Mindscan

Immortality is here, but there is a problem. In Mindscan, a book by Robert J Sawyer, which won both the Hugo and Nebula awards, technology has advanced enough to transfer one’s thoughts and memories into an artificial, therefore virtually immortal, brain. Jake Sullivan lives under the threat of instant death from a rare neurological defect called Katerinsky’s syndrome so when the opportunity to cheat death arises he seizes it as soon as possible.

The problem is that a mindscan is only a copy of the original and the biological Jake Sullivan finds himself worse off, still under the threat of his neurological disorder and banished to the far side of the moon. Meanwhile the synthetic mindscan begins a new promising life on earth. He even finds love, which had eluded him in his former biological form: he is finally learning what it feels like to be human.

It’s a life that the biological Jake wants back. His only hope is when Karen Bessarian, the synthetic Jakes new love interest is taken to court by her son and accused of squandering him out of his inheritance. The trial that ensues will determine whether or not Mindscans are truly people. The answer means everything to both forms of humanity.

What Sawyer Does Well

This Sci-fi novel is not the hard-boiled science fiction that many have come to expect from the genre; Mindscan is a thoughtful, imagine-if story that successfully raise deep and meaningful questions about what makes us human. For instance, is it solely our memories that make us who we are or is there a soul that a Mindscan cannot capture?

Sawyer also does a god job organizing the scene sequence. The storyline shows a side-by-side parallel of the biological and the synthetic Jake Sullivan and moves back and forth between the two without disorientating the reader. Within the first few sentences of each chapter or section the reader always knows what scene he or she is in. Each chapter also effectively creates anticipation for what will come next making the novel a very quick and easy read.

What Sawyer Does Poorly

All of the weaknesses in this book fall in the category of language. The first weakness is the recurrence of specific phrases. It seems that multiple main characters express their emotions in identical ways: raising eye brows. A few different characters had ‘quipped’ at one time or another; it stands out because it’s not a word readers see very often.

Another weakness is Sawyers use of curse words. It’s not that there is absolutely no room for them, or that there is never an appropriate time for them; in some rare circumstances they can be used to the betterment of the story. But Sawyer un-necessarily uses two curse words within the first three pages. The problem with this is that it comes too early to add anything meaningful to the story. What it does do is give the impression that the author has relied upon an amateurish stunt to shock the reader. It may make the reader think that they are about to spend precious time reading what may turn out to be the literary equivalent of a high-schoolers blog.

To his credit- minor credit, Sawyer seems to make some attempt to steer clear of curse words. Unfortunately it is by using the Lords name in vain. Too many readers that would be acceptable, however, those same readers would also very likely overlook a pointless, un-necessary curse word. There are an equal number of readers to whom using the Lords name in vain would be more offensive than even the use of a swear word. There is no way to know how many people have set Mindscan down after the first several pages, never to pick it up again, based solely on the language. It’s a shame too, because beyond it is a fascinating story.

Last Word

Over all, the strengths of this novel far out shines the weaknesses and the plot and deep philosophical questions carry the story through to its conclusion.  With an epilogue, Sawyer sets up a possible sequel in which a Mindscan is sent to an alien world to serves as ambassador. It will be interesting to see if Sawyer will extend the question of humanity to the future and the stars.   

Cover of Mindscan