Community Driven Content
Invented by Yuriko Sujimoto, Braindance is undeniably the most popular entertainment of the time. Digital Recordings of a person's experience streamed directly into the neural system of a viewer via special augmentation are the television and computer games of the second half of the 21st century.
Invented in the first decade of our century by Yuriko Sujimoto, a student from the University of California in Santa Cruz, Braindance was quickly applied as a cutting-edge aversion programming technique for convicted criminals. A short time later it found use as a military simulator, and then as a tool in psychological therapy. Of course it still has use in the capacities for which it was originally developed, but none of those applications is as widespread or profitable as entertainment. Since the development of the newest generation of recording and editing technologies, Braindance is now everywhere. From the pinnacles of society to the lowliest street hoodlums―everyone wants to enjoy the vivid, colorful dreams that BD offers its users.
Braindance is undeniably the most popular entertainment of the time. Digital Recordings of a person's experience streamed directly into the neural system of a viewer via special augmentation are the television and computer games of the second half of the 21st century.
A few pieces of equipment are required before you can experience braindance and replay BD data. First you need a wreath―street-slang term for a BD headset. They come in wired or wireless variations. They require a base station to operate―like a "feeder," or home entertainment device. In addition to processing braindance data and streaming it to the wreath, a feeder has the advantage of also monitoring your vital functions and sustaining your organism during days-long sessions so you won't die from dehydration or starvation. All you need to do is put the headset on your head and plug a BD data disk into your personal port and you're ready to go.
When you active the wreath, strong stroboscopic flashes force your mind into a catatonic, trance-like state―almost like a shallow sleep. In most cases this is a voluntary act. No one can force braindance on a conscious person; cooperation of a willing subject is required to properly experience a BD session. Penal braindance is an exception, since it is mostly administered to drugged convicts―and due to the procedure's less subtle execution, the session is fully perceived by even unwilling users. You can try BD experiences without entering the trance, but streaming will quickly overload the frontal cortex if your brain is not forced into a recptive state. That would cause disorientation, confusion and a rather harsh session. Prolonged use of BD in such a way can even result in minor brain damage. Some Junkies still prefer this unorthodox method til date.
You can experience braindance alone or in groups with sessions designed for interaction with multiple participants.
If your feeder subscription has expired, or you can't afford your own playback device with high fidelity or multiuser setups, or you just want to hang with like-minded BD geeks, you can always visit a braindance arcade. These places have tons of BD tapes that you can rent as long as you have a bit of money. Some arcades specialize in specific braindance genres―the perfect place to go and meet other bd fans and discuss the newest productions. There are also arcades that offer hardcore illegal BD tapes.
Portable BD Rigs are a thing, but they also have their drawbacks―especially the older or cheaper variations. Their processors are usually not as efficient as those in stationary devices; therefore sessions may not feel as smooth, nor emotions and sensations as sharp and vivid. Using BD outside of a "safe zone" such as your house or the arcade room is always risky.
Braindance recording technology is based on electromagnetic Sensors that read the brain activity of the user. The signal is then converted from analog to digital and stored in the Net or on a data-carrying device like a chip or disk before editing. In order to obtain quality data, recording devices should be calibrated to the person being recorded. Calibration can take up to several weeks and requires the full cooperation of the individual. Lack of basic training will mostly result in junk data, unusable in the editing process.
Raw Recordings should never be used in braindance. They have too many scraps of memories, stranded thoughts, and faint emotions to be comprehensible or pleasant for most users. Due to the differences in physiology between the recorder and the viewer, material is perceived as muddy and unclear at best, and replaying it could result in dizziness and nausea. Refining the data requires extensive editing on professional braindance studio equipment. An editor is responsible for the whole process, usually with the help of an Intelligence System. The first goal is to remove any subconscious thoughts and feeling from the scene, leaving only clear emotions and the pure essence of the recording. Thoughts are generally very disturbing for average commercial users.
During the next step of the editing process the material can be mixed with other feeling or sensations to adjust the emotional tone of the scene. Remixing requires a lot of experience and skill to make it feel natural, but the tremendously complicated process is made manageable through the use of Intelligence Systems to do most of the menial work for BD Editors. Without Intelligence Systems, completing edits in a reasonable time frame would be almost impossible. Using a "spectator"―another person to experience edited braindance to better monitor the emotion content―can expedite the process and make the final product more immersive and realistic.
The first braindances were almost impossible to encounter a situation where you see yourself in a mirror. This was partly because old BD recorders were bulky head-worn contraptions, so actors avoided reflective surfaces. It was also because―at this level of immersion―seeing someone other than yourself in a mirror would cause extreme emotional distress, even anxiety attacks. Users were simply not accustomed to it.
Nevertheless, with improvements in the field of BD technology and increased acceptance of the medium, people grew more accustomed to the idea of seeing a different face when they look in the mirror. In 2077 recording devices are the size of a pair of glasses or even implanted using cortex neuralware to record and store data. It's like recording with your cybereyes alone, and so the first generation of celebrity braindancers were born.
Thanks to the universality and popularity of braindance as a medium, the top first-person personalities are recognizable all over the wrold. Their images are rarely altered in post production, and they share the same status and attention enjoyed by movie stars and celebrities of old.
Experiencing a braindance session from the performer's point of view puts the spectator at the very center of the action, creating close―even intimate―connections with the main character and the actor who plays them. Braindance users can literally feel what it's like to be their favorite protagonist. The dedicated BD audience started to greow to incredible numbers and many celebrity braindancers started to release personal records of their daily lives in response to their growing popularity.
Previously unknown psychological conditions have now become prevalent, like braindance-related dissociative identity disorder. Patients suffering from BDDID are so focused on a specific braindancer that they start to believe that they are the individual portrayed in the BD, watching themselves living in luxury villas and attending galas, often arriving at the conclusion that they have been replaced by an impostor who has stolen their life.
Braindance overuse has other notable side effects―most notably addiction that can result in health problems due to inactivity, poor nutrition, and mental isolation. No less dangerous is the potential for emtoional dependency. People who overuse BD are reported as appearing numb and emotionless. Real life seems dull and boring to them and find themselves unable and unwilling to forgo braindance.
