Tradable Memories (World Building Notes)

I was flicking through some recent prompts in the world-building community and saw this one in regards to 'Tradable Memories' and thought it was a pretty cool idea to work with.

Here's A Link To The Prompt Post If You Want To Check It Out.

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Tradable Memories

The idea is an interesting one, and could lead to some interesting situations in the world I've been working on for the last couple of years.

I never really covered a topic such as this in my writing because, in a way, it reminds me of Ghost In The Shell, where androids can get hacked and be implanted with someone else's memories, making them believe that they have lived completely different lives than their own.

This idea also comes up in Cyberpunk 2077 in the form of BDs or Brain Dances, which is when a user is able to insert a memory chip into their mind and watch a scene play out from the perspective of someone else. These can be every from porn, to thrill seeking. But, there is a black market version of them known as XBDs, which are X-rated versions, which can be pretty dark and seedy and not intended for the faint of heart.

If I Were To Use Something Like This

As I said, I thought against adding something like this into my stories, because I don't think I'd be able to bring much more to the table that other sci-fi shows, films, and games haven't already covered in detail.

I'm not entirely sure how I would incorporate something like this either, but throughout the next sections of this post, I'll give it a go and run through a couple of ideas that differ from some of the other alternatives that have already been showcased.

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How Would I Make Mine Different?

I'd try to write something into the history of the world about how the government sold its public the idea of chips and implants.

This could be sold, much like they're sold in our own world.

Ways To Sell Chips -

1. Security, and Safety - A way of being able to track the ones you care about, should the unthinkable occur.
2. Experience the world of tomorrow, today - this could appeal to a bunch of people, especially those who have always dreamed of the future.
3. Ease - It could be sold to a population by stating how much easier life would be.

Rather than bringing cash, or cards with you, you'd be able to pay with the chip. Rather than bringing a phone with you, you could call and text people from the back of your eyelids. This could potentially lead to telepathy in a way - being able to have full-blown conversations without uttering a word.

1. Record Everything - The chance to record everything you do, say, or see would be a good thing, and could potentially help people if they ever got in trouble and had to prove their innocence. But, it would also be cool to have all of your best memories saved forever.

After The Idea Is Sold

The idea is sold to the population, and they all agree that it's far better to have a chip, or implant, than not. There would be some kickback from fringe groups, but I'd imagine the general take-up of this tech would be high.

I should probably have a name for the world that this takes place on. I'll say Ali'Da - the homeworld of the Alid, who are a tech-centric race who invented much of the technology that is used frequently throughout the Galaxy.

So, the Ali'Da government sold this new innovative tech to its citizens, who all took it on board and incorporated it into their lifestyle.

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Rights Encroached Upon

I imagine - in a world with this sort of technology - it wouldn't be long before people were tracked and were any sort of crime to take place all of those who were near the location of the particular event would be taken in for "Review" - which would be the a soft way of the local law enforcement to say that they extracted chips from suspects and went through their memories.

Alibi's - I'd imagine that it wouldn't be long before there was an underworld agency that could hook a customer up with a clean chip, that injects an artificial memory, in place of the crime they may have committed.

This is kind of interesting because it would mean that the user would have no recollection of the past crime, and would believe wholeheartedly that they were innocent of any wrongdoing.

In a way, that could open up an entire market centred around the idea of wiping memories that someone doesn't want anymore. Similar to 'Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind.

Since the original memory would be there, the review by law enforcement could potentially find it and uncover these false memories. This could lead to mental issues, where two ideas in the mind conflict with one another, to the point that entire sections may be repressed for the brain's own protection.

Premise For A Story

You know, I think this could be an interesting premise for a story, and I might explore the idea further as soon as I get some basic plotting done.

I have the intention of doing NaNoWriMo next week and figured I would draft out a novel here on Hive for it. Maybe I can go with this rough idea I have and see how things go.