Sonic Encounters Podcast 005 – Irreversible Transcription Errors During Consciousness Transfer

“Welcome to transfer station 11203. Your consciousness transfer is about to begin and soon you will enjoy immortality in your new custom body. The process is 100% foolproof thanks to your personal technician who will be actively monitoring the process for transcription errors. In the unlikely event of a transcription error, your technician will be manually executing corrective rewrites well before the 6 minute margin where these anomalies would become part of your permanent consciousness in the target vessel. This “human touch” is just another way Transfer-Con goes the extra mile for our clients.

You should now be feeling a warm sensation as the intravenous sedation takes effect. This sedation will render you blind and paralyzed pending transfer – for your comfort and safety. To help you maintain a calm and meditative state during transfer, you will now hear the reassuring and ever steady rhythms of the audio feed from your transfer monitor. Thanks for choosing Transfer-Con. We Can’t Wait to See You on the Other Side℠.”

A remote technician sitting in a cubical farm 8,000 miles away initiates your transfer while multi-tasking to monitor 49 other transfers in-flight. He took on an extra shift today to make more money to save for his own transfer – although it will take him years to save enough for his own procedure. He squints – straining through fatigue to read the virtual dials on his aging computer screen. As your transfer begins, he nods off – dreaming of his own immortality.

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Artists Notes
This is a modern take on Edgar Allen Poe’s “Premature Burial”. In this fictional – and some say inevitable scenario – there are new fears to be considered. This piece focuses on the fear of being cataleptic and aware that you are on a one way trip to an immortal state with irreversible transcription errors in your consciousness. The soundscape represents the audio feed from the patient’s transfer monitor.

Instrumentation and Instrumentalities
Elektron Octatrack

Track 05 “Irreversible Transcription Errors During Consciousness Transfer” – Story: “Welcome to transfer station 11203. Your consciousness transfer is about to begin and soon you will enjoy immortality in your new custom body. The process is 100% foolproof thanks to your personal technician who will be actively monitoring the process for transcription errors. In the unlikely event of a transcription error, your technician will be manually executing corrective rewrites well before the 6 minute margin where these anomalies would become part of your permanent consciousness in the target vessel. This “human touch” is just another way Transfer-Con goes the extra mile for our clients. You should now be feeling a warm sensation as the intravenous sedation takes effect. This sedation will render you blind and paralyzed pending transfer – for your comfort and safety. To help you maintain a calm and meditative state during transfer, you will now hear the reassuring and ever steady rhythms of the audio feed from your transfer monitor. Thanks for choosing Transfer-Con. We Can’t Wait to See You on the Other Side℠.” A remote technician sitting in a cubical farm 8,000 miles away initiates your transfer while multi-tasking to monitor 49 other transfers in-flight. He took on an extra shift today to make more money to save for his own transfer – although it will take him years to save enough for his own procedure. He squints – straining through fatigue to read the virtual dials on his aging computer screen. As your transfer begins, he nods off – dreaming of his own immortality. Artists Notes: This is a modern take on Edgar Allen Poe’s “Premature Burial”. In this fictional – and some say inevitable scenario – there are new fears to be considered. This piece focuses on the fear of being cataleptic and aware that you are on a one way trip to an immortal state with irreversible transcription errors in your consciousness. The soundscape represents the audio feed from the patient’s transfer monitor. Instrumentation and Instrumentalities: Elektron Octatrack

Photo of Morse Code source sample being manipulated heavily in Octatrack

Location of Morse Code Sample

Morse Code key was an exhibit in this museum

Source Audio

• Field recording – Morse Code Key
  • Date: June 2009
  • Location: Chatham Railroad Museum, 153 Depot Rd Chatham, MA 02633 ,  Cape Cod, MA
  • Recorder: Zoom H2
  • Format:  44.1kHz/24bit 120 degree stereo
• Choir Samples