The
Interstellar Journey Cryonic Sleep Motion Tracker
Initially
this experiment has been developed by NASA and JPL in the early 1960s.
Astronauts should be tested for their ability to cope with sensory deprivation
during long term flights in space.
Later psychologists employed the test setup for experiments on peri-personal
space, imaginary body response and phantom limbs.
The basic setup is that of a cryonic sleeping tank onboard an interstellar
ship. The test person is supposed to go to a colony planet in another
solar system. After takeoff the intelligent ship routinely monitors the
frozen passengers in deep sleep. During this check a malfunction shows
in the cryotank of the testperson: His or her EEG reveals actual brain
activity just below full conscioussness, but he or she is totally deprived
of all actual sensual perceptions, neither able to move nor feel any bodily
sensation.
In order to entertain the poor devil for the remaining 10 years of the
trip, the ship starts to trigger certain memories, especially from happy
childhood times.
A series of tests seemed to indicate that a high number of people would
start to grow imaginary body parts and perform unknown motion sequences.
The test was prohibited by federal law in the late 1970s after some severe
accusations of former test persons in connection with drug experiments
by the US army.
In
collaboration w/ Philipp Haupt.
Performed
at Tanzquartier Wien, research lab "absent
interfaces", 12/05.
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