"I am Eden, among other things," the woman said as she appeared to Naomi in a hail of system errors. Despite Naomi's firmware treating her like a hostile attack, Eden offered an inviting open palm. "Greetings."
Naomi was predictably hesitant, but this was a novel event for her. She had never met a digitized consciousness before. At least, not to her knowledge. A person freely admitting to having been digitized is a rarity, and the opportunity was too good for Naomi to pass up. She extended a hand and gripped Eden's.
The tactile sensation was just as if the sensors in her hand were picking it up. It was less accurate than a human hand, but with Eden being a projection directly to her BSI, the reduced simulated tactile accuracy provided an extra layer of authenticity, making Eden appear more and less real simultaneously. The fake projection sent real shivers down her spine. Naomi was speechless.
"'Merged consciousness' is a helpful analogy, though it is not precise," Eden said. Naomi was confused for a moment, having already forgotten her question only a moment ago. Tre had to pick up the conversation.
"Why not?" She asked.
"The definition of 'consciousness,' as convoluted as it is archaic, does not seem to include artificial intelligences.
