Axion: The Memory Rights Uprising

The True Value of Memories

The neurotech giant Cortx has created nootropics, a medical substance that can improve peopleââ?¬â?¢s thinking, learning, and most importantly, their memory. A group of tourists at the Grand Canyon, ecotourists in the Borneo rain forest waiting to see the last Orangutan living in the wild, military recruits, and elementary school children, are all using the gas, delivered via a mask attached to a cylinder or through the vents in the classroom, to make their day truly ââ?¬Ë?unforgettable.ââ?¬â?¢ Some are even taking advantage of the ultimate cinema experience, known as Eidetic Cinema, which makes the colors and sounds in movies more vivid while they watch movies like Gone with the Wind.

Gil Hinchliff is an attorney and co-founder of the Memory Rights Alliance (MRA), a global human rights organization. They are trying to stop Cortx from privatizing human memory and have requested a judicial review to block the world�s first memory tax. Ken Marshall is the lead attorney for Cortx. Cortx is determined to use the courts and patent law to claim the rights to these enhanced memories, which they insist belong to them. The courtroom drama that results will determine the future of Cortx and these enhanced memories.

To live life to its fullest and never forget the important moments, humanity has taken to using nootropics to improve their lives. In ââ?¬Å"AXION: The Memory Rights Uprising,ââ?¬Â? David Shulman gives readers a story set in London in the very near future where breakthroughs in neuroscience and molecular decoding of a human memory have redefined its value. This society is big on memories and uses everything including games, apps, and Neurogram Kiosks to enhance it. Neuro-geeks canââ?¬â?¢t wait to have neural implants and people who donââ?¬â?¢t use nootropics are ââ?¬Ë?memory shamed.ââ?¬â?¢ Cortx is claiming ownership of those enhanced memories, and the Memory Rights Alliance is leading the charge to stop them and expose the unethical human experiments that have been taking place behind the scenes.

The idea of having to fight for humanityââ?¬â?¢s rights to their memories is what drew me to this novel. Advances in science and technology often come with a drawback and itââ?¬â?¢s usually a person or corporation out to make a profit out of it. In this case, people can have their enhanced memories as long as they pay the price, or in this case, a tax. Iââ?¬â?¢m a big fan of futuristic stories and after reading about the technologies in the second ââ?¬Ë?scene,ââ?¬â?¢ such as having to swipe a card on the wall to activate the shower and transforming the shower curtain into a computer screen to watch the news, I was hooked. I was certainly not prepared for the jaw-dropping plot twist at the end.

Readers get a chilling glimpse into a future where memoriesâ�"perhaps the most intimate aspect of our humanityâ�"are no longer sacred.

Schulman combines the topics of privacy, autonomy, and the fundamental value of human experience to create tension between technological advancement and human rights. It raises critical questions about the boundaries of personal freedom in an increasingly digital and monetized world. The narrative is nonlinear, but the flashbacks provide the character development necessary to understand each character�s motivations. The poetic language adds depth to the scenes, such as during Gil�s mother�s funeral:

â�¦ â�" but the sound of rocks and earth hitting the surface of a wooden coffin six feet below creates a reverberating and unforgettable bass note of finality â�" if not closure.

Overall, ââ?¬Å"AXION: The Memory Rights Uprisingââ?¬Â? by David Shulman is a riveting and thought-provoking exploration of the ethical, political, and societal implications of memory manipulation. This compelling and cautionary tale about the dangers of unchecked technological progress is recommended for fans of speculative fiction who also appreciate high-stakes courtroom drama.

To remember is essential to learn from past mistakes, to fade from memory is essential to transcend hardship, pain, and grief. The need to remember can be just as important as the need to forget.