Sensory Deception
Neuroscience experiments demonstrate that Virtual Reality alters people's feelings, even their politics. But how can a person experience the world of an animal? The concept of sensory saturation comes from something we've all experienced: panic. When you're in an emergency situation, your awareness focuses on right now; no more than a second ahead or behind. If we could keep the here and now but remove the panic, you'd find yourself in the state of mind of intelligent nonlinguistic animals. Sensory saturation is a threshold beyond which the brain is so overwhelmed by sensory data that it switches gears from reflective thinking to the immediate process- and-response that animals experience.
The Killer App
What about the killer app, the ultimate nature experience? Imagine experiencing the life of the world’s greatest carnivore? Ahh, but the rub, what would you have to go through to develop the technology for the Moby Dick App? To record all that experiential data, you'd need to attach sensors to a big bull sperm whale . . .
The Idea
The idea for The Sensory Deception came from an article in The Guardian: June 5, 2008, Skagafjordur, Iceland - A polar bear that swam more than 200 miles in near- freezing waters to reach Iceland was shot on arrival in case it posed a threat to humans. The bear, thought to be the first to reach the country in at least 15 years, was killed. Chief veterinarian Egill Steingrimsson said, “There were around 50 to 60 people watching. The police did not have many options when the bear ran down the hill, approaching the crowd.” Polar bears were frequently tamed during the middle ages, but since then no bear has been captured alive in Iceland. Receding North Pole ice is diminishing their hunting and mating grounds and jeopardizing their survival.
Can a video game save the polar bear, the sperm whale, and every other endangered species on the planet?
Silicon Valley scientist Farley Rutherford thinks he has the answer.
His team has designed a virtual reality system that immerses users in the struggles of an endangered animal-and
the astonishing experience leaves any who try it desperate to help. But the path to environmental salvation is not
easy.
Luckily, venture capitalist Gloria Baradaran becomes Farley's most ardent advocate. Gloria and the team will have
to fight for funding and their cause before facing the biggest obstacle of all: obtaining sensory data from the
creatures themselves, including the biggest hunter of all-the sperm whale.
The cause is righteous, but the stakes are high. And while Farly fends off Somali pirates in pursuit of the ultimate
sensory experience, a rift in the team puts Gloria's life in jeopardy, proving that idealism might just be the most
dangerous game of all.
“An insider's look at the world of the mind, video games, and venture capital, all wrapped up in a
seductive, breathtaking tale of all-too-human folly. Stephens' characters are brilliant and real and fated
to make sensational, dangerous errors, all on the path to realizing the larger truth of their real
humanity.”
-David Corbett, award-winning author of The Art of Character
“A roller coaster of a ride using the relationship between the senses and the mind, Stephens builds a
story with unrelenting momentum.”
- Robin Burcell, bestselling author of The Black List
"Ransom Stephens' imagination is limitless in his ability to lead the reader through scenarios across the
globe . . . The Sensory Deception is a worthy read with fascinating concepts."
-The Santa Rosa Press-Democrat
“Thoroughly gripping and quite smart.”
- Robert A. Burton, MD, author of A Skeptic's Guide to the Mind
“A thrilling and unique story of romance and adventure.”
-Robert Kroese, author of Mercury Rises
Who's your favorite villain? Heath Ledger's Joker? But he's a little too
black-and-white. We understand what drives a good villain. To get that
texture, Ransom based Chopper Vittori, at least partially, on the 10-year-
old version of himself: a migraine-tortured loner with disdain for
humanity and what we do to our planet.
The leader, Farley Rutherford, is loosely based on the great Canadian
naturalist, Farley Mowat.
The venture capitalist, Gloria Baradaran, is a classic Silicon Valley VC. She
believes that capital can solve all problems and that the market
unleashed can be the ultimate force for good--which is to say, she’s a bit
naïve. Fortunately, her father, Tahir, is not.
Finally, the techno-genius electrical engineer Ringo Hayes. Complete with
caffeine addiction, hobbies that other people think are weird, and a deep
affection for how things work, Ringo is the uber-geek every startup
requires for success.
