The thought of this "machine immortality" as such, the whole "uploaded conciousness" deal has always looked and appealed to me. Growing up I often looked at the stars and the Moon and craved to explore them, to see what the future holds for humanity, to see the universe, to walk upon another planets surface. When I learnt about things like this, that one day we could surpass the limits of human timescale, age, and latterly death, it seemed amazing. It seemed to be exactly what I dreamed of. But I think I just had an epitome.

Reading this article, I saw the line "one of his novels lays out how humans might 'transcend biology.'" You know what that did to me?

It filled me with a nameless dread. It made me sad.

I'm suddenly thinking of myself. Myself as a living sack of organs. I was thinking how if tomorrow I uploaded my conciousness, what would I miss? The smell of my dog, the skin on a woman's back, sex, the tastes of food, the scent of the sea air tumbling onto shore, the awe of watching my eyes focus on a million starpoints.

Holy shit. If I was an uploaded conciousness, would I be human? Sure, in time I could be mechanised. Made to feel human. To be able to sense touch. To sense smell. To sense. But would I be a man anymore?

I know this may sound stupid, and I might have it all wrong. But I read that and felt some sort of immeasurable fear. Primal instinct. A need to protect my genes. I read those words and I think I felt the tug of my soul.