Page 176 - Demo

176There were four of them who were accepted. Six hundred had applied. The applicants had been whittled down through a series of tests, examinations, and interviews. Scientists, medical experts, philosophers, computer geniuses, quantum science specialists, artist, musicians, and even religious leaders had been consulted to arrange much of it. The project was unanimously funded by some of the richest people in the world: Eton Musk, Saudi Princes, Bill Bates to name but a few of hundreds. The quest was deemed by many, an endeavour equivalent to the Hadron Collider project in Switzerland, and by a few%u2014the most important objective since the birth of humankind.The project was loosely called TSFC%u2014The Search For Consciousness. Several approaches had been considered and several sections had been set up to explore each direction. These four applicants were just for one section. There were kept unaware of the other branches or numbers of applicants. Each of the sections was to address one of the most profound questions: is there life after death%u2014proving consciousness exists after cessation of one%u2019s brain; the miracle of birth and at what point in a developing embryo does consciousness begin; sexual orgasm%u2014what is it and why does it give such pleasure to the consciousness; why does an general anaesthetic completely switch off consciousness; is consciousness really a product of us living in a virtual realty?Stephanie, Rachel, Luke, and George were chosen mostly because they were young, healthy, intelligent students aged nineteen. What they were not told was that there was a fifth person involved in the project, one to be introduced later. There were also twenty reserves.The four had never met each other and were to be introduced in a Chapter 1: Rachel176The Search For Consciousness