Sensory Deception
Neuroscience experiments demonstrate that Virtual Reality alters people's feelings, even their politics. But how can a person experience the world of an animal? The concept of sensory saturation comes from something we've all experienced: panic. When you're in an emergency situation, your awareness focuses on right now; no more than a second ahead or behind. If we could keep the here and now but remove the panic, you'd find yourself in the state of mind of intelligent nonlinguistic animals. Sensory saturation is a threshold beyond which the brain is so overwhelmed by sensory data that it switches gears from reflective thinking to the immediate process- and-response that animals experience.
The Killer App
What about the killer app, the ultimate nature experience? Imagine experiencing the life of the world’s greatest carnivore? Ahh, but the rub, what would you have to go through to develop the technology for the Moby Dick App? To record all that experiential data, you'd need to attach sensors to a big bull sperm whale . . .
The Idea
The idea for The Sensory Deception came from an article in The Guardian: June 5, 2008, Skagafjordur, Iceland - A polar bear that swam more than 200 miles in near- freezing waters to reach Iceland was shot on arrival in case it posed a threat to humans. The bear, thought to be the first to reach the country in at least 15 years, was killed. Chief veterinarian Egill Steingrimsson said, “There were around 50 to 60 people watching. The police did not have many options when the bear ran down the hill, approaching the crowd.” Polar bears were frequently tamed during the middle ages, but since then no bear has been captured alive in Iceland. Receding North Pole ice is diminishing their hunting and mating grounds and jeopardizing their survival.
Can a video game save the polar bear, the
sperm whale, and every other endangered
species on the planet? Silicon Valley scientist
Farley Rutherford thinks he has the answer.
His team has designed a virtual reality
system that immerses users in the struggles
of an endangered animal-and the
astonishing experience leaves any who try it
desperate to help. But the path to
environmental salvation is not easy.
Luckily, venture capitalist Gloria Baradaran
becomes Farley's most ardent advocate.
Gloria and the team will have to fight for
funding and their cause before facing the
biggest obstacle of all: obtaining sensory
data from the creatures themselves,
including the biggest hunter of all-the sperm
whale.
The cause is righteous, but the stakes are
high. And while Farly fends off Somali pirates
in pursuit of the ultimate sensory
experience, a rift in the team puts Gloria's
life in jeopardy, proving that idealism might
just be the most dangerous game of all.
"Ransom Stephens' imagination is
limitless in his ability to lead the reader
through scenarios across the globe . . . The
Sensory Deception is a worthy read with
fascinating concepts."
-The Santa Rosa Press-Democrat
“Thoroughly gripping and quite smart.”
- Robert A. Burton, MD, author of A Skeptic's
Guide to the Mind
“A thrilling and unique story of romance
and adventure.”
-Robert Kroese, author of Mercury Rises
“An insider's look at the world of the mind,
video games, and venture capital, all
wrapped up in a seductive, breathtaking
tale of all-too-human folly. Stephens'
characters are brilliant and real and fated
to make sensational, dangerous errors, all
on the path to realizing the larger truth of
their real humanity.”
-David Corbett, award-winning author of The
Art of Character
“A roller coaster of a ride using the
relationship between the senses and the
mind, Stephens builds a story with
unrelenting momentum.”
- Robin Burcell, bestselling author of The Black
List
Who's your favorite villain? Heath Ledger's
Joker? But he's a little too black-and-white.
We understand what drives a good villain.
To get that texture, Ransom based Chopper
Vittori, at least partially, on the 10-year-old
version of himself: a migraine-tortured loner
with disdain for humanity and what we do
to our planet.
The leader, Farley Rutherford, is loosely
based on the great Canadian naturalist,
Farley Mowat.
The venture capitalist, Gloria Baradaran, is
a classic Silicon Valley VC. She believes that
capital can solve all problems and that the
market unleashed can be the ultimate force
for good--which is to say, she’s a bit naïve.
Fortunately, her father, Tahir, is not.
Finally, the techno-genius electrical engineer
Ringo Hayes. Complete with caffeine
addiction, hobbies that other people think
are weird, and a deep affection for how
things work, Ringo is the uber-geek every
startup requires for success.
