or are manipulating the character for their own purposes while only pretending to do eir bidding.
I think you could certainly have the character visit a lot of mazes (I'm not sure that all of them are practical since that number could run to the thousands (at least)), as well as the big transcension studies centers in Keter and the Solar Dominion (both empires make it a 'thing' to encourage ascension/transcension) and possibly other empires as well. E might also have an Aivisor that was gifted to em by a transapient or archai at some point in eir travels and this could play the role of the advisor - although it might be rather cryptic at times and the character might have some concerns about being manipulated.
Thinking on this further, note also that most cultures in the setting limit how many copies one can have running at the same time. The character might have some kind of special dispensation/permit to get around that, but that should be noted in the story since if e does have a lot of copies running that would be a very notable thing in OA terms in most places.
(05-25-2018, 03:18 PM)Archailectheocrat Wrote: 2) I have several ideas on transsapience, which I could present as ideas of this character (I am currently writing a philosophy paper on quantity maximization of reversible sentience-pattern integration states as preparation, in avoiding botched ascends / preventing “Transcension” during the technological singularity).
We'd need to know what the ideas in question are, to make sure they fit in with OA Canon, or at least aren't likely to cause a massive issue in that area. If they're presented as the character's ideas (rather than 'facts of the setting') that allows much more latitude. But it is probably better to review the ideas in question first to save on potential headaches later.
(05-25-2018, 03:18 PM)Archailectheocrat Wrote: 3) Them being "one of the great superbright experts" was perhaps more what I had in mind to be honest. With the diversity of sophonce types, the "best" would be difficult to measure; Perhaps they would be the best as seen from my current state, but this is a very subjective term and thus I agree with you on it not working as an universal "best."
Ok
(05-25-2018, 03:18 PM)Archailectheocrat Wrote: 4) I would like to work on translogic. Given my background in both AI and experience with cognitive augmentation, I think I could write an extra article on translogic. Maybe we could have one article written from a baseline perspective (that we already have), with a link to an additional article written from a "bright S0.4 perspective" - which I could try to write?
You could give it a try, although we can't make any promises about whether we could accept it into OA. We would need to see it first.
I would repeat my caution that writing about superhuman intelligence is generally agreed to be one of the most difficult tasks in SF, and that is based on the thoughts of a number of greats in the field, many of whom are/were both great writers and accomplished scientists or engineers in their own right.
Coming at this from a different perspective - you talk about the perspective of a 'bright S0.4' - but note that in OA, an S1 has mental capabilities and runs on computronium resources that work out to supporting/being equivalent to over 15,000 S0 minds. A bit of math works out that an 'S0.4' would therefore be around 6000x as capable as an S0 baseline human - which I'm reasonably certain you're not, although if you'd like to demonstrate otherwise, I'm sure we'd be interested in seeing it
Rather more seriously, the decimal S-scale is used here and there in the setting, but has not been very much developed or discussed by the group in a very long time. It is therefore rather...fuzzy...in terms of what exactly it is describing or how it quantifies that description or how (or if) that description translates to anything we RL baseline humans would understand. Based on past experience, it might be better to therefore avoid trying to pin the author of any article to a particular decimal value and instead just say something like 'the bright/superior/nearbaseline/whatever scholar Insert Namehere wrote in eir seminal work on the subject..blah blah blah, etc. etc.. There is precedent for framing an EG article as the product of or excerpt from the work of some in-setting sophont, so that could be workable.
(05-25-2018, 03:18 PM)Archailectheocrat Wrote: 5) I would like to expand on several toposophic ideas; Some ideas I have follow (not necesarilly in OA terminology, I could put them in the right terminology after learning more, or expand the terminology):
I don't think the "Intelligence is incomprehensible to all sophonts below this level" is truly sufficient; A transhuman that has a form of intelligence completely incomprehensible to all humans, but doesn't necesarilly have all the capabilities of the baseline that evolved into that being (they "lost" certain human traits) - how do you measure such a being? How do you discern an animin from a modo that's incomprehensible to all other modos due to the utterly alien *form* of their consciousness?
In-setting this question is answered by the science of Toposophy, which looks at the nature of mind, both in terms of Singularities (the vertical) and types of minds of many different types of sophonts via the Toposophic Landscape (the horizontal).
