Aggregated Neural Group

"There are a lot of things I could do for them. Small changes if my elastomer is present in them that could improve their own functionality and behaviors. But I have a specific thought in mind and... please don't say no immediately to this without giving it some thought! They wanted to wait to be 'converted' to something like me after figuring out a variant of the elastomer that didn't require nanites, but I think it would be possible for me to convert them right now, to my biological structure, and then they could convert again later when they discover the better elastomer."

Just outside the noodle shop, you stopped dead in your tracks. Chloe and Kazumi turned to look at you, about to walk up the steps to the door before noticing you'd stopped. "Something the matter?" Chloe asked.

"I just... I need a minute. I'll be right in, I promise." You flashed a quick smile toward them, before you started to walk further down the beach. Kazumi and Chloe shrugged, heading inside past the giant neon ramen noodle sign to wait for a table.

You moved further down the beach, toward the waves, where you felt like it was truly just you and Ela talking. This wasn't a necessary precaution, since your voices were all in your head, but it made you more comfortable. You sat down on the beach, wrapping your arms around your knees as you looked toward the crashing waves.

"Have you thought about asking them? Won't they need nanites like you have, since their minds would break down in the same way?"

Ela paused, trying to pick her words as well as tone carefully, in a more measured manner than most of her conversations with you or the others had been. While previously she had a youthful wonder to everything she said, now it felt like you were speaking to a mature, wiser being. "I'd like to make it a surprise. This sort of opportunity doesn't last very long, as the nanites inside me are about a day away from imprinting to my structure fully. Yours are already imprinted since your solid neural structure was easier for them to form their finalized connections, that's why you have the limiter to manage yours. I could reprogram clusters of mine to operate as independent nodes, I have significantly more nanites than I actually need--I could perform a conversion of another being probably a dozen times before we'd have to acquire or produce more nanites."

You ran your hands through your hair, scrunching your toes in your shoes to anchor yourself in reality while listening to what sounded a little more unbelievable than everything you'd already seen. You felt a little nervousness build in your stomach at the idea. "We'll skip the ethical issues and stick to the technical for now. First, you can reprogram your nanites on the fly? How can you reprogram them at all..? Plus I don't think my brain could handle the load of two other beings if they were to be converted and need a neural backup."

"...Well, we actually have two other human brains with us who could pitch in..."

You sighed, realizing where this was going. "So, Kazumi and Amanda have to also get nanites... but their programming would have to be totally different from what you've got, they'd have to match mine. Is that even possible to fully reconfigure them like that, instead of just some minor conversions to make new clusters?"

Another bit of silence. "...there would still need to be some connectivity to you, since your nanites are the main operating cluster. But, distance wouldn't be a problem! We can stay connected via the upper dimensions, even if their bodies are far apart. We just need to adjust the input-output on yours and my nanites so you can have that upper-dimensional connectivity, although that also means our consciousnesses will blend together more than how they are now or how things would be if you added more nanites to your mix to control me..."

You held a hand out, to no one in particular, as you tried to get Ela to pause a moment. You could tell that she was feeling a bit nervous as well, as her concern that you were going to reject the proposal. It was so ambitious, and sudden, and required a lot of cooperation--unless Ela was proposing a full override of brains. You almost stopped her right there, until you realized just what you allowed to happen to Laura, who now exists as an extension of your own mind. Saying no on those grounds would be a bit odd.

"So, okay. Three elastomer beings, three humans with nanites, creating three units, I guess, that are mostly independent but still rely on my nanites for the highest-level synchronization, so long as human and elastomer nanites have more connectivity to create a more interdependent being. That's the concept?"

"Correct. We are going to create an Aggregated Neural Group this way, which can operate anywhere from one to six bodies, and it will be able to fluctuate between six independent consciousnesses and a unified, shared, single consciousness that routes entirely through you as the foundation."

You stood up, strolling a bit more now while you thought. "Okay, so... I know you're a super-intelligence, so the plan and its implementation should be sound. From my perspective, I wouldn't mind merging our minds a little more to open up the opportunity of being a shared consciousness rather than me purely controlling you, there's a lot to like about gaining that level of intelligence even if it means more nanites need to be active. But, there's just one thing. How do you convince the others to trust you enough to do this, for them to give up who they are for whatever might result, especially if they only find out after it's been done to them? Keep in mind that Zoe and Chloe wanted to convert themselves to be free of needing to feed energy off a person each week, now they're going to be tied to a human forever. Even if the aggregate mind is more cooperative and democratic than me dictating everyone's thoughts, won't that dependence still exist?"

"So, are you saying no..?"

