Wouldn’t the answer to this and other dystopias-posing-as-utopias be the expansion of conscious awareness a la Accelerando? Couldn’t Steve be augmented enough to both enjoy his life with Helen and his new found verthandi? It seems like multiple streams of consciousness, one enjoying the catlair, another the maiden in distress, and yet another the failed utopia that is suburbia with Helen would allow Mr. Glass a pleasant enough mix. Some would be complete artificial life fictions, but so what?
Eliezer,
Wouldn’t the answer to this and other dystopias-posing-as-utopias be the expansion of conscious awareness a la Accelerando? Couldn’t Steve be augmented enough to both enjoy his life with Helen and his new found verthandi? It seems like multiple streams of consciousness, one enjoying the catlair, another the maiden in distress, and yet another the failed utopia that is suburbia with Helen would allow Mr. Glass a pleasant enough mix. Some would be complete artificial life fictions, but so what?
Aaron