Memoizer’s are devices that allow someone to experience another cognitive state. Effectively it’s a method for being able to record and playback the qualia of a circumstance. This is used for many purposes such as safety training, entertainment, and teaching. With modern advancements there are several methods of capture, some creating the states artificially, and others using experience engineers.
Experience Engineering
During research into consciousness Dr. Reinart Saelzar discovered a way to “store” conscious states. These states could then be embedded into early versions of what we now call neuro-cognitive plastics. Using these plastics brain states could be stored, and with the help of a memoizer they could be “replayed”. Typically these early devices were used to capture patient data to compare on a computer to a baseline. This comparison was used to check neurocognitive function, and as a diagnostic tool for mental health issues.
Early prototype of a cognitive gel, still very similar in structure to a human brain
One of Dr. Saelzar’s research assistants (Dr. Melinda Carthwright) decided to work on getting playback to work inside a human mind. Her first successful test allowed people to experience a sunset at the top of a mountain near to the lab. A new type of media was born, experiences. Experience(s) is/are the name(s) given to these recordings, and the people recording are called experience engineers (originally called “slates” though this is now considered derogatory). These initial models were incredibly clunky and often “desynced”. Typically it would require the experience engineer to sit incredibly still, with small movements to look around. These first methods were a 1:1 recreation, and there were several initial issues:
- Limited range of movement since the environment couldn’t be captured
- Took incredible amounts of storage for relatively short experiences
- Engineers were not used to suppressing their thoughts and would often end up leaking personal details including passwords, addresses, phone numbers, and pin numbers
- Traditional actors would often get injured and then continue a take, but this pain was translated directly into experiencers
- Limited fault tolerance meant a single mistake would require reshooting an experience
- Dissociation leading to a loss of personal identity
- “Ghosting” were after an experience a sensation would linger
- Loss of movement in appendages after an experience with an amputee experience engineer
- Lingering depression after experiences with a clinically depressed experience engineer
From here the work of dozens of scientists including Dr. Mark Seaborne who helped develop a much more efficient method of recording experiences. This lead to the more complex “experience engineering” we see today. Most importantly Dr. Seaborne realized that you only needed to record portions of the brain, and simple sensations like heat, vibration, cool etc. were better simulated by external systems. So instead of simulating what heat feels like for example the user can opt to wear a suit which will emulate the feeling in their own body. This means all the data about the experience can be omitted.
A more modern cognitive gel attached to a minimizer gen 2 by The Org
There are also more artificial methods of experience generation. Companies like ExperiMax now provide libraries for experience directors so that they can scan an environment and dynamically generate the experiences based on the scans. For example if you have a grassy field you can specify the air temperature, moisture, type of grass, and a photogrametric scan of the area. From there when a person enters the experience they are able to walk around inside the experience, and live out the experience themselves.
Following the first Shekland massacre, and the mass redistribution of several terrorist group recruitment experiences the use of memoizers is heavily regulated. Personal use is now neigh-impossible, and experience theatres are one of the only ways to feasibly experience.