Out-of-setting, and speaking from an editorial perspective, this is an area that currently has a lot of 'tribal knowledge' among the OA community, but is not written up as extensively as we would like (and what is written up is very old and probably would in need of review and possibly revision). If you are interested in expanding on/helping out in this area, possibly working in those of your ideas that fit within OA (as determined by the OA community and 'the management') along the way, that is certainly something we would be interested in discussing.
(05-25-2018, 03:18 PM)Archailectheocrat Wrote: I would say that even for humans, one could discern between baselines, superhumans (I would call this homo potens) and transhumans (homo transcedens).
A Homo Potens may have limitless longevity (they may not age due to extensive gene therapies, advanced automated stem cell procedures and DNA/epigenome repair (nano)technology. They may also have direct neural interface implant that allow them to access the internet with a “reality overlay”, for example the ability to see a Wikipedia article on any building they look at through “augmented reality” – they may also have implants that allow them to effortlessly do calculus or have an increased IQ. Note that a homo potens may even be a non-transsapient jupiter brain or other ISO, merely "experiencing humanity" a trillion times faster, without having "new" modes of thought.
A homo transcedens, on the other hand, would not merely have “expanded human abilities”: A transcedens would not only have vastly expanded human abilities, but also completely new abilities that no baseline human, nor a homo potens would have. A transcedens could, for example have the ability to see a larger part of the colour spectrum, advanced echolocation or electromagnetic senses (an ability no potens would have, as a potens is essentially a “Baseline human” with more “brute force” in their abilities: A potens may be able to live longer, think faster, access data easier or do anything a normal human can do better. A transcedens, on the other hand, has integrated abilities that no baseline human has whatsoever.
A transcedens also does not necesarilly have to be transsapient: After all, I am myself a transcedens, given the fact I have magnetic senses due to my implants, and I certainly am not a post-singularity being (I wish!). The abilities a transcedens has may well be theoretically understood by a baseline human or potens. For example, an intelligent baseline human can fully understand there being more colours than their eyes can see or brain can process, or there being “extensions” to the sense of touch or hearing that allow more information (or more varied information) to be processed.
Hm. Within the context of OA, nearly everything you describe here is considered to be just standard, run-of-the-mill S0 (or modosophont as they are called in OA) capabilities. Not the least bit unusual, impressive, or even particularly notable (to provide a RL comparison, think of someone having a particularly unique case for their cell phone - you might notice it and wonder where they got it and even take some time to find it online and buy it - but you certainly aren't going to consider it overly impressive or life changing or the like).
Speaking in more detail (and bearing in mind that I don't know how familiar you are with OA, so apologies in advance if you are already aware of these pages):
OA divides intelligences in the setting initially into three categories:
1) Modosophonts (S0)
2) Transapients (S1-S3)
3) Archailects - pl. Archai - (S4-S6)
Modosophonts make up the bulk of the OA population and are broadly defined as 'human equivalent' intelligences, although they may actually be much more intelligent than anyone in real life (RL). For simplicity, moving forward we will limit ourselves to flesh and blood human modosophonts (although there are lots and lots of non-flesh and blood, non-human ones as well, in fact they make up the vast majority of the population). Within that group we have. By and large these beings could walk down the street in real life and not be noticed as different, either at all, or with minimal disguising.
1) Baselines
2) Near-baselines (aka nebs)
3) Superiors (aka Su)
Baselines are humans like you and me - not possessed of any genetic enhancements, although in some cultures they might use cybernetic enhancements (while in others they do not). Baselines have chosen to eschew the vast range of possible genetic enhancements that OA technology can provide, and often also avoid the cybernetic enhancements. As a result they are very much in the minority with a population of only 150 billion or so and may be on their way to extinction (or only existing in preserves) since often their children leave to become enhanced and no longer are considered baselines. Baselines are generally considered to be less capable than virtually everyone else in the setting, although there are a few exceptions and with the right augmentations a baseline can hold their own with other modosophonts - but then they are generally no longer considered to be a baseline.
Near-baseline humans would readily pass for humans like you and me in most cases, but are really very different. They are the product of thousands of years of genetic engineering, often based on cultural desires, fads, or whatnot. Still, they have a number of common traits, such as living for hundreds of years, conscious control of fertility, excellent vision that often extends into the IR and UV spectrum, a magnetosense (natural like some animals), etc. For a more extensive (but not necessarily complete) list, see HERE. Their population runs to a bit under 30 quadrillion in the setting.
