What do you think?
Rate this book
Conscious Designs
Eugene, a wealthy paraplegic, must decide whether to preserve his consciousness forever in a digital utopia or suffer the pain tormenting his existence. Yet the more he learns about digital replication, the more deeply he understands personhood, empathy, and the value of suffering.
133 pages, Paperback
Published May 3, 2022
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 4, 2026
Conscious Designs by Nathanial White
Published by Miami University Press, Copyright 2022
Have you thought about what it might be like to be blind or paralyzed?
Conscious Designs is a profoundly personal book, dedicated "to everyone whose love rehabilitated me after my spinal cord injury." It is a concise yet unsettling novella exploring the implications of digital immortality, perhaps a conceivable option for the future. It is an exploration of the psychological and relational impact of catastrophic physical disability, such as total paralysis or blindness, forcing the reader to consider whether digital eternity is salvation or merely a sophisticated form of abandonment.
The central premise revolves around a paralyzed individual whose biological life has ended, but whose mind and brain are preserved in a quantum computer. In this near-future setting, Conscious Designs is a corporate pioneer of a technology that allows for the complete, high-fidelity downloading of the human brain, including all memories, experiences, personality traits, and complex cognitive structures, thereby providing eternal digital life. This process is aggressively marketed and widely accepted as the inevitable "next step in human evolution," raising fundamental questions about identity and existence.
White presents a critical philosophical cornerstone of the narrative: "Turing tests don't prove consciousness. Turing tests only verify if an entity can deceive a real human being by understanding the human's mental model. What proves that something is conscious is whether it knows that it is being deceived." This establishes the rigorous, perhaps unattainable, standard for genuine digital consciousness within the book's universe. To achieve true human-level consciousness, the digital entity requires a robust internal mental model of itself, its history, limitations, and ongoing existence, alongside the capacity to construct accurate mental models of other entities (both biological humans and other digital copies), understanding their desires, motivations, and their own self-perceptions within the digital environment. This simulated identity is referred to as the Second Self.
The novella delves into technical underpinnings of a Second Self: "A quantum circuit or qubit can be one, zero, or both. That is how the microtubules of our neurons work.” This scientific speculation strongly echoes the controversial quantum consciousness theories proposed by Roger Penrose and Stuart Hameroff and suggests that the complexity of the digital simulation requires harnessing quantum mechanics. However, this eternal existence comes at a cost: "There are no dreams in this digital consciousness world," suggesting a loss of subconscious processing, creative renewal, or perhaps a filtering mechanism inherent in the simulation. This lack of dreaming connects to the existential quandary: "What is memory without a mind? It's as meaningless as an unread book in the basement collecting dust," implying that raw data retention is useless without the organic, processing, narrative-creating force of a biological mind.
The narrative structure is intentionally ambiguous and fragmented, mirroring the uncertainty of the protagonist's existence. The first chapter focuses on Eugene, the individual whose paralyzing accident necessitates his digitization, leaving his true state (whether biologically dead or merely digitized) uncertain. The second chapter introduces Corina, Eugene’s wife, who remains biologically intact. She has adapted to life without him, entering a new relationship and maintaining a job at a morally compromised company specializing in growing human spare parts, a dark counterpoint to the sanctity of the digital self. Corina is embroiled in a protracted negotiation with the manager of the Conscious Designs facility housing the digitized Second Selves. This manager actively attempts to persuade Corina to authorize a complex upgrade for Eugene's digital existence to the new, supposedly superior, "Arcadia system." Corina eventually agrees, upgrading Eugene, but the consequences remain opaque.
The book is dedicated "to everyone whose love rehabilitated me after my spinal cord injury." Nate White is an extraordinary talent as well as the survivor of a devastating whitewater canoeing accident which initially left him paralyzed. He is an English teacher to some very lucky students and back in the water in and around Carbondale, Colorado. In this time of ever-advancing artificial intelligence Conscious Designs deserves a wide readership.
Published by Miami University Press, Copyright 2022
Have you thought about what it might be like to be blind or paralyzed?
Conscious Designs is a profoundly personal book, dedicated "to everyone whose love rehabilitated me after my spinal cord injury." It is a concise yet unsettling novella exploring the implications of digital immortality, perhaps a conceivable option for the future. It is an exploration of the psychological and relational impact of catastrophic physical disability, such as total paralysis or blindness, forcing the reader to consider whether digital eternity is salvation or merely a sophisticated form of abandonment.
