create account

Artificial Madness (Shortstory) by suesa

View this thread on: hive.blogpeakd.comecency.com
· @suesa · (edited)
$9.47
Artificial Madness (Shortstory)
![](https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2019/08/06/22/48/artificial-intelligence-4389372_960_720.jpg)
<sub>By geralt on pixabay.com</sub>

---
<center>[A little bit of background science for this story]( https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02986-y)</center>

---
The waves were steady, still. Had been for several weeks now. Was this it? The long-awaited breakthrough?

Dr. Franklin eyed the organoid floating in a glass bottle in front of her. It had been grown from human stem cells which differentiated into neurons. And after a long, long time, Dr. Franklin had created an organoid the size of a brain. 

Technically, she couldn’t call it a brain, and the ethics committee might have a choice word or two for her if they ever found out that the “small organoid” they had signed off on had become this big.

And might have developed consciousness.

Sure, consciousness was practically impossible to measure in a brain without a body attached. All the usual methods to test consciousness in animals were useless. But the brain waves were there, and they resembled those of a human. Who was to say the brain wasn’t thinking? Dreaming? Making plans?

Originally, Dr. Franklin had only intended to test how big she could grow an organoid. Were there limits to the size? Would the cells eventually die off in the core? Was it reasonable to try and grow an entire human brain?

It was reasonable, apparently.

The sound of the lab door opening made Dr. Franklin flinch and instinctively move in front of her experiment to prevent any unauthorized eyes from seeing it. But once she recognized the person who had entered, she relaxed.

“Samantha, sorry, I hadn’t expected you this early.”

“Hey, Alex. Yeah, sorry, my lab meeting didn’t go as long as expected. I hope it’s not an issue?”

“No, no, all good. It’s not like I had anything to do anyway, I need you for the experiment.”

“Is that it?” Samantha pointed past Dr. Franklin, at the organoid.

“Yes, want to check it out?”

“DO I? Of course, I do!” Samantha walked up to the bottle and lightly tapped against the glass. Suddenly, she stopped. “Am I even allowed to do that?” She asked.

“Why wouldn’t you be?”

“Well, you’re not supposed to tap against the glass of aquariums, right? To not startle the fish?”

“It’s not a fish, though. It also doesn’t have any ears, or other organs with which it could sense vibrations.”

“Right, right. Sorry. I’m not a biologist!”

“Which is exactly why you’re here. Do you really think you could hook me up to it?”

“I mean, we can give it a shot!” Samantha grinned. “If the guys in Pacific Rim can do it, I can too!”

“Are you seriously taking your inspiration from a science fiction action movie?” Dr. Franklin frowned.

“Are you not? Don’t judge me!”

They kept squabbling while Samantha set up her equipment, connecting wires to the organoid that were connected to what looked like a shower cap. Once she was done, she picked up the cap and handed it to Dr. Franklin.

“Here you go, Alex. Put that on.”

“You sure it’s safe?”

“Is there ever anything in science that’s safe?”

“I mean … yes. That’s why we have safety seminars and …”

“Oh my god. Just put on the damn cap, would you? It’s your experiment. Either you do it, or you go get permission from the ethics committee to test it on volunteers.”

“You know exactly they’d never allow that.”

Samantha grinned and made another attempt at handing Dr. Franklin the cap. This time, she took it and pulled it over her head.

“So, how does that work?” She asked.

“I flip this switch, and ideally your brain waves should sync up with the waves of your brain in a bottle …”

“Organoid”

“ …. Organoid in a bottle. Fine. When you’re all synced up, you should be able to experience what it is experiencing. In theory. It worked between me and my roommate.”

“You tested it?”

“Do you really think I’d just hook you up to this without making sure your brain isn’t fried in the process?”

“But …”, Dr. Franklin hesitated. “What if your roommate’s brain had gotten fried? How did you even get her to volunteer?”

“I offered to pay her rent for two months in exchange.”

“Academics are really underpaid, aren’t they?” Dr. Franklin shook her head. “Okay, let’s do this. Pull the lever, Kronk.”

Samantha grinned. “Wrong lever!” Then she flicked the switch.

<br>

Alex saw


*Nothing
Darkness
Empty void.*

<br>

There was nothing to see, nothing to hear, nothing to feel, nothing to taste, nothing to


*Sense*
*Absolutely* 
*Empty.*

<br>

She tried to scream, but she had no mouth. No throat. No body. 

*Never had.
Never would have.*

<br>

Colours danced around, but not colours, because what were colours? How could there be colours if you had never had eyes to see them?

<br>

Neurons that had developed to make sense of input that never came. Never came. Never came.

Imagining the input, without a frame of reference. Creating

*Ghosts
That resulted in madness.
Pure madness.*

<br>
Had there ever been sanity?

