Developed in between YE 40 and YE 44, the Shin (神 in Yamataigo or Shén in Lianjia Speech) Mental Backup Implant (ShMBU) is a neural cybernetic implant designed to work as an as stand-in or supplement for Soul Transfer technology. It entered the market in YE 45.

The development of a mental backup implant within the Yamatai Star Empire was challenging for Advancer Enterprises due to restrictions on mind-transfer technology. Despite this, Advancer has created a neural implant similar to the Nepleslian cerebral chip by researching and reverse-engineering an unknown implant found in the body of a human woman donated to Advancer by Mikael Harris in YE 42.

Doctors confirmed that the woman's implant copied the individual's memories and created a personality profile of the individual. These findings and reverse-engineering efforts were merged with Zhuhai Medical Industries' X7N1 implant to create Project Shin.

The ShMBU implant 1A variant, the first to be sold publicly by Advancer in limited numbers, has the ability to map a person's memories and personailty, but these functions are currently disabled due to ongoing legal research to follow Yamataian laws. The implants ability to help form short-term memories and speed its conversion to long-term has not been affected.

Essentially a neural processor for the brain, the ShMBU has two primary functions. The first function is it can replay inputs received to speed up the ability of the brain to transfer short memories into the long term. The second function is it can reduce (with algorithms) raw sensory input to images, videos, and audio recordings. This input can also be stored in a raw data format (valid for detailed analysis). Still, most opt not to because it reduces available storage space.

The Shin Mental Backup Implant comprises four main subsystems:

• Shimiao (Lianjia for temple) Matter Layer (Frontal Cortex) and Shimiao Matter Nodes (Somatosensory Cortex, Occipital Lobes, and Temporal Lobes, also functions like RAM)
• Digital Transponder (attached to the hippocampus)
• Read/Write Nanites (attached to the hippocampus)
• Backup Storage Unit (T1 Vertabae, only for A model)
• A Digital Storage Unit (in the Corpus Callosum)
  • Attached to the Zhenren I1N Digital Mind or Advancer's TIN/neural lace implants that most of the Corpus Callosum if present.

To facilitate the backup of the “soul” of the individual (or Shen/Shin as RyuK calls it, shen is preferred not to confuse the Trade word), the implant first stimulates the areas of the brain that contribute to one's personality with morality challenges. While this occurs, the implant records the signal responses into a partition of the drive for the Shen. Afterward, it then simulates memory recall from the areas of long-term memory retention. It commences this and records the responses while the individual is unconscious (typically while sleeping) to eliminate new sensory feedback.

Many individuals often recall having vivid dreams while this occurs and constantly rethink past decisions due to this experience. It requires several months to achieve a perfect copy of the individual's mind. If the implant user has a digital mind (or similar system), the backup is done within a virtual machine to allow no downtime, cutting the time down to a month.

When total brain death is detected (suspended animation has some activity), the implant enters a fail-safe mode to prevent tampering with the stored data. Software analyzes the saved data to construct the data into the final profile after a proper activation sequence. It is then uploaded into the implant with its nanites in write mode and inserted into a new body. The nanites then modify the parts related to memories and personality.

Customers should use a new and blank clone. Inserting into living individuals will result in the transcribed shen being merged with the individual's or completely overwriting it. It is also ILLEGAL, and Advancer Enterprises cannot be held liable for illegal actions of our products!!

All of the data is stored within a thin rectangular data shard (encased by Osmiridium) that is inserted into a slot (like a Floppy_disk) on the left temple of the head. The temporal muscle needs to be augmented with artificial muscle connected to it to ensure the user can still use their jaw as usual. The slot is either a part of the Zhenren Digital Mind or installed for those with the Advancer TIN or unaugmented.

Implantation of the Shin Mental Backup Implant is a simple in-patient procedure for those already possessing a digital mind or Advancer TIN System. The patient is sedated and rendered unconscious, then Surgical Nanites are injected alongside the raw materials needed to construct the implant.

The procedure takes four to ten hours to be performed successfully. The body needs up to a week to properly integrate the implant and get used to it. Headaches are a common symptom while this occurs.

The ShMBU offers the following benefits to the user:

• Backup of the general personality of the individual (Shen, A model only)
• Backup of long-term memory (A model only)
• Repository of user's complete genome. (A model only)
• Act as a RAM to speed up the conversion of short-term to long-term. So long as the unit has power, a certain amount of short-term memory at the time of death, and before it is retained.
• Ability to extract parts of memory into media formats to remember (semi-photographic memory)

Maintenance is primarily accomplished by software. The implant's operating system regularly checks for fragmentation of the Shen stored within. Should fragmentation be detected, the implant enters safe mode and begins again “morally challenging” the individual in a truncated fashion, correcting the stored Shen where needed. This process is done each time the individual enters REM sleep.

The implant also adds parameters to the Advancer's TIN's firmware. The added parameters allow the system's maintenance nanites to maintain the physical components of the implant, leaving its nanites to restore the data to an organic brain.

• Full System Cost: 5000 KS

Advancer is working on the following enhancements for the Shin:

• New data format that is more resilient to data rot.
• non-volitional AI that actively monitors the person's sensory inputs and sorts them for efficient storage. The AI needs to be vetted due to how intimate it will be.

Demibear created this article on 2021/11/10 00:31.

Approval Thread: https://stararmy.com/roleplay-forum/threads/shin-mental-backup-implant.70161/#post-436720