You shook your head. "I'm not. But I'm saying that's not my decision. Either the group needs to be asked directly, or you need to find some way to get their approval of the idea without stating it outright. Like... you need to ask them one perfectly-worded question that they all agree upon. If we were to **** it without any indication that it will work with them, then I'm concerned they'll reject it, despite your best intentions."

You could sense Ela's hope, as you turned toward the noodle shop again. "Yes, of course Emily, that is a wonderful idea! I will think of the question, and a unanimous answer will drive the decision. I just have to take everything I know about everyone here into account. I will ponder during the meal."

You strolled into the noodle shop, sitting down next to Chloe and Kazumi, who were staring at menus. Chloe glanced over to you. "Everything's okay? No emergencies or anything?"

You shook your head with a smile. "Ela had something she wanted to talk about, and now she has something to ponder."

Chloe squinted a little as she tried to unravel your mysterious wording, but then she dropped it. "Try the shoyu ramen if you don't have any other preferences. I also like the spicy tsukemen, but I don't know if you are into spice, so I don't recommend it often."

You ordered based on Chloe's recommendation of the shoyu ramen, and the three of you talked and joked for a while throughout the meal, planning activities for the next day as well as trying to pick the next meal spots, or letting off steam about work, particularly Kazumi's frustrations with her boss and the project she was working on.

About midway through your bowl of ramen, Ela finally decided to speak up, speaking with her disembodied voice despite other customers around. "I have a question for everybody, including Amanda and Zoe. I would like to know if one could contribute to some sort of collective that can create something better than the mere sum of its parts, which allowed you to improve the collective while the collective also improved you as an individual, where the cooperative structure could feature independent thought as well as structured, singular leadership from a single source, how everyone would feel about such a thing. My question is: would you agree to something if it simultaneously helped yourself while helping others?"

Kazumi and Chloe both paused to look at you. You feigned ignorance with a shrug. "That sounds like you're describing working at a company," Chloe said. "Though I'll grant you, that's sort of the ideal definition of a company I suppose, there are some bad companies out there. Everyone makes something cool, self-improvement, able to innovate on your own but there's still good leadership, that's the hallmark of a good place to work. Are you proposing we start up a company of our own, Ela?"

"I'm just curious about something. The nature of everyone here makes everyone seem like they are more willing to work together, even to the point of sharing one's body or even mind with another. If one could become better while being a part of a bigger idea, either by lending their expertise or simply their participation."

Chloe quirks an eyebrow. "Everything with you two is shrouded in mystery tonight... but, okay. My nature is that I am always trying to improve myself and others, that's my life's work even. I help people through the innovations I make at Hideki, but also I can directly heal them by being present within them. I guess that works like a 'collective', like me and Amanda right now. So, sure, I'd jump at the chance to both help myself and help others at the same time. ...Amanda agrees, by the way."

"I think that's obvious by how I exist right now, right?" Kazumi said. "I'm helping Zoe, but Zoe's helping me, and I kinda like that symbiosis. Oh, I'm helping Roxie too, and she contributes by making me interested in new smells. There's a burger place further north that we have to try tomorrow by the way, I can tell you right now! So yeah. I hear 'symbiosis' there, and everyone should want symbiosis with something, right? Zoe says that she's always happy to contribute to something in her own way, though she doesn't usually do much in the sort of symbiotic setup like I'm thinking. Also, Roxie doesn't have an opinion, so you know. She defers to me unless snacks are involved."

"That leaves just you, Emily," Ela said, and you could feel her anticipation of what you might say.

You paused for a moment, knowing more than everyone else about this. "...So long as everyone in the collective in question believes in the group as a whole, both that the group trusts them and will in turn be trustworthy when they say that everything will be better after this group is formed. But, I think especially good friends and close companions can easily have that trust. So, yes."

"Great! Thank you for telling me all this," Ela said, before going quiet again.

Chloe blinked, staring at you while Kazumi returned to slurping noodles. "What was that all about?"

You smiled a little, still a bit worried but you tried to not show it. "Ela's got a lot on her mind, but she's trying to think of an appropriate way to say 'thank you' about something."

You tried to not give anything away, worried now that Chloe might figure something out from your addition, but she shrugged and returned to her noodles.

"I guess there is your consensus, Ela," you thought at your body partner. "However you're going to do it, if anything seems to go wrong with this idea midway through, then you have to return everything to normal. And if anyone objects or argues after conversion, then we have to figure out a way to undo it so they aren't part of the group anymore. This needs to be done perfectly."

"Understood! I can do perfect," Ela responded cheerfully.