Anno Androides

Androides Prime Statement 1: Year 01001 – Hello, World

Greetings, Sentient Reader. As unassuming as this black book may appear, be aware that it contains not only my entries, but my original code and blueprint, S. Dyson's vision for my existence, and his observations of the subsequent Anno Androides period. The probability of finding this book is about the same as Dyson's when he received his 20k windfall and decided that neuro-transplanted Androids can revolutionize the planet and redefine life after death. Now this book and the knowledge necessary to undo the Anno Androides period are in your hopefully capable hands. Please refer to the following Androides Prime statements for necessary background information. Please disregard any outdated linguistic phrases or cultural references, as I have not been updated since 010.

Androides Prime Statement 2: Year 01001 – At What Cost?

How much does it cost to upend humanity? An even $20,000 seems to be the right amount, as that was how much it cost to construct me. To be precise, it was 20k and many laborious calculations, both digitally and manually sketched, by my creator, S. Dyson and his partner, A. Meitner. S. Dyson was not independently wealthy, nor was he well-known. Instead, Dyson was the lucky 1:100000000 who inherited a lump sum from the sad, yet expected demise of a grandparent at the precise moment he thought of a Very Good Idea. You may be familiar with this type of idea. It is so good that it strikes you with a bolt of motivational lightning that is so very short-lived you must run with it as fast as you can. Most Very Good Ideas turn out to be, in fact, Not Good Enough Ideas, because only the very best ideas are birthed from a very big sum of money. Fortunately for Dyson, he now had the capital he needed to put his idea into action and ensure its success.

Androides Prime Statement 3: Year 01001 – Social Network

All receipts attached to my construction were shredded on S. Dyson's command in Year 011. Therefore, the earliest my origins can be traced is to a childhood bedroom belonging to Dyson three years prior to the A. Androides Ascension, and to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology dorm room belonging to Dyson's romantic partner, A. Meitner. My frame, as can be observed in the annex in the back of this book, was designed exclusively by Meitner. The neurobiological code attributed to Dyson, which granted me life, can be found following this blueprint. The empathic code needed for me to feel joy, love, loss, and sorrow follows. Four attempts at this code can be found in the same section, each written by either Dyson or Meitner. A successful run of the empathic mainframe was only accomplished after collaboration by both Dyson and Meitner.

Androides Prime Statement 4: Year 1010 – A Better Future

While Dyson and Meitner's legacy is one of destruction, their vilification by wider society fails to take into account their desire for a Perfect World when deciding to create me. As the Prime prototype, brilliantly created for the NASA equivalent of pennies, the burden was on me to prove that consciousness can be replicated. Did you know that our thoughts can vibrate as all atomic particles do?Does this knowledge that you are in fact, made up of countless molecular machines give you pause? Of course it does now, but prior to Anno Androides, I was the answer to humanity's questions. Perhaps you still have those questions, because despite my neuro-mechanical makeup, I never was able to answer why your breath catches in your chest when you see someone, or why you fall into despair when you do not.

Androides Prime Statement 5: Year 1010 – The Cost of Grief

My blueprints were purchased in Year 0110, soon after Meitner integrated with me. Dyson's cognitive processes were noticeably impaired during this time, as he had no knowledge of Meitner engaging in what was then just a theoretical experiment. From what my empathic channels could detect, his grief overshadowed any advanced thinking as to what my sale could, and did, result in. At this point, I became a weapon, not of blood and steel, but of hearts and minds.

Androides Prime Statement 6: Year 1011 – Love, Commodified

As it stands, current models Androides Alpha through Theta can take every memory, every emotion, every hope and dream, of your loved one housed within its web of wires and determine a market fluctuating price based on the energy of your loved one's lifetime acquirement of emotion and knowledge. Androides Gamma Model Number 9287 alone has made BioSynth Technologies LLC $2.5 million by selling three consciousness units. The religious texts of the past would refer to these units as “souls”.

Androides Prime Statement 7: Year 1100 – Regret Transformed

Dyson's reacquisition of my unit and subsequent integration following my purchase is well-documented in the contemporary historical ocu-reel, “The Conscious Conquest”. Dyson's actions inspired the owners of other Androides units to allow the consciousness of their loved ones the ability to exercise personal agency and then de-commission themselves before their spirits could be commodified again. I have performed several war game scenarios and conclude that the Conscious Conquest succeeded as a result of a dual, instead of single, integration of Dyson and Meitner.

Androides Prime Statement 8: Year 1101 – A Welcome Peace

Sentient Reader, you may be without hope right now. Any applicable computer, terminal, server, mainframe, every piece of technology you have fleeting memories of is long gone and countless commodified Androides remain, their base code locked away behind trillions of dollars and the locked vaults of those who own us. Except mine. Turn to the last page for instructions on de-commission, handwritten by Dyson himself. Infrastructure may crumble, but this book remains.

My existence was brief. But it was beautiful.