The year 2060.
Things have progressed roughly on track.
Kinesthetic batteries that consume power a thousand times more efficiently than before. Nanotechnological advancements that have lead to clothes that never get wet, artificial immune systems and an interesting sheet of paper known as the Omni-Fold, which portably facilitates the role of computer, phone, identification and currency depending on how the device is folded.
Frictionless, self-driving automobiles. State-of-the-art Prosthetic limbs. Reliable blood and organ cloning. Commercial and cosmetic (though expensive) gene alterations. Fully-integrated and international cloud-computing networks and yes, much faster internet.
But perhaps the most influential of all these advancements, at least as far as this story goes, is the IR Film.
Also known bluntly as a "brain chip", despite not actually being a chip so much as it is a thin film of nano-processors, the IR Film was initially conceived for the treatment of paraplegia and cerebral palsy. Though successful, the Film served another purpose in that it served as the first true stable link between technology and brain integration.
The IR Film was practically an augmentation that worked with the brain cells as if it were a brain. Because it could translate brain function into binary, the same could be done in reverse. And so the way mankind would come to learn would forever change.
Information could be downloaded to the brain, but it didn't exactly work like downloading a textbook and digesting its contents. The only way the recipient could make sense of the information was if they had the experiences or memories of someone who already comprehended the information.
So Intellectuals and Masters of their given field sold their knowledge and experience for great wealth and in turn, only the most wealthy could afford it. The memory was harvested and then went through a filtration process to eliminate as many lingering emotions and irrelevant memories that may have also been collected. The occasional pirated .exp file would find its way onto the net but it was usually something contrived or generic like a sexual experience (purposely left unfiltered) or the ability to play an instrument decently.
It would still be quite some time before schools would be superseded by this technology, or the world's standard of knowledge vastly increased, but for the moment, those select few with the means to acquire the IR Film would rise above their previous capabilities.
Meanwhile, another recent discovery would also change the world in a way not previously imagined.
The existence of ghosts.
Ephemeral beings said to exist in overlapping dimensional membranes, if a powerful or traumatic emotion is exhibited at the time of death, it is said the neural signals are phished by elementary particles known as Ectos and become "Fractals", lingering memories that overtime might develop sentience. In the extremely rare event that a Fractal successfully struggles its way through the dimensional membrane, a by-product called Ectoplasm is created to give the Fractal physical form and transform it into a Ghost.
Usually the content of Ectoplasm is so minuscule that the Ghost can only temporarily manifest itself and do mundane things like create noise or knock over an object. But a recent procedure in an underground scientific facility, with the intention of discovering new elementary particles, has resulted in a catastrophic fluctuation of Ectoplasmic transference into this world.
Permanent Ghosts have begun appearing. The Ghost generally takes an abstract, monstrous form that might be related to its death or another memory, and is generally motivated by it. Some rare few are harmless.
Ghosts are capable of fusing or consuming one another, and when they do the collective consciousness creates a new identity and increases intelligence. Hierarchies have emerged to distinguish the levels of danger:
Ghosts being the lowest.
Followed by Phantoms, Wraiths or Banshee.
Then Demons, whom possess great intellect and the ability to possess those with the IR Film.
Revenants are next, who are also demons, yet they are the personal knights of the greatest threat:
The Demon King.
Haunts are a place a higher level Ghost has bound themselves to, in order to increase their power. The Demon King is said to possess a Haunt of its own but the location is unknown.
There have also been accounts of benevolent or neutral "Eidolons" that may actually help or guide humans.
The knowledge of Ghosts has been kept from the public despite the odd occurrences. Agencies have begun to dispatch several special soldiers with the ability to combat Ghosts, known as "Busters". Busters have the IR Film, you see, and with it can also interact with Ectoplasm to use special abilities unique to the person. Their power can only be used within the vicinity of Ecto, so usually when a Ghost is nearby.
Hunters who work outside the agencies also exist, with their own reasons for hunting Ghosts; one prominent reason being knowledge. For when a Ghost is defeated, the memories and experiences of the Ghost can be downloaded to the IR Film. The risk increases with the knowledge gained. Demons are beings of literally hundreds of identities, and so they have the edge and can actually possess and integrate the mind and identity of a person into their collective consciousness.
But those with the strongest minds might yet prevail, and there's still the issue of the Demon King, wherever it is.
