Advancements in Bio-Neural Circuitry

118 Fleet Sciences Holoconference: Stardate: 2391

Denji got up from his chair quickly and made his way to the podium. It was all very exciting for him. This was the first time since leaving the academy that he was given the opportunity to present his work. It was the perfect way to keep him connected to the scientific community having been kept busy as a ship's counsellor on the Vigilant.::

Ryan: Hello, everyone. ::He smiled proudly with infectious optimism.:: I am Denji Ryan, the Ship's Counsellor on the USS Vigilant. I have a science background in behavioural neuroscience, general biology, and genetics. I took an interest, very early on in my Academy days, in bio-neural circuitry based computer systems. This interest came from my early work which focused on using bio-neural systems to recognize and predict humanoid behaviours. I'm here today to give a brief overview of my more recent work with bio-neural circuitry used in starship computer systems.

Denji realized that he was getting off script and beginning to ramble. He looked around the room and was pleased to see that he still had everyone's attention. It was a good feeling. Scientists too often become accustomed to the blank stares and glazed over looks from other officers. It was clear that the people in this room would appreciate the work he put into the presentation and hopefully find the work he had been doing as exciting and interesting as he had.::

Ryan: Let's get to it. ::His excitement and eagerness were obvious to anyone.:: Computer begin program.

The lighting in the holodeck slowly faded to black with the exception of a cool, dim light overhead of the presenter. A quiet, haunting melody began to play providing an ambient musical score to the opening of Denji's presentation.::

Ryan: In order to get a sense of where we are and where we might be headed, we must look to the past.

Holographic scenes faded in and out of each other depicting different worlds and species developing computer technologies.::

Ryan: Most species in our Galaxy developed computer technology following similar paths. It begins with crude electric systems made up of resistors, capacitors, and transistors. Eventually, these pieces all come together to create one unit - an Integrated Circuit.

The storyboards pause and the image zooms in to provide an artist's depiction of an integrated circuit - a beautiful, single crystal. The crystal shatters and explodes upwards to reveal the storyboards continuing. They show the visual history of computer system development and evolution.::

Ryan: The integrated circuit is improved on, but in 2243 Richard Daystrom moves beyond this technology and his Duotronic System becomes the Federation standard. The Duotronic system would be improved and continue for a nearly a century. Until, ::dramatic pause:: a revolution in computer systems - Isolinear Circuitry. By the beginning of the 24th century, the duotronic system is replaced by isolinear circuitry. Isolinear circuitry is improved, but relatively speaking, it is short-lived. This is because of the discovery and rapid development of Bio-Neural Circuitry.

Once again, the storyboards slow and eventually fade to a star-spangled frame of black space. Slowly and with awesome grace, the USS Voyager begins to come into view and move through the frame.::

Ryan: In the year 2371, the USS Voyager marks the launch of the first Federation starship using a semi-organic computer system. We have now arrived to the present - Bio-Neural Circuitry.

Voyager jumps to warp and we are treated to the familiar image of the blue burst of light illuminating the dark of space. The holodeck lights slowly rise to just over half of their original intensity, the stars fade into the black, and then the image slowly disappears altogether.::

Ryan: Here's where we are in bio-neural circuitry technology. We begin with neural fibres. They behave in similar ways to our brains. They branch out connecting to new ideas, pieces of information, sensory inputs and other sources and types of data.

An uplifting and driving acoustic melody begins as a single neural fibre hovers above Denji to his right. It begins to grow slowly in every direction. It looks like white, glowing roots breaching out wildly. It begins to pick up speed and continues to grow out exponentially.::

Ryan: These neural fibres are capable of making billions of connections and generating a sophisticated and highly responsive architecture. This architecture allows the computer system to think in a very similar way to other living organisms. Although not sentient, these systems are able to operate by using educated guesses to solve complex problems in much the same way we do. Previous computer systems had to work through all possible calculations and chaotic patterns often elude isolinear technologies.

A blue gel begins to form around the neural fibres above Denji. It forms the familiar shape of a bio-neural gel pack.::

Ryan: The neural fibres are encased in a blue gel that could be described as an artificial form of amniotic fluid. This gel protects the neural fibres and provides the basic building blocks needed for the fibres to branch out and connect to each other.

A clear coating forms around the gel pack followed by metallic interfaces at the top and bottom of the gel pack. The complete gel pack begins to slowly rotate and on different axes.::

Ryan: A protective casing is placed around the gel pack as well as the unit's interface which will allow it to connect to ship's systems. Unfortunately, ::A sour note disrupts the musical score and holds.:: like other biological forms, gel packs are susceptible to bacteria, viruses and other infectious agents that compromise other forms of living tissue.

