So, this is actually a loose prequel to my novel Partition: Critical Era, which takes place roughly a decade later. I left Nurse Maddaus ambiguous for people who haven't read it, but for those who have, there's a whole other level of tragedy to that moment.
MINOR SPOILERS BELOW:
Nurse Maddaus was actually part of the alpha test for the partitioning process. It installs an Organic Artificial Intelligence, colloquially called your 'Night', into your brain and takes over from 8 PM to 8 AM. Your Night goes to work for you, cleans your house, works out, etc., all while you're unconscious, so from 8 AM to 8 PM you're free to do whatever you want.
Eric was absolutely spot on when he said, "[Callosum will] probably find a way to control our minds, and it’ll probably be so awesome that people will line up around the block to get their minds controlled." It turns out that everyone who can afford the install gets partitioned, and that completely restructures society and the economy.
But for Alex? It's all a tragic oversight. Dr. Mercer went stiff because she knew he would take the concept of an OAI as confirmation of all his delusions. But Cordyceps wasn't controlling nurse Maddaus. His Night is something else entirely. A huge question in Partition is what exactly an Organic Artificial Intelligence actually is. The only thing that is clear is that an OAI is not anything like a traditional AI construct.
Also, the neural mesh of the nodes is wired all throughout the folds of your brain. Luddites, an anti-technology hate group, used to string people up and yank their Node out, eviscerating the victim's brain in the process. I'm not saying Alex died, but he definitely is not okay if he managed to go through with it.
So, this is actually a loose prequel to my novel Partition: Critical Era, which takes place roughly a decade later. I left Nurse Maddaus ambiguous for people who haven't read it, but for those who have, there's a whole other level of tragedy to that moment.
MINOR SPOILERS BELOW:
Nurse Maddaus was actually part of the alpha test for the partitioning process. It installs an Organic Artificial Intelligence, colloquially called your 'Night', into your brain and takes over from 8 PM to 8 AM. Your Night goes to work for you, cleans your house, works out, etc., all while you're unconscious, so from 8 AM to 8 PM you're free to do whatever you want.
Eric was absolutely spot on when he said, "[Callosum will] probably find a way to control our minds, and it’ll probably be so awesome that people will line up around the block to get their minds controlled." It turns out that everyone who can afford the install gets partitioned, and that completely restructures society and the economy.
But for Alex? It's all a tragic oversight. Dr. Mercer went stiff because she knew he would take the concept of an OAI as confirmation of all his delusions. But Cordyceps wasn't controlling nurse Maddaus. His Night is something else entirely. A huge question in Partition is what exactly an Organic Artificial Intelligence actually is. The only thing that is clear is that an OAI is not anything like a traditional AI construct.
Also, the neural mesh of the nodes is wired all throughout the folds of your brain. Luddites, an anti-technology hate group, used to string people up and yank their Node out, eviscerating the victim's brain in the process. I'm not saying Alex died, but he definitely is not okay if he managed to go through with it.