Why didn't she just click Copy?

[su27k]

If human consciousness can be digitized (still a big if), the first thing people should realize is this means consciousness can be copied. The way they write this episode and the ones before, it seems they just assumed consciousness is like a physical entity or ghost/spirit, which can only exist at one place at a time, which is just wrong in a digital world. When you upload a file, you still get your copy, the same should be true for consciousness upload, unless I missed some technobubble they made up earlier.

Or does the writer worry MPAA will frown upon their showing digital copy can be harmless and is the natural existence of digital entities?

[escyos]

Maybe but I imagine that the consciousness exists as a constantly running program that may be incapable of being copied like a file on a computer. Its complexity may be too much for a computer to handle another duplicate file.

[Major_Griff]

Because the copy of Rush wouldn't be happy merely existing as a computer simulation. It was never Amanda's intention to keep Rush locked in the simulation it just happened because he apparently didn't truly love her, which was the simulation parameter that would have allowed him to come and go.

[Shadow_7]

Or their self image is such that they can't stand themselves. I could see Rush wanting a copy of himself, that's his persona. But not the other two gals.

[Greenfire32]

Or maybe the technology is designed to not allow the copying of consciousnesses?

[sgc]

All of those are true possibilities. It could be sort of like a RoboCop type thing. The first one worked because he wanted revenge, but the others self-terminated because they couldn't exist in that manner.

[garhkal]

Or maybe the technology is designed to not allow the copying of consciousnesses?

Most likely..

[su27k]

Or maybe the technology is designed to not allow the copying of consciousnesses?

This is where I think they got it wrong. If by technology you mean the chair, then yes, it's possible it is designed to only move consciousnesses, but once consciousnesses is transfered to Destiny's mainframe, it is just digital information (I think they even gave a size, like 900TB or something), which can be copied. Then you can put one copy back to the chair and wake up the physical Rush, and keep one inside the simulation.

[garhkal]

Perhaps the same safeguards in place on the chair, are also in the system, to prevent doing just that.

[erotavlas]

Or perhaps the act of tranfering the consiousness involved more than just reading bits of information and requires actual interaction with the content that your are tranfering. Maybe there is something about how our minds work at the atomic/subatomic level that makes it impossible to duplicate without also destroying or interfering with it.

[droid327]

Maybe it's preserved in a quantum state, and can't be copied since, according to Heisenberg, the act of reading it, to copy it, would alter it.

Thats the basis for quantum cryptography thats currently being developed.

[The Destiny]

or maybe.. just maybe... they didn't think of this option.

It's still a program and data. Rush's body & brain were in a coma and they did use words that suggested his mind was 'removed' from his body. Stuff like 'downloaded' or 'uploaded', which is a different thing than your brain being linked to the computer. Your brain is in the computer.

So Ctrl-c and you've got a back-up

If they had the needed memoryspace available this would be a perfect way to preserve people's minds just in case their bodies died ( due to accidents, disease, old age etc. ). It's a lot of date though, so I doubt they have enough room for 60-70 minds. I always wondered this about the asgard cloning. Why didn't they copy a mind 100 times and put it into 100 bodies? Sure, there'd be some minor ethical dillema's although the personalities of those clones would diverge over time and if your race is dying and dwindling in numbers you must do what you need to.
In the destiny-case a problem would be that those personalities would have to stay active in the computer. According to Eli in "hope" they couldn't be deactivated. Those minds might just go crazy being isolated in the computer or not being able to touch anything and the very idea that they were merely a back-up.


The idea is a bit problematic even if copying is possible. How'd you feel if you are the mind of a person put in a computer without a body just to be used as a back-up?

[garhkal]

or maybe.. just maybe... they didn't think of this option.

That's a likely possibility. WE have thought of several things it seems the ancients didn't.

[kmiller1610]

Perhaps the files are so large and copying them is such a drain on resources, they decided it wasn't worth taking up the space with copies.

[beafly]

Even if copying isn't feasible, sure seems like a Dr. Rush could work and learn a whole lot faster inside the Destiny's Computer than working through a computer screen.

This technology really makes the bridge of the Destiny obsolete in my humble opinion.