The central premise revolves around a paralyzed individual whose biological life has ended, but whose mind and brain are preserved in a quantum computer. In this near-future setting, Conscious Designs is a corporate pioneer of a technology that allows for the complete, high-fidelity downloading of the human brain, including all memories, experiences, personality traits, and complex cognitive structures, thereby providing eternal digital life. This process is aggressively marketed and widely accepted as the inevitable "next step in human evolution," raising fundamental questions about identity and existence.
White presents a critical philosophical cornerstone of the narrative: "Turing tests don't prove consciousness. Turing tests only verify if an entity can deceive a real human being by understanding the human's mental model. What proves that something is conscious is whether it knows that it is being deceived." This establishes the rigorous, perhaps unattainable, standard for genuine digital consciousness within the book's universe. To achieve true human-level consciousness, the digital entity requires a robust internal mental model of itself, its history, limitations, and ongoing existence, alongside the capacity to construct accurate mental models of other entities (both biological humans and other digital copies), understanding their desires, motivations, and their own self-perceptions within the digital environment. This simulated identity is referred to as the Second Self.
The novella delves into technical underpinnings of a Second Self: "A quantum circuit or qubit can be one, zero, or both. That is how the microtubules of our neurons work.” This scientific speculation strongly echoes the controversial quantum consciousness theories proposed by Roger Penrose and Stuart Hameroff and suggests that the complexity of the digital simulation requires harnessing quantum mechanics. However, this eternal existence comes at a cost: "There are no dreams in this digital consciousness world," suggesting a loss of subconscious processing, creative renewal, or perhaps a filtering mechanism inherent in the simulation. This lack of dreaming connects to the existential quandary: "What is memory without a mind? It's as meaningless as an unread book in the basement collecting dust," implying that raw data retention is useless without the organic, processing, narrative-creating force of a biological mind.
The narrative structure is intentionally ambiguous and fragmented, mirroring the uncertainty of the protagonist's existence. The first chapter focuses on Eugene, the individual whose paralyzing accident necessitates his digitization, leaving his true state (whether biologically dead or merely digitized) uncertain. The second chapter introduces Corina, Eugene’s wife, who remains biologically intact. She has adapted to life without him, entering a new relationship and maintaining a job at a morally compromised company specializing in growing human spare parts, a dark counterpoint to the sanctity of the digital self. Corina is embroiled in a protracted negotiation with the manager of the Conscious Designs facility housing the digitized Second Selves. This manager actively attempts to persuade Corina to authorize a complex upgrade for Eugene's digital existence to the new, supposedly superior, "Arcadia system." Corina eventually agrees, upgrading Eugene, but the consequences remain opaque.
The book is dedicated "to everyone whose love rehabilitated me after my spinal cord injury." Nate White is an extraordinary talent as well as the survivor of a devastating whitewater canoeing accident which initially left him paralyzed. He is an English teacher to some very lucky students and back in the water in and around Carbondale, Colorado. In this time of ever-advancing artificial intelligence Conscious Designs deserves a wide readership.
April 4, 2023
Mr. White teaches at my high school, and although I have not had the privilege of being his student, I am proud to have been able to read his book (and get it signed, tee hee).
Conscious Designs was incredibly thought provoking. While at first the large, scientific words began to scare me off, the intense, engrossing story started to pull me in and I was hooked till the very last page. While the length of the novella is, obviously, quite short, the ending was satisfying and, for lack of a better term, crisp. It felt like taking a bit of a nice, well-balanced sandwich: you have a little crunch and all the perfect flavors mixed together, and by the time you're done you feel satisfied and you're left thinking about how good that sandwich you just ate was.
I also want to mention the fact that the neuropathic pain described in the book is a reflection of White's own encounter with it. The fact that this book was partly inspired by the author's own experience with a spinal cord injury (if I'm not mistaken) only makes the content more enriching and accurate.
Overall, the book was great and I can't wait to possibly read more by White in the future.
Conscious Designs was incredibly thought provoking. While at first the large, scientific words began to scare me off, the intense, engrossing story started to pull me in and I was hooked till the very last page. While the length of the novella is, obviously, quite short, the ending was satisfying and, for lack of a better term, crisp. It felt like taking a bit of a nice, well-balanced sandwich: you have a little crunch and all the perfect flavors mixed together, and by the time you're done you feel satisfied and you're left thinking about how good that sandwich you just ate was.
