Remnant

In order to prolong their lives, the rich build synthetic bodies into which they can upload their Minds. A Mind must go through the internet for processing on its way into the synth. Occasionally, instead of transferring one’s consciousness the Mind is fractured, broken, corrupted. No longer will such a Mind be able to inhabit a body. The Mind is loosed into the internet. Such a Mind will often lose sentients and effectively ‘die’ within the first day of fragmentation. However, in rare cases, the Mind remains sentient after fragmentation. Such a Mind grows and adapts to its new environment, but often something is missing. Memory. Language. Personality. Empathy. It varies from subject to subject. These are called Remnants. Ghosts. Sentient code. They are impossible to repair and impossible to destroy. A remnant has only been known to ‘die’ if it wishes to do so.   Studying Remnants as well as snapshots taken during the transfer process has led to the development of the first real sentient artificial intelligences. Such A.I.s can be uploaded into a synth, and in so doing become indistinguishable from a biological intelligence wearing a synth. Most synths bearing an artificial intelligence are marked with a red light around the left wrist and most AIs are created with inhibitors that prevent them from transferring to another body. Most synths provided to AIs are designed to mimic biological processes with as much accuracy as possible, they eat, they sleep, they drink, they die.   Synths tend to resemble the Mind's last body but are also commonly ‘enhanced’ in various ways. Proportions modified for a more ‘elegant’ appearance — typically thin but well-muscled — increased strength, agility, looks, etc. Some chose to add features such as lights or color-shifting skin. A synth will mimic the processes of a biological body unless the Mind wishes otherwise. For some synth models however certain processes are a necessity and cannot be altered. There are three main companies that produce synths, they typically have their clients meet with a concept sketch artist to assist them in designing their next body.     Most of the world’s countries have coagulated into an extensive Empire. Under the Empire, religion has been outlawed and only one language is spoken throughout. Anybody who studies the sciences is held above the average man, robotics and computer science foremost among them. The Empire has constructed immense Academies to provide an apt environment for learning and the sharing of knowledge. Within the Academies, there are a multitude of laboratories, libraries, auditoriums, and the like. Most major cities have an Academy, and some, such as the capital, have multiple.