Mind Spires.(Kevin Hughes) Mark looked up at the Mind Spire. Every town had one. They were everywhere. The first generation looked like old fashioned cell towers or radio towers. The newer ones, like the one Mark was staring at, looked more like a soft serve ice cream cone, or one of those old beautiful Russian Church spires. People wanted them to be pretty to look at. It helped ease the fact that Mind Spires read your mind. And mine. And everyone’s. All the time. Twenty four hours a day.

Mark looked away. Knowing that every thought he just thought had been recorded, analyzed and archived. No beam of any color or wavelength had shot out of the Mind Spire in his direction. So his thoughts were normal, non violent, and legal. He nodded to himself. Assured of his own safe mental state. He had another thought:

“Thank God for Mind Spires.”

*****

“Tell me again. I know I am supposed to be your “Advisor” for your Doctorate…but this…this…(pointing to the Thesis laying on his desk) is beyond my comprehension. You claim to be able to read minds, thoughts, and sift through them for precursors to action…is that about right?”

Nathan was shifting in his seat. Sweating. He hated being around people in general and being scrutinized by someone in Authority was physically uncomfortable for him. Nathan was a true introvert. Not Autistic in any way, simply one of those people who are born loners. The kind that tolerate humanity but don’t consider themselves members. Nathan couldn’t understand people. Physics was much less complicated (for him) than say…ordering a coffee from a pretty barista. So he forced himself to give a shy smile.

“Yes, Doctor Heinz. That is about it. Except…well…”

“Well, what, Nathan?”

Nathan turned red. This was going to be even more difficult to explain. The Ethics Committee would probably deny his Doctorate outright. He had to explain carefully. A long sigh…and Nathan exhaled his nervousness.

“You see Professor, as I have noted every thought is a tiny electrical signal. (Doctor Heinz nodded) Those signals can pool in a persons head in what I have named as a “Primary Node.”

“I am with you…so far. Go on.”

“Well, a Primary Node is a collection of signals that amount to a real thought. A conscious thought. But that thought can be subjugated by a stronger Primary Node collection. In other words we can change our minds before we act. Those signals are then mediated back into background noise and we forget we even had them.”

“Okay…do go on.”

“So all I did was figure out the signal strength of Action Potentials in Neurons, follow the Hebbian Cycle…”

“You mean the old saying that neurons that fire together, wire together.”

Nathan was gaining confidence with each word, he forgot his nervousness and rallied on.

“Yes, those Hebbian cycles become Primary Nodes. Thoughts, real thoughts. Thoughts we consider and either act on, sublimate, or dismiss. We already know that the Brain is wired to work from Zero Hertz to about 100 Hertz, with: Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Gamma ranges fairly well mapped out. We know the states of physical and mental processes within each of those broad categories.“

Doctor Heinz nodded in silent agreement. Listening intently, he waved Nathan on.

“What I did was use a technique used to monitor Quantum tunneling in the Sun. I modified it to narrow the signal attenuation of those Primary Nodes. So it is able to detect when a thought will cause a physical reaction, or reach a mental decision bracket. In simplest terms, it allows the signal to manifest itself as an Act about to be carried out. Or a thought about to be acted on.”

“You are talking about reading minds here.”

“Yes. Sort of. It doesn’t read your mind, it reads the potential for a thought to become an action. Or a belief.”

There was complete silence in the small Office. It drew out for a while, not uncomfortable silence, thoughtful silence. Then the good Doctor spoke again:

“So you recommend building a Mind Spire, to spy on all of us?”

Nathan shook his head.

“No. It won’t take away free will. Or tell you what to think. What it will do, is record the threshold for action by that individual, and give advance notice of intention. It will also help sort out delusional thinking, and diagnosis of impending self harm. Or any violent act for that matter.“

“Isn’t that a form of control?”

Nathan was ready. He knew that question would be coming.

“Yes. But not under any Government, or Political Group, or Ideology. It will simply point out that an act was about to be harmful, and a beam sent back with the same signal strength as the original action generating Primary Node, will suspend it until appropriate care can be provided, or Authorities Alerted.”

