"Well, Mr. Lee, the big thing missing in that summation is the
seemingly impossible task of synthesizing nerve tissue, especially
that of the cerebral cortex. It's been approximated, at any rate
closely enough to give us good enough results to allow an artificial
tissue to respond to brain signals about ninety-eight per cent as well
as the original would. But actual duplication? No. At least not until
about three years ago. To tell you the truth, it is barely out of the
experimental stage."
"Experimental!"
* * * * *
"Yes, this will be the first complete replacement of a human brain.
Oh, of course it has been done with animals, and it has been
successful with partial replacements on humans. But you will have the
honor of being the first human with a complete substitution."
Lee could not contain himself. "Doc, that's just it! There won't be a
single atom of me except what you fellows have conjured up--"
Letzmiller broke in mildly. "I think 'conjured' is hardly the proper
word, Mr. Lee."
"Well, of course, I didn't mean that. But don't you see what I'm
driving at? You could just as well start from scratch and duplicate me
without bothering about going about it piecemeal. And what does that
make me?"
The doctor had been looking at Lee intently, studying him through this
outburst. "I think I see what you mean. And I can't answer you. The
question you raise may be philosophical, or metaphysical, but it
certainly isn't medical. And from a doctor's point of view complete
substitution is the only course open, risky as it may seem."
Lee mulled this over. Of course he knew surgery was the only solution
to his decaying mentality, actually the only alternative to his
becoming a virtual idiot, and, shortly after that, dead. And he did
not want to die. He had lived a long time, but thanks to the methods
of Letzmiller, Gorss, and all their predecessors, he was as full of
juice as he had been at thirty-five. But the question that kept
plaguing him Letzmiller seemed determined to avoid. He didn't
understand very much about replacive surgery, really didn't care to.
If Letzmiller said it could work, then he wasn't worried about that.
Well, he guessed he really didn't have much choice. With this
realization, he had only one more question for Letzmiller.
"Doc, if I'm not me when this is over, do you think I'll know it?"
Letzmiller looked at Lee's troubled face. "Do you think that you would
want to?"