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"in 1974 I experienced an invasion of my mind by a transcendentally rational mind, as if I had been insane all my life and suddenly I had become sane."
- Philip K. Dick
 |
| Erased Memory | ||
| A procedure that deletes selected memories from the human mind. |
In the story, Quail is apparently an ordinary man who dreams of making a trip to Mars. Low on funds, he approaches Rekal, Incorporated to have some false memories (extra-factual memories) implanted - he will at least have memories of the trip he wanted.
Unfortunately, there was a pre-existing condition; he actually had gone to Mars, but the memories had been erased.
| "...The trip is very vivid in his mind - at least under sedation. But apparently he doesn't recall it otherwise. Someone, probably at a government military-sciences lab, erased his conscious memories; all he knew was that going to Mars meant something special to him, and so did being a secret agent. They couldn't erase that; it's not a memory but a desire... |
| Technovelgy from We Can Remember It For You Wholesale,
by Philip K. Dick. Published by Fantasy and SF in 1966 Additional resources -
|
This may not be a procedure that can be done more than once:
For an earlier version of this idea, see anti-heptant from Jack Vance's 1956 novel To Live Forever. See also this article on brain erasure from Edmond Hamilton's 1948 story The Knowledge Machine.
"...Maybe they can erase your memory once more, I don't know...
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Tech news articles related to We Can Remember It For You Wholesale
Tech news articles related to works by Philip K. Dick
Erased Memory-related
news articles:
- Amnesia Drugs: Bad Memories Blocked
- Memory-Erasing Chemical
- Selective Memory Deletion In Mice
- Tetris Reduces Emotional Scars
- Can Brains Erase Memories?
- Memory Erasure Thanks To Snails
- DCS May Extinguish Fearful Memories
- Erased Memories In A Flash Of Light
| Drug Induces Hibernation-Like State In Humans |
| Drug To Regenerate Teeth In Humans |
| Illustrating Classic Heinlein With AI |
| Brainoware Reservoir Computation Of Biological Neural Networks |
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'Alex did not find it surprising that people... were electronically minting their own cash.'
'I had determined that my first attempt should be a visit to Mars.'
To follow the user like a pet while carrying their cargo!
'Deveet unhooked his catch and laid it on the bank beside him. It was a metal fish.'
'...waldoes in the screen followed in exact, simultaneous parallelism.'
'Seen close it was not completely flexible, but made instead of pivoted and smoothly finished segments.'
