Space/Science — HabitableZone

Space/Science » in reply to re: Interstellar travel. - I know.

re: Interstellar travel. - I know.
JEKing — (archived)

By the 80s I had decided that moving ponderous life-support systems through space, though it has a certain romantic appeal, would never end up being the main thrust of other-star- system-colonization. It seemed to me then as now that consciousness would have to be sustained as 'software' in a 'hardware' not so fragile physically, psychologically, and socially as would be a fairly small sampling of human bodies; think quantum computers or the like. Robotics could handle maintenance needs, including self-repair or acquisition of new resources.

The 'software' would not be in stasis during the journey. By the time some target star system was reached some kind of hybrid consciousness would have evolved. The space vessel might have frozen 'fancy carbon' life seeds to strew about new planets, but in all likelihood the 'supreme cognitive functions' would be retained by the new human/artilect hybrid beings. Such beings might have the option of temporarily inhabiting 'fancy carbon' bodies now and then as a 'vacation.'

This theme could be expanded, but the point here is that the process of acting on strong exploratory desires would rapidly take on as life of its own and arrive at an end unanticipated.

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