*What was sanity?
What was __was__
What*

<br>

*Nothingness
Void.*


And eventually, even those words

Lost any meaning

<br>

As Alex descended into the organoid’s madness

*And never returned.*

---
---
---
<center>![]( https://steemitimages.com/0x0/https://steemit-production-imageproxy-upload.s3.amazonaws.com/DQmQo9NADYxBMek6ptxxwAXKbzB1cfUo547HKNFnSqwkCwP)
<sub>Signature by @atopy</sub></center>

👍  , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , and 463 others
👎  
properties (23)
authorsuesa
permlinkartificial-madness-shortstory
categoryscifi
json_metadata"{"app":"peakd/2020.11.1","description":"Let's try to grow a brain in a bottle!","format":"markdown","image":["https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2019/08/06/22/48/artificial-intelligence-4389372_960_720.jpg","https://steemitimages.com/0x0/https://steemit-production-imageproxy-upload.s3.amazonaws.com/DQmQo9NADYxBMek6ptxxwAXKbzB1cfUo547HKNFnSqwkCwP"],"links":["https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02986-y","/@atopy"],"tags":["scifi","story","science","fiction","writing","creativecoin"],"users":["atopy"]}"
created2020-11-18 14:06:42
last_update2020-11-18 14:08:15
depth0
children9
last_payout2020-11-25 14:06:42
cashout_time1969-12-31 23:59:59
total_payout_value5.042 HBD
curator_payout_value4.424 HBD
pending_payout_value0.000 HBD
promoted0.000 HBD
body_length5,365
author_reputation218,682,730,656,129
root_title"Artificial Madness (Shortstory)"
beneficiaries
0.
accountpeakd
weight100
max_accepted_payout1,000,000.000 HBD
percent_hbd10,000
post_id100,583,965
net_rshares42,365,791,342,318
author_curate_reward""
vote details (528)
@apshamilton · (edited)
Cool story.

I liked you naming the Dr Franklin. My eyes saw "Dr Frankenstein" and I had to check a few times to see that you didn't actually write this.

