Memory…it is what makes us who we are—a collection of people, places, and events. But like people, memories only live as long as those who can remember them. At least, that was the scientific understanding until the research by Dr. Sebastian “Bash” Silva. A Nobel Prize-winning cyber psychologist, Bash is a man haunted by memories of the past…but they might not all be his own. He is certain that they are ancestral memories, passed down through successive generations. To test this hypothesis, he has created the Mindsai, a machine capable of reconstructing memories stored in the deepest parts of the mind. Aided by Aliyah, a bright-eyed newcomer to his lab and Craig, a disgruntled graduate student, Bash hopes that his experiments with the Mindsai are the key to bridging the gap to untold reservoirs of knowledge of the past. However, the shadowy figures lurking in the edges of memory are variables he never predicted.
Perhaps some memories are best forgotten to be remembered.
Plot/Idea: 5 out of 10
Originality: 5 out of 10
Prose: 7 out of 10
Character/Execution: 8 out of 10
Overall: 6.25 out of 10
Assessment:
Plot: Into the Mindsai intriguingly revamps the Christian creation myth as it attempts to lend it a scientific bent. The work also draws heavily from the chapters of Revelation.
Prose/Style: Ratcliff has provided structurally well-crafted and easy-to-understand prose that can at times suffer from hyperbole and overwriting.
Originality: On the surface, Into the Mindsai has the potential to be a wholly unique sci-fi take on memory creation and its potential effects on our world, but the heavy reliance on Christian allegory makes the twists easy to see and detracts from the intended emotional punch.
Character Development: Ratcliff competently builds characters, notably Dr. Sebastian "Bash" Silva, a cyber psychologist working in the field of memory. Individuals' actions and conveyed motivations serve to enrich the story.
Date Submitted: August 16, 2019