The music becomes dark and eerie. The rotating gel pack begins to slow, the blue gel begins to pale, and the glowing white light from the neural fibres begin to fade. A drop of a black ink-like substance appears in the gel and slowly disperses darkening the gel pack.::

Ryan: Not only are systems compromised by disease, they also become carriers and can cause an outbreak if a gel pack is ruptured. Bio-neural circuitry is also susceptible to different forms of radiation not normally an issue for non-organic computer systems. ::The music and the image of the derelict bio-neural gel pack dissipate.:: There you have it. ::Denji smiled seeing the reactions to his way of presenting information.:: The good and the bad of this technology. This is where we stand now with bio-neural computer technology.

His eyes were filled with passion and excitement as he prepared to reveal the all the work, theories, research, and testing he had done over the past couple of years. This was really the first time he was sharing any of his work. He had always been too unsure of himself and his ideas in the past to discuss his work with others. But recently, he began to see real progress that others could replicate and had found a new confidence in himself as a scientist.::

Ryan: Now, let's now look at the future possibilities of bio-neural computer technology. We'll rebuild the gel pack again, but this time I will incorporate my research and latest innovations as we proceed.

An esoteric ambiance of gentle strings begins as the lights begin to dim again. The image of a translucent three dimensional brain appears above the conference table. Inside, we see the beginnings of neural fibres forming and creating pathways down a spine. Currents of light begin to travel through these pathways in a beautiful concert of colours.::

Ryan: Once again, we begin with neural fibres. This time we pull our inspiration from the way our brain interacts with different types of neural fibres throughout the central nervous system. ::Four major pathways are isolated from the image, pulled out, and placed beside each other. The brain and spine fades away.:: This time, I propose that we create four different types. Each type of neural fiber will be created to serve different and a more specific role. These neural fibres will be more efficient and effective than current bio-neural technology.

The four pathways of neural fibres move into a cluster and begin to turn in a circular pattern. An inspiring percussion section adds the hint of a driving force with occasional flourishes of cymbal washes to accent the presentation. Research data, scientific analysis, and outcomes are displayed in organized tables and charts on the wall behind him.::

Ryan: Sensory Fibres ::The purple pathway of neural fibres shimmers and glows.:: are designed with internal and external sensors in mind. They not only will use less energy, but will boost the ship's sensors by an average of 12 percent.

Command Fibres ::The red pathway of neural fibres begins to shimmer and glow.:: are designed with key systems in mind. Weapon targeting systems, shield rotation and modulation, and maneuvering systems are all enhanced and made, on average, 10 percent more efficient.

Analytic Fibres ::The green neural fibres shimmer and glow.:: are designed to complete complex problems faster, analyze data quicker, and make computer operations more intuitive. This is all accomplished while decreasing their energy usage by around 10 percent.

Finally, the fibres in use today, General Fibres ::The blue pathway of neural fibres shimmers and glows.:: will continue to take care of everything else not covered by the other fibres. However, they have been redesigned to also allow for memory storage and retrieval. This further decreases the need for isolinear technology and can reduce energy usage by, on average, 0.25 percent for each gel pack used in this way.

The images of pathways slowly stop their circular movement and return to line up side-by-side. They begin to take the form of gel packs as a gelatinous substance begins to attach to the neural fibres and accumulate until each pathway takes the shape of a bio-neural gel pack.::

Ryan: Each type of neural fibre has a unique gel casing. The gel will continue to protect the fibres and provide the essential building blocks allowing the fibres to connect and branch out. The gel will also act as a catalyst to allow fibres to rapidly regenerate if they ever become damaged. Finally, the gel contains artificial self-replicating nano-lymphocytes which, in combination with autonomic subroutines, provides the basis for an adaptive immune system in each gel pack. This will allow the gel packs to fight off disease and build up immunities.

A clear coating forms around each gel pack followed by metallic interfaces at the top and bottom. The neural fibres within the completed gel packs begin to shimmer and glow. A fanfare of horns, woodwinds, and brass begins. It seems far away at first, but the sound seems to get closer and closer.::

Ryan: A protective casing is placed around the completed gel pack and we add the unit's interface which will allow it to connect to other bio-neural devices, isolinear devices, and, of course, ship's systems. ::Denji gestures to the four completes gel packs.:: Here we have the possible future of bio-neural technology.

The gel packs glow brighter and brighter as the fanfare crescendos. Denji makes his way back over to the podium at the front. The music and images disappear suddenly after a final jubilant hit from the orchestra. The room is dark for a moment, but the lights slowly begin to brighten to a comfortable level.::