I also want to mention the fact that the neuropathic pain described in the book is a reflection of White's own encounter with it. The fact that this book was partly inspired by the author's own experience with a spinal cord injury (if I'm not mistaken) only makes the content more enriching and accurate.
Overall, the book was great and I can't wait to possibly read more by White in the future.
August 15, 2025
This one certainly made me think. I loved what was revealed in the second chapter, it really packed a punch. One I wasn't expecting in such a short lil novella. This read like a Black Mirror episode, but not one of the shitty ones that just makes you depressed. Like one of the good ones that makes you think about life, humanity, technology, death, and ~*the future*~. I found the ending to be a little confusing / ambiguous, and I wish there was more discussion about it available to peruse on the world wide web (maybe we need to start our own discussion? lol).
April 17, 2023
Thought-provoking, I have always really enjoyed stories about saving human consciousness into the digital sphere. I find a lot of novellas like this seem to rush the story a bit, and I am sometimes disappointed in the ending.
This is totally worth the read, excellent bang for the time spent buck! There are a couple of fun plot twists along the way to keep it interesting.
This is totally worth the read, excellent bang for the time spent buck! There are a couple of fun plot twists along the way to keep it interesting.
September 4, 2025
Conscious Designs is an emotional and thought-provoking read. The story brings us deep into the emotional journey of its two main characters, Eugene and Corina, while also eliciting complex questions related to suffering, human connection, and, as the title implies, consciousness. The story deals with tragedy, but it is also a beautiful reflection on life. Highly recommended.
May 9, 2022
Nathanial White’s "Conscious Designs" is as ominous as a future crime that goes unpunishable. Its hideous approximations of posthuman potential sing a speculative language I have never heard. Alien and haunting.
October 3, 2022
Very awesome concept. Beautiful story while inquiring about dilemmas we may face sooner than we think, and intertwining it with emotional and physical pain that I may not be able to relate to, but can empathize with in this novella. Mr. White, bravo!
May 6, 2023
Tight and philosophical, this neatly-written novella wins through hope, despair, guilt and shame to explore the idea of self and consciousness.
November 24, 2023
This is a great story on self reflection and understanding what is important in your life.
July 20, 2025
3.5
Lot of this definitely went over my head but I appreciate the message it was trying to convey.
Good drama mixed in with some sci-fi technological ideas. Not mad at it.
Lot of this definitely went over my head but I appreciate the message it was trying to convey.
Good drama mixed in with some sci-fi technological ideas. Not mad at it.
May 26, 2023
Absolutely amazing. Top book I have read this year by far!!!
November 20, 2022
Conscious Designs is an engrossing exploration of the nexus between life and death, humanity and technology, self and collective consciousness. Author Nathanial White uses thought-provoking prose to pose my favorite storytelling question: What if? Through technology, protagonist Eugene Wallace and his wife experience alternate versions of their lives - or do they? Even their simplest exchanges offer opportunities to consider the contradictions of the human condition:
- “To suffer is to be human. But we can also suffer alone,” he said.
“No, to share in suffering. That’s what makes us human.”
I was intrigued by Eugene’s three different physical modes: paralyzed and in pain, paralyzed with technological mobility but still in pain, freed from paralysis and pain but only by losing his sense of self. I also have minor spinal cord damage, and invisible pain and disability are part of my daily life. The writing touched on things I have trouble expressing to those who don’t experience it:
- “I just don’t understand why he still feels pain, why his digital body is still paralyzed. This is just pain that he is imagining. It isn’t real. Right?”
This novella is both beautiful and unnerving. It's complete as-is, but I'd be all-in if White expanded it into a longer novel, or if some visionary turned it into a feature film. Highly recommend!
- “To suffer is to be human. But we can also suffer alone,” he said.
“No, to share in suffering. That’s what makes us human.”
I was intrigued by Eugene’s three different physical modes: paralyzed and in pain, paralyzed with technological mobility but still in pain, freed from paralysis and pain but only by losing his sense of self. I also have minor spinal cord damage, and invisible pain and disability are part of my daily life. The writing touched on things I have trouble expressing to those who don’t experience it:
- “I just don’t understand why he still feels pain, why his digital body is still paralyzed. This is just pain that he is imagining. It isn’t real. Right?”
This novella is both beautiful and unnerving. It's complete as-is, but I'd be all-in if White expanded it into a longer novel, or if some visionary turned it into a feature film. Highly recommend!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews