My Imaginary Bucket List

We live in a world of encoded and decoded information flow. We can store all our information in the "cloud". So advanced has the encoding and decoding become that we no longer need to write or read. The invention of the neurophone, a transmitter/ receiver /recorder, means that we can wear as an unobtrusive cap, and have our thoughts recorded or receive verbal and visual information without listening to or looking at anything.

In fact recent discoveries have revealed that all events over time have been encoded and stored within the space around the core of atoms of nitrogen in the atmosphere. The very cleverest scientists are now developing the technology to decode this vast store and make it available wirelessly to neurophones in a form that a person may browse through time and see and hear the events of the past.

It is early days yet and the available time frame is a mere two hundred and fifty years. Access is limited, there is a need to develop search engines to index the encoded information, however it is anticipated that over the next 10 to 20 years it will be so developed that an individual's thought processes will be able to search for and find specific events in time and place and experience being at that specific place at the specific time.

Due to the sophisticated software and specific miniaturised hardware involved it will not be everyone who will be able to afford to subscribe to the service and specific psychological training must be undertaken to ensure a participant can cope with the effects of the experience on the mind. Never the less within a few short years this service will be available.

At present the accessing of the encoded data destroys the data and for this reason only limited places and times are being accessed. These are recorded in a new codex and stored in the "cloud". This is being done as a first stage to ensure this valuable resource is not destroyed and preserved for all future generations so they may enjoy these experiences.

The developers of the technology are confident to the point where persons wishing to subscribe to the service when available can now purchase the neurophone with record only capability and software so that they can specify places and times they wish to experience. While the cost of this equipment is high the promised experience is exceptional.

The software is called Thinkaboutit. There is such a hype around this subject that the hosting services of Family History and Genealogist services are experiencing frequent crashes and service speeds are at an all time low. The shares in Thinkaboutit.com have been in such great demand that the price has risen 25,000 percent since listing. A special agency called Areyoukidding has been formed to oversee the development and ensure that all funds invested are directed into bona fide research and not wasted on ideas that are beyond any possibility of success.

I personally have purchased my neurophone, I think the price was reasonable. I calculated the number of generations that I want to go back through and assigned a reasonable annual holiday cost for each generation. Just to make the mathematics easy I rounded to the nearest 10. So 10 generations for $10,000 seemed reasonable to me. I want to visit all Baptisms, Marriages and Funerals of my direct ancestors. There is an expected service cost of $100 per event which I also regard as reasonable.

I now await the successful development of the technology to access this encoded store without destroying it. I anticipate this will be achieved in less time than currently predicted, it will be an outstanding development. Imagine being an observer of events 250 years ago or maybe even half a millennium.

In the meantime I hear that there is a theory that all future events are programmed into similar storage space in the water molecules in the ocean. A much more dense storage media and even harder to access and decode. Scientists are working very intently in this area and as much research is being done as funding allows.

Much controversy surrounds the research into decoding the future events. Some argue that it is unethical and that if it can be accessed and decoded then the future will surely be changed. There is an intense argument about technology that has not yet been developed. Others argue that as much effort as possible should be applied to this as it is an opportunity to control the future for the betterment of the planet and all its inhabitants.

Personally I would much prefer to have a virtual experience of the past and be able to return to the now than have that experience of the future and know what is coming.

I am now busy with my neurophone, all I have to do is install the software on my computer, find a place to sit where there is sufficient light to charge my neurophone receptor cap and think of the events that I wish to witness. My big challenge is to identify the exact time and place that these events took place. Of course I have to take into account any movement in tectonic plates, as location is critical. I also need to adjust for the inaccuracies in the calendar because a few minutes can mean that I miss the entire event.

I am discovering that while dates of events have been recorded, times have generally not. Places are equally iffy as over time buildings have been demolished and rebuilt. I am uncertain as to how I compensate for the small inacuracies of the global positioning system. As yet while it is anticipated there is no indication that the stored information is searchable. Although I understand research into the development of search engines is optimistic. The problem is somewhat similar to the current method of decoding any accessed encoded events, it destroys or at least corrupts the integrity.

I remain confident that all these matters will eventually be resolved and remaining high on my expectations is to be able to experience my Great Great Great and 3 more Greats Grand Parents marriage. I imagine there were great preparations......or it was a complete non-event.

Lindsay Threadgate March 2013