Soul

Soul

By Mordecai J Banda

They did the experiment on live TV, after carefully planning how to shield the more graphic scenes and arranging the scope of the broadcast. They finally figured out exactly when they’d need to black out the scenes, and that they would broadcast the procedure on all major stations possible. The whole world would have a chance to see it, and some of the professors were already gloating, “Religion is going down at last.” While the other branch said, “Hmm, so its time for enlightenment.” Some of them had already made statements to reporters, who would almost surely extrapolate their views. The more reserved ones simply kept quiet. They revised the procedure again and again to make sure that if there were any mistakes. They wouldn’t be due to any human error.

When the scientists were given the green flag by the facility, there was first a trickle of rumour at first. The media ran only small segments of the details, unsure on whether to bite the line. Finally one weekend, the facts were completely confirmed and reconfirmed by various sources: The first human brain transplant was being carried out on two twins who had willingly volunteered for the operation. There was a massive response: social networks flooded with messages, some strikes broke out. The transplant became the most paraded event of the year, within a week.

“A new era dawns: Brain transplants possible?”

“New way to step into people’s shoes?”

And, the ultimate controversy: “Answers to whether the soul exists imminent: Top neurologists attempt brain transplant.”
The world was almost on fire. Various strong and sensitive comments were aired. Atheists rubbed their hands with relish, as well as the religious ones. The rest were bickering, pulling out ideas. Some hope everything would crash, others hoped it would work. There was a volcano of conflict. Media worldwide was in bliss with the amount of activity.
The twins who were actually having the transplant received surprisingly little attention -in comparison only- to the experiment itself. Scientists reported that they had been carefully monitored and adjusted to have similar genetic and physiological characteristics- much more than twins would ever be. They were put in coma and the first cranial cuttings that allowed for fast access to their brains were made. Their dirt-poor families were consoled slightly by the fact that whatever the outcome, there was at least multi-millionaire dollar settlement for them. The twins were three years old.

The day came; scheduled Sunday afternoon in a controlled environment in a secret facility located on an island not even the most prying eyes could find. This fact, apart from the one that the scientists involved were of different nationalities, further ensured no political unrest: This was everyone’s project, and all would see and share the results and benefits, if there were any.

“Mr Remington, what is the actual debate here?” was the last question a reporter chipped in before the experiment, which was ten minutes away.

“The actual debate here is over numerous theories and questions: Is the soul in the body? Which means are a human being’s real characteristics are within his body alone? What happens when you give that ‘soul’ a different brain? Is the body just a container? Is the brain, in fact, just an organ that contains memories, as a computer has a hard drive? Is this pointless, since the soul could be in the brain? These are an infinitesimal amount of the questions, and I, for one, am very interested in the results.”

“What do you think will happen sir?” The reporter asked through the satellite link of his laptop computer. The recording was being broadcast on all TV screens across the world. Everyone leaned forward to hear what this prestigious scientist would answer. He answered, and cut the link almost immediately. It was strangely a question that touched the whole world, and the feeling carried was convincingly sincere and true:

“What do you think?”