Superiors are sort of the luxury cars of genetic engineering. They are also the product of thousands of years of work, but it is much more controlled and planned and not so much subject to the whims of the market or fashion or the like. They live longer than nebs, are stronger, faster, and much smarter. They possess such abilities as limb regeneration as a common trait (only some neb clades include this), anti-freeze proteins in their blood, and the ability to rapidly adapt to both external conditions and activities such that most of them are in what we would consider Olympic athlete levels of fitness with minimal effort. For a more extensive (but not necessarily complete) list of Superior abilities, see HERE.
There are only about 1.2 quadrillion or so in the setting.
Beyond all of their various genetic enhancements (and the above mentions don't include the Tweaks who are gengineered to live in environments we would find anywhere from difficult to deadly), humans (and other sophonts) in OA routinely possess an entire range of cybernetic augmentations. The most basic of these is probably the Direct Neural Interface, which allows the user to directly interface their mind with a computer and upload/download information and control machines just by thinking at them or by treating them as direct extensions of their own bodies (with appropriate downloaded overlays or programs to let them do this and have it feel natural, even if the machine is very different from a human body).
In addition, the DNI allows a number of useful abilities, such as direct mind to mind communication, interfacing with remote machines wirelessly, internal computing components that allow lightning mental calculation, easy 3D (or higher) visualization, highly accurate distance measurements, altering your own personality or personal tastes (don't like spinach, you can change that in less than an hour.),etc. etc. For a more complete list of what an average DNI system provides, see HERE. Note that DNI tech has been around for most of 10,000 years in the setting and nearly everyone has one as a matter of course (or even constitutional right). Some cultures gengineer themselves to grow DNIs 'naturally' in their brains, but most don't.
Beyond the DNI, most sophonts also possess some form of an Exocortex that lets them expand their intelligence and mental abilities even beyond that of a DNI without (usually) radically altering their personality (much). The Exocortex usually hosts their Exoself.
Note that sophonts can also use advanced learning tech to education themselves much faster and more extensively than anything we can do now in RL.
Beyond their mental augmentations, most sophonts also possess a personal medical systemf that confers a number of benefits, including functional immortality (their gengineered longevity is considered to be a sort of emergency backup in case civilization falls or their medical systems fail for some reason).
Beyond this, sophonts can (if they wish, and often they do) augment themselves even further, with things like airdust and artificial lungs or replacement of their vascular system or the implantation of artificial muscles to become super strong, or the addition of artificial limbs or an effector frame.
Oh, and between their onboard systems and the external medical tech available, they can change their sexual orientation as easily as we might change our screensaver and their gender, species, or substrate as easily as we might get a new couch. Call it a day or so for the first and a weekend in a medical coma for the second. For the software based people in the setting (which make up the vast majority - population estimated to be 30-3000 quintillion) any of these sorts of changes can be done in a second or two - they change selves the way we flip stations on the TV or radio.
All of these things (and more besides, including senses no human has now) are basically available to everybody, often as a right of being a citizen, usually for free or a very nominal cost - and they have been for thousands of years.
So, like I said - by OA standard most of what you describe are what we call 'just regular folks' (and compared to the transapients they are little more than clever animals or particularly active bacteria - or less).
I mentioned a couple spots where we differ:
1) In OA we aren't all that impressed with speed of thought upgrades - they're generally only cool if only a few people have them, the advantage pretty much goes away when everyone does - and in OA everyone does more or less, if they want em.
2) In OA Jupiter brains and such are virtually always transapient individuals (archai actually) or are hardware to host virtual worlds and habitats.
Ok, out of time. More later. In particular, I don't play video games and don't know what a reaper is. Will need to look that up and get back to you on that question.
Hope this helps,
Todd
RE: New user - Drashner1 - 05-26-2018
(05-25-2018, 03:18 PM)Archailectheocrat Wrote: 6) Unrelated question: In OA terms, what toposophic are reapers from mass effect?
So, I did a bit of online research re reapers and mass effect. It's tricky to try to translate the ideas and structures of one setting into another, but...
Based on their stated size, the largest self-ascended transapient they could host/be would be an S2.
However, based on their apparent repeated defeats by mere human level minds, they would be no more than S0 - and not very capable S0s at that.
My 2c worth,
Todd