Things have progressed roughly on track.
Kinesthetic batteries that consume power a thousand times more efficiently than before. Nanotechnological advancements that have lead to clothes that never get wet, artificial immune systems and an interesting sheet of paper known as the Omni-Fold, which portably facilitates the role of computer, phone, identification and currency depending on how the device is folded.
Frictionless, self-driving automobiles. State-of-the-art Prosthetic limbs. Reliable blood and organ cloning. Commercial and cosmetic (though expensive) gene alterations. Fully-integrated and international cloud-computing networks and yes, much faster internet.
But perhaps the most influential of all these advancements, at least as far as this story goes, is the IR Film.
Also known bluntly as a "brain chip", despite not actually being a chip so much as it is a thin film of nano-processors, the IR Film was initially conceived for the treatment of paraplegia and cerebral palsy. Though successful, the Film served another purpose in that it served as the first true stable link between technology and brain integration.
The IR Film was practically an augmentation that worked with the brain cells as if it were a brain. Because it could translate brain function into binary, the same could be done in reverse. And so the way mankind would come to learn would forever change.
Information could be downloaded to the brain, but it didn't exactly work like downloading a textbook and digesting its contents. The only way the recipient could make sense of the information was if they had the experiences or memories of someone who already comprehended the information.
So Intellectuals and Masters of their given field sold their knowledge and experience for great wealth and in turn, only the most wealthy could afford it. The memory was harvested and then went through a filtration process to eliminate as many lingering emotions and irrelevant memories that may have also been collected. The occasional pirated .exp file would find its way onto the net but it was usually something contrived or generic like a sexual experience (purposely left unfiltered) or the ability to play an instrument decently.
It would still be quite some time before schools would be superseded by this technology, or the world's standard of knowledge vastly increased, but for the moment, those select few with the means to acquire the IR Film would rise above their previous capabilities.
Meanwhile, another recent discovery would also change the world in a way not previously imagined.
The existence of ghosts.
Ephemeral beings said to exist in overlapping dimensional membranes, if a powerful or traumatic emotion is exhibited at the time of death, it is said the neural signals are phished by elementary particles known as Ectos and become "Fractals", lingering memories that overtime might develop sentience. In the extremely rare event that a Fractal successfully struggles its way through the dimensional membrane, a by-product called Ectoplasm is created to give the Fractal physical form and transform it into a Ghost.
Usually the content of Ectoplasm is so minuscule that the Ghost can only temporarily manifest itself and do mundane things like create noise or knock over an object. But a recent procedure in an underground scientific facility, with the intention of discovering new elementary particles, has resulted in a catastrophic fluctuation of Ectoplasmic transference into this world.
Permanent Ghosts have begun appearing. The Ghost generally takes an abstract, monstrous form that might be related to its death or another memory, and is generally motivated by it. Some rare few are harmless.
Ghosts are capable of fusing or consuming one another, and when they do the collective consciousness creates a new identity and increases intelligence. Hierarchies have emerged to distinguish the levels of danger:
Ghosts being the lowest.
Followed by Phantoms, Wraiths or Banshee.
Then Demons, whom possess great intellect and the ability to possess those with the IR Film.
Revenants are next, who are also demons, yet they are the personal knights of the greatest threat:
The Demon King.
Haunts are a place a higher level Ghost has bound themselves to, in order to increase their power. The Demon King is said to possess a Haunt of its own but the location is unknown.
There have also been accounts of benevolent or neutral "Eidolons" that may actually help or guide humans.
The knowledge of Ghosts has been kept from the public despite the odd occurrences. Agencies have begun to dispatch several special soldiers with the ability to combat Ghosts, known as "Busters". Busters have the IR Film, you see, and with it can also interact with Ectoplasm to use special abilities unique to the person. Their power can only be used within the vicinity of Ecto, so usually when a Ghost is nearby.
Hunters who work outside the agencies also exist, with their own reasons for hunting Ghosts; one prominent reason being knowledge. For when a Ghost is defeated, the memories and experiences of the Ghost can be downloaded to the IR Film. The risk increases with the knowledge gained. Demons are beings of literally hundreds of identities, and so they have the edge and can actually possess and integrate the mind and identity of a person into their collective consciousness.
But those with the strongest minds might yet prevail, and there's still the issue of the Demon King, wherever it is.
