Abyssal Dision, the only person who historically underwent sublimation
- "In our imaginary world - of [sci-fi] novels, movies, computer games and the like - we gave our machines, our computers, personalities . . . that idea was fundamentally wrong. God is the only one to whom the power of creating life from nothing is allowed . . . but if we humans were to become the machines or computers, then there's quite a possibility, don't you agree?"
- ― Simon Orestes Cohen[1]
Sublimation is a technological concept appearing solely in the Japanese version of Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere, which involves the copying of a human being's consciousness into computer software, and uploading into the cyberspace known as the Electrosphere.
History
Sublimation was one of the many projects undertaken by General Resource's secret Darkness of Enigma group. The concept itself was first formulated by the group's leader, Yoko Martha Inoue.
The first sublimation process was tested on Abyssal Dision, who was in an intimate relationship with Yoko. The test was a success, and a copy of Dision was uploaded to the Electrosphere.[2] Prior to the test, Rena Hirose had accidentally revealed the existence of Darkness of Enigma,[citation needed] resulting in General Resource eliminating its members. Assassins planted a bomb at the facility of Yoko and Dision's test, killing them both. However, Dision's sublimated copy continued to exist in the Electrosphere.[2]
The death of Yoko led Simon Orestes Cohen, a Neucom scientist who had feelings for Yoko and believed Dision to be her killer, to develop the Nemo simulation. The simulation was to test whether a fabricated conflict could result in the death of Dision's Electrosphere copy. The simulation proved that it could - in all outcomes, Dision would always be killed. Pleased, Simon released Nemo into the real world.[3]
Under one of the outcomes of the simulation, Cynthia Bridgitte Fitzgerald, a Neucom ace, decides to undergo sublimation due to Nemo's actions.[4]
Trivia
- Sublimation is referred to as mind uploading in real-life. The process has undergone basic research, but is not currently possible.
- Many philosophical issues have been raised about the process, including copying a consciousness versus moving it entirely. In Ace Combat 3, Dision's sublimated self is sometimes referred to as a "deadcopy".
- The word "sublimation" comes from a psychological defense mechanism related to impulses transforming from socially unacceptable to socially acceptable. The term was first coined by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche.
References
- ↑ Photosphere.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Cutscene during Archnemesis, Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere.
- ↑ True ending to Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere after completing all five outcomes.
- ↑ Cutscene following Sole Survivor, Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere.