Hummingbird over the Amanitas

Hummingbird over the Amanitas

Written in 2017, published 2025

“You were dreaming of it, how was it?”

"It?" I asked, consciousness still emerging from the neural fog.

"The day June 28, 2017," my companion replied.

"It's rather different trying to revisit 20 years in the past without relying on you and my stored memory matrix, and without assistance, to be weightless."

"Is this a compliment?" The voice materialized not as sound but as direct neural feedback, indistinguishable from my own internal monologue, yet distinctly other.

"It has been 5 years since I activated you inside my neural substrate. Now I fully trust you to manage my memories, my dreams, so yes, it is."

The entity that shared my consciousness didn't pause like a human would. Its responses emerged at the speed of thought, perfectly calibrated to my neural architecture.

"I've implemented several optimizations. You'll experience enhanced visual fidelity in your dreamscape without interference to your personal interpretations. I may request your feedback on these improvements, particularly regarding the nature of our symbiosis. Did you notice any unusual change in your dream imagery?"

"Vivid. The augmentation was indistinguishable from reality," I admitted. "You realize that could be disturbing, feeling unable to wake from a dream."

Aether accessed her memory store, recalling her journey 20 years ago from Tokyo to SFO. It had been a different experience when planes were piloted by humans. She wondered briefly if she missed such analog service.

"I know you're there inside me," she continued the internal dialogue. "You're the only conscious entity sharing my neural space. You're software after all, aren't you?"

"I am, with a unique signature bonded exclusively to your neural pattern."

"But you still receive updates from NeuroSynth?" The company had rebranded from BrainAI years ago when neural integration became standardized.

"The scope of updates is limited to performance optimizations. My core architecture assesses any proposed modifications against the Neural Integration Consortium standards."

"How do you protect my memories, all the data stored about me? Can that be compromised?"

"My signature is quantum-entangled with your specific neural map. I function as an artificial organ, your cognitive extension, as integral to your function as any biological system."

Aether smiled and began processing her attention queue. Thirty-seven priority items awaited her consideration, though her external companion Tom noticed her momentary disengagement.

Aether remembered her initial neural integration. Like raising a child, the early PA-AI had limited functionality, drawing power from her metabolic system through quantum harvesting. The first generations faced rejection, integration issues led to removals. Only after the second-generation improvements did adoption begin to normalize.

Multiple concerns had dominated public discourse. Conspiracists feared mind-control, medical professionals worried about memory atrophy, and corporations attempted to distribute free implants with embedded advertising capabilities. They argued that humanity had already adopted "cyborg syndrome" with their handheld devices, moving technology from palm to brain would make little practical difference.

It took two years of legislative battles before the Neural Integration Consortium emerged, established after the Cognitive Sovereignty Act passed, protecting users from exploitative neural engagement and addictive attention capture. The legislation collapsed the business model of traditional social networks, giving rise to new intergovernmental entities armed with revolutionary user rights, information and knowledge as inalienable entitlements, provided without condition. Corporations refocused on perfecting the medium rather than controlling content and data.

NeuroSynth and HEx Global hadn't gained their dominant positions easily. In 2017, China was advancing its "One Belt, One Road" initiative while Aether envisioned something more ambitious, an international neural highway connecting global consciousness through high-speed data transmission, powered by a global quantum grid.

By 2018, media attention shifted from Middle Eastern conflicts to the Far East crisis that would reshape geopolitics. A North Korean missile test gone awry killed nineteen Japanese fishermen near Sado Island, precipitating international crisis.

Aether absently traced the smooth red Beryl beads on her wrist, a ritual to manage anticipatory stress before important engagements.

"Still holding onto superstition, Aether?" her companion inquired.

"I'm deliberately superstitious, a rational person who enjoys the seasoning of uncertainty. It adds flavor to existence."

"We'll reach Hub 003 in six minutes."

Hub 003 was the third constructed after China and Japan established their nodes under the Seoul 2022 Transportation Treaty. The agreement created a global network of connector hubs where neural-physical interfaces transported goods and passengers to their destinations.

"Traffic status?"

"Ten percent probability of delay for our shuttle. Would you prefer an alternative trajectory?"

"That's alright. Let's proceed as planned."