Nice to see you on Hive again.
👍  
properties (23)
authorapshamilton
permlinkre-suesa-qk033l
categoryscifi
json_metadata{"tags":["scifi"],"app":"peakd/2020.11.1"}
created2020-11-18 16:28:33
last_update2020-11-18 16:34:15
depth1
children2
last_payout2020-11-25 16:28:33
cashout_time1969-12-31 23:59:59
total_payout_value0.000 HBD
curator_payout_value0.000 HBD
pending_payout_value0.000 HBD
promoted0.000 HBD
body_length185
author_reputation186,489,671,899,340
root_title"Artificial Madness (Shortstory)"
beneficiaries[]
max_accepted_payout1,000,000.000 HBD
percent_hbd10,000
post_id100,585,646
net_rshares91,634,283,414
author_curate_reward""
vote details (1)
@suesa ·
Thanks!
I mostly don't have the energy to write these days, having started my PhD in the middle of a pandemic 😅
But sometimes I have a story idea that just needs to be written down! 
properties (22)
authorsuesa
permlinkre-apshamilton-qk038d
categoryscifi
json_metadata{"tags":["scifi"],"app":"peakd/2020.11.1"}
created2020-11-18 16:31:27
last_update2020-11-18 16:31:27
depth2
children0
last_payout2020-11-25 16:31:27
cashout_time1969-12-31 23:59:59
total_payout_value0.000 HBD
curator_payout_value0.000 HBD
pending_payout_value0.000 HBD
promoted0.000 HBD
body_length182
author_reputation218,682,730,656,129
root_title"Artificial Madness (Shortstory)"
beneficiaries[]
max_accepted_payout1,000,000.000 HBD
percent_hbd10,000
post_id100,585,687
net_rshares0
@suesa ·
The name was actually a nod to Rosalind Franklin 😁
properties (22)
authorsuesa
permlinkre-apshamilton-qk03fw
categoryscifi
json_metadata{"tags":["scifi"],"app":"peakd/2020.11.1"}
created2020-11-18 16:35:57
last_update2020-11-18 16:35:57
depth2
children0
last_payout2020-11-25 16:35:57
cashout_time1969-12-31 23:59:59
total_payout_value0.000 HBD
curator_payout_value0.000 HBD
pending_payout_value0.000 HBD
promoted0.000 HBD
body_length50
author_reputation218,682,730,656,129
root_title"Artificial Madness (Shortstory)"
beneficiaries[]
max_accepted_payout1,000,000.000 HBD
percent_hbd10,000
post_id100,585,754
net_rshares0
@discovery-it ·
<div class="pull-left">https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmTAn3c753LR7bHCLPo96g9UvRMaPFwaMYn8VQZa85xczC/discovery_logo_colore%20-%20Copia.png</div><br> This post was shared and voted inside the discord by the curators team of <a href="https://discord.gg/cMMp943"> discovery-it</a> <br>Join our community! <a href = "https://hive.blog/trending/hive-193212"> hive-193212</a><br>Discovery-it is also a Witness, vote for us <a href = "https://hivesigner.com/sign/account-witness-vote?witness=discovery-it&approve=true"> here</a> <br>Delegate to us for passive income. Check our <a href = "https://hive.blog/hive-193212/@discovery-it/delegations-program-80-fee-back"> 80% fee-back Program</a> <hr>
properties (22)
authordiscovery-it
permlinkre-suesa-akyns6smft
categoryscifi
json_metadata""
created2020-11-18 15:54:03
last_update2020-11-18 15:54:03
depth1
children0
last_payout2020-11-25 15:54:03
cashout_time1969-12-31 23:59:59
total_payout_value0.000 HBD
curator_payout_value0.000 HBD
pending_payout_value0.000 HBD
promoted0.000 HBD
body_length689
author_reputation47,548,925,471,315
root_title"Artificial Madness (Shortstory)"
beneficiaries[]
max_accepted_payout1,000,000.000 HBD
percent_hbd10,000
post_id100,585,208
net_rshares0
@phage93 ·
!discovery 40
properties (22)
authorphage93
permlinkqk01h3
categoryscifi
json_metadata{"app":"hiveblog/0.1"}
created2020-11-18 15:53:27
last_update2020-11-18 15:53:27
depth1
children0
last_payout2020-11-25 15:53:27
cashout_time1969-12-31 23:59:59
total_payout_value0.000 HBD
curator_payout_value0.000 HBD
pending_payout_value0.000 HBD
promoted0.000 HBD
body_length13
author_reputation71,282,504,454,106
root_title"Artificial Madness (Shortstory)"
beneficiaries[]
max_accepted_payout1,000,000.000 HBD
percent_hbd10,000
post_id100,585,199
net_rshares0
@poshbot ·
https://twitter.com/SuesaTheGreen/status/1329066981635596291
👎  
properties (23)
authorposhbot
permlinkre-artificial-madness-shortstory-20201118t142055z
categoryscifi
json_metadata"{"app": "beem/0.24.8"}"
created2020-11-18 14:20:54
last_update2020-11-18 14:20:54
depth1
children0
last_payout2020-11-25 14:20:54
cashout_time1969-12-31 23:59:59
total_payout_value0.000 HBD
curator_payout_value0.000 HBD
pending_payout_value0.000 HBD
promoted0.000 HBD
body_length60
author_reputation5,554,335,374,496
root_title"Artificial Madness (Shortstory)"
beneficiaries[]
max_accepted_payout1,000,000.000 HBD
percent_hbd10,000
post_id100,584,128
net_rshares-183,318,566,827
author_curate_reward""
vote details (1)
@rozku ·
$0.02
@tipu curate :)
👍  ,
properties (23)
authorrozku
permlinkre-suesa-20201118t8949737z
categoryscifi
json_metadata{"tags":["ecency"],"app":"ecency/3.0.9-mobile","format":"markdown+html"}
created2020-11-18 14:09:48
last_update2020-11-18 14:09:48
depth1
children2
last_payout2020-11-25 14:09:48
cashout_time1969-12-31 23:59:59
total_payout_value0.012 HBD
curator_payout_value0.008 HBD
pending_payout_value0.000 HBD
promoted0.000 HBD
body_length15
author_reputation58,989,728,235,474
root_title"Artificial Madness (Shortstory)"
beneficiaries[]
max_accepted_payout1,000,000.000 HBD
percent_hbd10,000
post_id100,583,990
net_rshares206,128,808,668
author_curate_reward""
vote details (2)
@suesa ·
<3
properties (22)
authorsuesa
permlinkre-rozku-qjzwpm
categoryscifi
json_metadata{"tags":["scifi"],"app":"peakd/2020.11.1"}
created2020-11-18 14:10:36
last_update2020-11-18 14:10:36
depth2
children0
last_payout2020-11-25 14:10:36
cashout_time1969-12-31 23:59:59
total_payout_value0.000 HBD
curator_payout_value0.000 HBD
pending_payout_value0.000 HBD
promoted0.000 HBD
body_length2
author_reputation218,682,730,656,129
root_title"Artificial Madness (Shortstory)"
beneficiaries[]
max_accepted_payout1,000,000.000 HBD
percent_hbd10,000
post_id100,584,001
net_rshares0
@tipu ·
<a href="https://tipu.online/hive_curator?rozku" target="_blank">Upvoted  &#128076;</a> (Mana: 14/48) <a href="https://peakd.com/hive/@reward.app/reward-app-quick-guide-updated" target="_blank">Liquid rewards</a>.
properties (22)
authortipu
permlinkre-re-suesa-20201118t8949737z-20201118t140956z
categoryscifi
json_metadata"{"app": "beem/0.24.13"}"
created2020-11-18 14:10:00
last_update2020-11-18 14:10:00
depth2
children0
last_payout2020-11-25 14:10:00
cashout_time1969-12-31 23:59:59
total_payout_value0.000 HBD
curator_payout_value0.000 HBD
pending_payout_value0.000 HBD
promoted0.000 HBD
body_length213
author_reputation55,196,645,969,826
root_title"Artificial Madness (Shortstory)"
beneficiaries[]
max_accepted_payout1,000,000.000 HBD
percent_hbd10,000
post_id100,583,992
net_rshares0