What Does Copying a Person Mean for the Original?

                Imagine that your consciousness could be transferred into a new body at any time. The catch is that your conscious is not actually transferred. Instead a copy is made, one copy is placed in the new body, and the other remains in the old one. Which copy ends up in which body is called ‘the coin toss’. The end result is two identical consciousness in two different bodies. So which one is the original, and how is its aura affected?

                This is the question the video game SOMA seeks to explore. The main character, Simon, is a copy of the original Simon who died 100 years ago. He was awakened in order to help the digital imprint of another person, Catherine, launch a satellite carrying the brain scans of other humans into space. Throughout the course of the game Simon remains in denial of the fact that he may be a copy, preferring to believe that he is the original Simon simply transferred into a new body. When the time comes to finally launch the ARK, as the satellite is called, into space both Catherine and Simon’s consciousness are copied onto it. Unfortunately one Simon is left behind, while another gets to live idyllically on the ARK. The one left behind rages at Catherine, accusing her of lying to him before she is shut down. Meanwhile, the other Simon wakes up on the ARK, and walks through a nice forested area before meeting the copy of Catherine. So which is the original and how can the player tell?

                The first method the player has to determine which Simon is the original is which Simon’s viewpoint is presented. Because the player is allowed to see both of the points of view of both the Simon left behind and the one on the ARK it obfuscates which is the original Simon, and which is the copy. For both of them life continues on from the moment they launched the ARK, but in two separate scenarios. In the end it is left to the player to decide which is the original and which is the copy.

                This is contrasted with an earlier portion of the game, where Simon has to copy himself onto a new, more durable, body. The Simon in the new body is followed, while the other Simon is put to sleep. The implication of course is that the Simon in the new body is the original, while the old body is inhabited by the copy.

                But what does this all mean for Simon’s aura? Is his aura diminished every time he is copied? Is his aura somehow fragmented between all of his identical copies? Do each of his copies have the exact same aura? Do each of the copies have their own distinct aura? Did his aura die along with his original body 100 years ago? These are the question left to the player by the game.

 I am of the opinion that his aura is in fact a combination of all of the above. To me, each copy receives a copy of the original’s aura, which it develops its own way through its actions. So the original which died 100 years ago had its own aura, as do the Simon on the ARK, and the Simon left behind. By their choices, and their reactions to their situations each Simon develops its own distinct aura which further serves to set it apart from all the other Simons.

Below is the relevant clip from the game so that you can make your own interpretation on which Simon is the original, and how his aura is or is not affected.