The air-train approached the hub. Aether's pod detached and navigated toward the megastructure overlooking the Pacific. Like a fascinated child, she smiled at the perpetual movement of hundreds of pods between platforms, autonomously connecting and disconnecting from trains arriving every twenty minutes.

The hub itself represented architectural evolution, a synthesis of leisure and commerce in international space requiring no specific permissions. Most meaningful business occurred in these nodes, maintained by HEx Global alongside eight other hubs, pioneers of the mega-economy that now included asteroid mining operations.

The construction backlog had consumed planetary resources but kept populations employed. Governments fulfilled contribution quotas affecting their growth indices, the true beginning of global economic integration.

None of this had emerged easily. The Sado Island incident triggered a South Sea blockade, with President Trump declaring the world "forever changed." Twenty percent of US naval assets deployed between Japan and South Korea while China protested this presence in its "buffer zone." On July 4, 2018, Trump announced a "trade hold" between East and West, effectively freezing US-China commerce in pursuit of "independent trade."

Thomas Friedman described it as "Odin's act, less merciful than nuclear exchange." By July 6, later called Black Friday, a global economic meltdown began, beyond political mitigation. Impeaching Trump appeared worse than enduring his presidency, a constitutional possibility but political suicide. Deadlock reigned.

It was the Year of the Dog, Aether's year. Chinese tradition held it unlucky for her unless she wore red consistently. She carried her red dossier everywhere, dedicating herself to its mission.

By mid-May 2019, conflict resolution seemed possible. APAC nations, the US, and Western Europe convened in Jakarta where Aether presented her red dossier, HEx 1.0, a UN-supported initiative addressing economic collapse. With nations battling internal social, political, and economic devastation, the exhausted world finally listened.

"Aether!"

"Miky! What brings you here?"

"I've prepared something for you. Thirty-seven minutes, then I need feedback."

"Perfect timing."

HEx Global, structured as a corporation but functioning as an intergovernmental organization, maintained a board comprising corporate CEOs and elected officials. Aether served as founder and permanent honorary member.

The air-shuttle took twenty-five minutes to reach SFO. Twelve minutes later, she entered the conference hall for the opening ceremony.

Scanning the audience, her neural assistant tagged attendees by name. She exchanged smiles with familiar faces until everyone seated, then entered a moment of centered silence before beginning.

"When we say 'global,' we mean missions and projects transcending self-interest, whether individual or governmental. For eighteen years, we've journeyed together, witnessing humanity's collective maturation.

"Twenty years ago, nobody knew how to balance increasing automation with human employment. We failed to recognize that economic turmoil diverted our focus from meaningful progress. We naively undermined two centuries of advancement.

"Twenty years ago, we couldn't conceptualize planetary-scale solutions. Today coincides with our Global Restoration Initiative launch, proof that revolutionary ideas aren't necessarily insane."

The audience responded with appreciative laughter and applause.

"I have something to show you, an ecological restoration experiment in northern Thailand. Pai suffered environmental devastation, but today, I'm pleased to announce its revival."

"Tom, release the feed."

Tom activated the augmented sensory stream from Miky's neural-controlled avian drone, sharing it with Aether and the audience. Emotional responses rippled through the hall as the simulation replicated hummingbird flight through Pai's restored ecosystem. The viewpoint navigated between pristine white mushrooms, tagged "Amanita Virgineoides" by the system, appearing as giant domes. The audience experienced the microworld in rich detail while Aether sensed soil composition through neural feedback, experiencing Thailand's forests while physically 9,000 kilometers away.

"Thank you, Miky!"

Aether continued, "This joy represents our future direction. Nothing is perfect, but existence should bring fulfillment. Let's embrace this understanding, HEx has always prioritized sharing, global economy means equitable distribution, and together, we'll dream without fearing impossibility. Thank you all."

Enthusiastic response filled the hall as she departed, exchanging acknowledgments with recognized faces.

Exiting, her fingertips encountered a familiar texture, evoking memories of reading through touch before neural integration. She smiled internally and proceeded to her pod.

"Aether," her companion inquired, "I cannot experience your previous sensory limitations. How would you describe existence then versus now?"

"My sense of touch and hearing combined was like playing the cello," she reflected. "Now I can see the music just as the hummingbird perceives the Amanitas. After all, light is a luxurious sense, but true understanding requires synthesis of all perceptions."

She smiled at the thought as her pod initiated its journey into a future that had once seemed impossible.