“Give me a concrete example of a what a Mind Spire could do.”

“That’s easy. If someone is contemplating hurting themselves or others, that Primary Node fires off at a certain frequency. One that the AI can readily differentiate from a random thought and a thought that is pondering action. So thinking about hurting yourself without any desire to act on it…remains merely a thought. Once the threshold to act is met…the Mind Spire will alert both the individual and the appropriate Agency that their thoughts have been noted. Stopping the person from hurting themselves or hurting others …in real time.“

“So a School Shooter couldn’t or wouldn’t be able to shoot their classmates?”

Nathan shook his head vigorously- this is why he designed the Mind Spire Concept in the first place, to stop Violence.

“Sir, with all due respect, a kid thinking about killing himself, or others, wouldn’t even make it out of his home. The Mind Spire would freeze him just before he takes action level. And his thoughts would be frozen - for lack of a better word- until help would arrive to disarm him. At that time, the beam would return control of his thoughts. Allowing him to face his feelings…and express them, without hurting himself or others.”

“What about liars, or cheaters, or Fake News thoughts…could it spot those?”

Nathan thought for a bit.

“Well, yes. It could tell if a lie was intentional …but not if someone actually believes it. It could spot the liar, but not the believer. But as long as no violence was intended, the Mind Spire would not interfere. You could cheat on your wife or husband, and that would hurt, but it would not trigger the Mind Spire to react, or record your wavelengths. But had you decided to murder your spouse, or burn their car….that it would spot. And act accordingly.“

Tapping a pencil against his desk top, Dr. Heinz looked at Nathan for a long time.

“You think you could build these Mind Spires?”

Nathan Smiled.

“I have one in my pocket. “

‘WHAT?!”

“Oh, don’t worry. It is a prototype and only has a range of about two meters. Just a proof of concept kind of thing.”

“Well, show me.”

“That?! That little thing can read my thoughts? It looks like an old style crystal radio.”

Nathan had never seen an old style crystal radio, when he did, he had to agree.

“Size is something the quantum world doesn’t really care about. Crystals are easy to “tune” to accept a range of frequencies. And at the nanometer length of the signals from a Primary Node, and the millivolts that fire neurons, you need a very precise and sensitive instrument. This one can read your signals and mine, but not anyone outside the door.“

Doctor Heinz just looked at the collection of crystals, wires and a tiny batter. He was amazed and wondered if it was all a giant hoax, or prank.

“I wouldn’t do that.”

“What?”

“Throw it out the window.”

“How did you know that was what I was thinking?”

“I didn’t. The Mind Spire did. I just hooked it up to my phone to read text to me with a little program I built."

The Good Doctor made up his mind. Nathan just smiled as the Doctor formed a fist to bring down on the Mind Spire model - his hand froze in mid clench. A calmness came over him. He had enough time to reconsider both his thoughts and his actions. His eyes widened.

“It works! It stopped me from doing a violent act. I could feel my response slowing down. I felt myself mellow. I felt reason return. Oh. My. God.”

*****

Nathon’s Mind Spire nomenclature stuck. Nobody ever called those towers anything but Mind Spires. After the first one was built, Government were unable to stop production of them. People wanted peace, and they got it. Mind spires don’t stop you from thinking, only from acting against your own self or others. People still believed we didn’t land on the moon, the earth was flat, and people still fell in and out of love. But War was over. Suicide was extinct. Mental Health was easily restored, and poor mental health easily detected.

Mind Spires were everywhere…by choice.

Nathan never married. He lived a useful life tweaking the software that allowed you to connect with a Mind Spire. He did get a pet dog named “Neuron” who loved him dearly. He died, like everyone nowadays, peacefully in his sleep.

The Mind Spire recorded his last thoughts: “I’m going to miss you Neuron.”

His last action was allowed to be carried out…he petted Neuron one last time.

The Mind Spires around the world sent loving loss to all.

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