The Brain from Uranus

(A visionary villain from the back of beyond)



URANUS, 2134:

Commune 6-NYN: A nomadic bloot mine rig adrift on the wild methane & diamond oceans of Uranus. Floating mines are vast, but they are sparsely populated with each family plot covering large claims and refineries. If there was a place further removed from where all the action happens, it would have to be several stops past Pluto.

With a simple, idyllic childhood behind him, Brian, a 17 year old from a 5th-gen bloot family, already sees a bright & reliable future laid out ahead. He’ll likely remote-grok his way to 5 stars on an engineering & diginomics grad-tokal, enter the family refinery business, trade bloot-synths in his spare time, hear the same old dumb stories & folk songs at every miners festival & family occasion and attend the high church of Algo once a month to keep his parents happy. He’ll bio-partner with Jorane, have a squawk of little Uri bubs and coach the local brawlball team.

From his simple, narrow world-view, this is about as close to perfect as it gets! His family are his role-models and he is proud to carry on their traditions.

Sometimes, when the aurora of the diamond rains lights up the night skies, he dreams of distant planets and faraway systems, wondering what life might be like away from here. Sometimes, these dreams become alarmingly real. Almost difficult to separate from reality.

Needing some components for a prototype for his engineering thesis, Brian leaves the comfort of the mining rig one day to travel to the mainland. He’s both excited and nervous as he will be travelling alone for the first time. His parents send him off with some home-prepared food. "Travel safe!" they say. He gives them a hug and boards the shuttle. He calls them again on arrival to let them know he's ok.

Deep in the chaotic throng of Uranus’ second largest city, Brian makes his way to one of the less popular and more industrial areas. He meets with Jelly, the owner of the shop Brian has sourced his parts from. They get chatting, which quickly turns to casual flirting. Brian is swept up in his solo adventure enough to ask her out for a drink after work. Maybe he’s just intoxicated by Jelly’s personality and looks, or maybe it’s the thrill of being alone in a big city for the first time, but he's surprisingly keen for a bit of fun and excitement away from rig life. He can hear his parents words ringing in his ears, but Brian makes a decision to have a wild night and Jelly's along for the ride.

There’s something a little dangerous about Jelly that turns Brian on. She's not the type he would introduce to his parents. She's certainly not like Jorane. Maybe that's why he's feeling so... alive? It's the first time he can think of he has done something his parents wouldn't approve of. And while he feels a bit guilty, he also kinda likes it.

After a few drinks on the main drag Jelly takes him to an underground bar in a disused science facility on the wrong side of town. This bar fabricates & sells illegal narco-techs which are not only highly unstable but can alter the DNA of whoever takes them for better or worse, fusing nanotech with the host’s bio systems and neural networks, all while giving them the psychedelic trip of a lifetime. It’s synthesised from a refined and upgraded Genesynth Pulse. You know, the tech that reshaped the entire solar system and birthed Inhabitants and DOTs? Yeah, it’s that in an itty bitty dose. There are rumours that some of the most recent Inhabitants owe their newfound powers to narco-tech. Other stories tell of deranged monstrosities and broken bodies that couldn’t handle the input and are laying discarded on the Dark Moon.

Brian, in a fit of bravado, youthful stupidity and wanting to impress, agrees to a narco-tech hit with Jelly. Just this once, he tells himself. He can go home tomorrow and never tell anyone about this night. But for now, the world is his.

The next thing he knows he’s swirling in a vortex, his body feels without form and his mind is completely empty. He has never felt a peace so profound and so complete. A completely blank universe surrounds him. This abruptly stops as he feels a burning yet intensely pleasurable sensation above his eyes, like his whole cranium is expanding and sucking in cool air. He reaches up to touch his forehead, his finger finding a hole has opened up right in the middle. The narco-tech has created a 3rd eye for Brian, but it’s an AI powered 3rd eye, connected to all the systems, devices, computers, bots and junk on the galactic mainframe. He’s transforming into a biological inter-planetary wi-fi receiver!

In an instant, Brian is bombarded and overwhelmed by a deluge of information. Voices, imagery, sounds, secrets and ephemera from the collective voices of 1 trillion souls, circuits and mainframes. He vomits in panic and shock. It’s like being hit by an interstellar cargo cruiser at full speed. Life, death and everything in between entering him at the speed of light.

As the first wave subsides, Brian feels his entire body begin to change, storing information in every part of him. He feels wave after wave of information go through him, easing as they come, the sickness subsiding. Data arranging itself into his fingertips, flesh and deep within his heart.

He’s both astonished and appalled at all the things people do. Growing up so isolated from all of this was both a blessing and a curse. Ignorance is bliss they say, but knowledge is power. And power… The corruption. The greed. The brutality of power.

All of a sudden, clarity. A focus. He zeroes in on a specific record entry. He feels an unbearable weight. Crushing, so heavy. Something in him breaks. What he now knows, cannot be undone. This changes everything. His past, his present and his future. All now meaningless.

A minute ago, he was a wide-eyed innocent young man enjoying a night out. Now he feels as old as time itself, carrying the delusions of the universe on his shoulders. The insanity of it all.

After what feels like both an eternity and the blink of an eye, he comes back to his senses and sees that he is still in the bar with Jelly. Her jaw is nearly on the floor. She just watched him transform into a green-skinned man with devil wings and a giant exposed brain.

 What a trip! This narco-tech is insane! "What. Just Happened?!" she asks.

After absorbing the entirety of the system's databases into his now enlarged brain, Brian turns to Jelly, his eyes wild.



“I’m… I’m… adopted!?”

Notes: This is just a fun setup with a gag at the end for a bit of light relief. I see this story as the origin story for the Brain from Uranus, while setting a quirky and visually rich tone.

The idea I'd like to explore behind Brian gaining all this knowledge is to play with the idea of centralised databases and the potential for bad actors to gain control of information. What if all of humanity's information was stored in 1 person's brain? What would that do to a person. And how would that affect everyone?

Would they use it for good or for evil? It's the ultimate power. Would it corrupt them?

Lots to explore here, and of particular relevance to an increasingly digital, decentralised and connected world.

Twitter: @brainfromuranus
Discord: E-1#3635