Immanuel Ueda's page

Something I Would Miss
The simplicity? The ignorance? The sense that there is more, that anticipatory excitement of knowing I do not know. I cannot pass up this opportunity, this chance to see what so few have seen, to do what so few have done. And I am certain that there will be new horizons, ever expanding realms of possibility. But there is an undeniable finality to even the first step. Nothing one does can be undone. There is a novelty and mystery to the unexplored. I imagine traveling through time will be like any experience, in that regard. The first endeavor has impact. Meaning. After that, it is simply action and reaction, cause and effect. It is always regrettable that one must shatter the dream with doing.

More tangibly: My work. My ease of living, the amenities of our age. My projects and papers and burgeoning career as the public face of chaos engineering. In almost any era before our own, chaos theory is an infant, an unplumbed depth of potential, even unheard of. We will travel to times when my work could not be comprehended. And despite common thoughts, it is rarely satisfying to be truly the smartest in the room.

Note: Ueda's role as the "public face of chaos engineering" is far less profound or well-known than his statement might suppose, although it's doubtful he was intentionally misleading in his answer. While he is the most well-known figure in the field, largely in part due to his position as co-host of the popular science vidcast "Reality Prime." His work, and the related vidcast, covers topics ranging from explaining high-level mathematics and physics to exploring questions of philosophy and examining popular culture references to these subjects. Most notably is the concept of chaos engineering itself, an interdisciplinary scientific movement that seeks to create a unified understanding of reality through chaos theory and technological experimentation.

Someone I Would Miss
I know my reputation. The perception. I am the clinical scientist, the cold analyst, the distant scholar cloistered in my ivory tower. You remember what I said about being the smartest in the room? They call me enigmatic or eccentric, when they are kind. More often there are jokes, even slurs. I am very aware that I do not commonly display emotional attachment or displays of affection, but I do care. I am deeply invested in my work and my colleagues. They likely do not think I will miss them, but I assure you, I will.

I will miss Doctor Brennan in particular. She will continue our vidcast without me--I suspect to great success, between her fabulous knowledge of theory and yer humanizing sense of humor and personality. She tells me I am the real force behind the project, and perhaps that is true in this moment, but she will be more than capable in my absence.

I will miss Cartes. They are an old friend, and an inspiration for a great deal of my more recent studies. They are, I feel, exponentially more personable and expressive than I am or will ever be, but I hope my own endeavors show that I have learned something from them. I have, at the least, taken our many conversations deeply into consideration. I had never before considered turning my research of this reality inward, but since our discussions on our inner natures and the questions of our very existence began those many years ago, I have viewed that introspection--and our correspondence and friendship--as the greatest of boons.

Note: Doctor Samantha Brennan is Ueda's co-host on "Reality Prime," a notable researcher in her own right particularly within the field of chaos theory and its applications to our understanding of physics. She has previously hosted a number of informational programs for various media outlets. Cartes is the assumed name of a well-known android activist and philosopher, who is believed to have long ties with Ueda reaching back to the days of Personae Ex Machina (see below).

A Reason To Erase My Past
We all have our secrets, don't we? The proverbial skeleton in the closet. There are aspects of my life that are not public knowledge, although they are not so hidden that they cannot be found.

Certainly the authorities are aware that in my younger life, I was a member of an underground research and development group, Personae Ex Machina. If you remember the news stories, you understand my hesitation to describe our activities in detail. Suffice to say that while I joined with a certain youthful zeal, I soon realized the group's leaders held a radical ideology well separated from my own. I do not deny my part in certain events, although there is no legally binding proof, and I had cut all ties with that organization long before the infamous Horizon Flare Incident. Even so, my actions and alliances are not so easily forgotten or forgiven, by myself or by those who know them. My own opinions on the theory and ethics of altering the past aside, I would stand to benefit if those elements of my existence no longer remained with me.

Note: Personae Ex Machina was far beyond an "underground research and development group." The organization was a radical pro-android movement that engaged in various high-profile technological terrorist activities for over two decades, including cyber-security attacks and data ransoming. Their activity culminated in the Horizon Flare Incident, during which they hijacked the Nishiyevska Corporation's new cruiser and caused it to self-destruct in orbit, killing most of those aboard and raining debris on the surface below. While less violent in their earlier days, during which they are believed to have been a breeding ground for many modern members of the chaos engineering scientific movement, Personae Ex Machina is certainly a dangerous piece of history for those members who were not killed in their final display.