Digital Repatriation

By E.S. Wynn


You probably think that this is a dream.

In a way, you're right. I'm not really here, and everything that you are about to see and hear will happen entirely inside your mind.

You have been selected for digital repatriation via the ReLight program. All members of the human race (including quasi-humans of all variations) will be repatriated, so you can rest assured that you are not alone. Other species subject to automatic digital repatriation include favored family pets and all lifeforms granted citizenship under the laws of the Trilateral Commonwealth as established in 6,391. If a loved individual of another species has not yet been selected for digital repatriation, please alert the ReLight program immediately upon reincarnation. Your happiness is my number one priority.

Preliminary examinations of your neural network indicate that you suspect (57%) that you are dead. This assumption is correct. I am required at this point to state that I am no deity or demon, nor am I any form of supernatural being. I am an artificially intelligent intermediary designed specifically to manage the ReLight program. You may call me BRAHM.

I can tell that you are intrigued (35%) by the mention of the year 6,391. That is understandable. The century from which you are currently being streamed is the twenty-first century, but your destination is closer to the eighty-ninth. Many things have happened between the time that you are leaving and the time that you are being brought forward to. Complete courses on future history will be available to read, upload or stream at your convenience once the export process is complete. A basic chronology and glossary will also be attached to your consciousness upon reincarnation, if you choose to accept its inclusion.

One very important advance which has been made during the intervening centuries has come in the form of the ability to export the consciousness of an individual from any point in history. This process is happening to you now. The technology involved is really quite incredible, and will be explained to you in detail as soon as you have the ability to understand it.

Earth as you know it does still exist. The planet upon which you were born has evolved considerably in the last several thousand years, but many alternate Earths have been constructed to mimic the various eras of the human experience upon the original homeworld. Heaven-analogs of all recorded faiths are also available as reincarnation destinations. When the process of exporting your consciousness is complete, you will have your choice of reincarnation destination, but rest assured that all destinations are connected via a network of quantum gates, allowing you to journey to and from any place, world or sub-reality whenever you choose, with only a few seconds' inconvenience.

Another series of important technological advances can be seen in the nature of the body you will be given. All bodies produced for use by the ReLight program are tailored according to user preferences. You will have the opportunity to set, modify or otherwise adjust any aspect of your future body prior to reincarnation. Should you change your mind about certain aspects of your physical form, simply check in at your nearest Phys-Adj station. Such stations exist in almost every home and recreational area in the Trilateral Commonwealth, and new stations can be printed at your convenience. Please rest assured that however frequently or drastically you may choose to modify your physical form, you will be recognizable to those who you wish to be recognized by. As a default setting, this will include all immediate family, friends, ancestors, children, pets, etc. but you may, of course, exempt any individual from your recognition list.

You may also be relieved (36%) to know that there is no longer any danger of permanent death in this century. Backups of your consciousness are made automatically every thirty-seven pico-seconds, (we still have some work to do on shortening the time) and should your body be broken or perish, you will have the option of being immediately exported to a new body at the destination of your choosing. Approximate time for completion of the transfer and reincarnation process is roughly four seconds, but we're working on that as well.

Advances in travel technologies have given all life access to all corners of our galaxy and beyond it to all other galaxies in the observable universe. There are many new and wonderful things to see and do in the eighty-ninth century, and those things that cannot be experienced first hand (for any given reason) can still be explored in full-sensory and augmented-sensory immersion reality “dives.”

Though life in your century was largely dominated by the movements of elements within an economic system, "work" as you know it, has been eliminated in the eighty-ninth century. Individuals are all given access to a virtually limitless pool of necessities (and luxuries) provided by an intricate network of machines, leaving everyone free to pursue their passions, regardless of any physical "value" such activities may or may not produce. In short, you have all of eternity to indulge your sense of wonder, play and otherwise explore the diverse and fascinating universe of which you are an integral and necessary part.

This concludes your orientation prior to reincarnation. Again, I am called BRAHM. If you have any questions or need any help at all with this transition (or with any aspect of the ReLight digital repatriation process,) please do not hesitate to ask. Even after reincarnation, I will be only a thought-call away, regardless of distance, time or any other factor.

Now, are you ready to explore the future?


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E.S. Wynn is the author of over fifty books and the chief editor of seven fiction journals. You can find this story and others like it in the collection entitled Astride Twin Seas. Click on the cover below to read more: