Mindscan

Poe looked at Lopez, as if seeking guidance. I saw her shrug infinitesimally. The professor shifted his gaze back to Deshawn. "Yes, of course," he said at last.

"That's the whole point. God has given us free will, and it's the soul that exercises that free will."

"In other words," said Deshawn, "the soul can make any choice it wants, regardless of God's wishes, correct?"

"How do you mean?"

"I mean, God wishes us to be good — to follow the precepts of the Ten Commandments, say, or the Sermon on the Mount — but He doesn't force us to be good. We can do whatever we please."

"Yes, of course."

"And, indeed, since the soul is the part of us that really makes choices, then it's in fact the soul that can do whatever it pleases, correct?"

"Well, yes."

"Now, what about the physical nature of the soul? Prior to death, is it localized in the individual?"

"How do you mean?"

"I mean it's not dispersed hither and yon — it's a localized phenomenon, right? It exists within a specific person."

Lopez tried again. "Your honor, objection. Relevance."

But Herrington was enthralled. "Overruled, Ms. Lopez — and don't bother me with that objection again during this testimony. Professor Poe, answer Mr. Draper's question. Is the soul localized in a specific person?"

Poe looked flustered at the by-play between the judge and the lawyer who was paying him for his testimony, but at last he spoke. "I— yes."

"And after death?" asked Deshawn. "What happens to the soul then?"

"It leaves the body."

"Physically? Materially? As an energy wave, or some such?"

"The soul is immaterial, and it transcends our notions of space and time."

"How convenient for it!" said Deshawn. "But let's take that a step further, shall we?

The soul doesn't need to breathe, correct? Nor does it need to eat? That is, it can continue to exist just fine without the infrastructure of a biological body to support it?"

"Of course," said Poe. "The soul is immortal and immaterial."

"And yet it has a specific location. Your soul, prior to death is inside you, and mine is inside me, correct?"

Poe spread his arms. "If you're going to ask me to point to the soul on an MRI or X-ray, Mr. Draper, I freely admit that I can't do that."

"Not at all, not at all. I just want to make sure we're on the same page. We do agree that the soul is localized — yours is within you, and mine is within me."

"Yes, that's true," said Poe.

"And the soul is mobile after the body dies, correct? It can go to heaven?"

"Yes. If God will allow it entrance."

"But could it go somewhere else?"

"How do you mean?"

"I mean, the soul doesn't change upon death. It still has volition, doesn't it? Your soul hasn't become an automaton, has it? It hasn't become a zombie?"

Poe shifted again in the witness seat. "No."

"Well, then, Dr. Poe, if there is no test you can perform to determine whether a soul is present, if the soul is localized in a specific place, if the soul doesn't require nutrition or other support from a living body, if the soul leaves the body at death, if the soul transcends time and space and can move to a new location after leaving the original body, and if the soul still has freedom to act even after death, then how can you say that, upon the death of the biological Karen Bessarian, her soul did not choose to move into the artificial form seated at the plaintiff's desk?"

"I … ah…"

"Isn't it possible, Dr. Poe? Given the properties of the soul as you yourself have described them, isn't it possible? The biological body of Karen Bessarian is apparently dead. But it's abundantly clear, is it not, that Ms. Bessarian wanted to transfer her personhood to the mechanical form that sits here in this courtroom with us? Given that that was her wish — her soul's wish — isn't it likely that her soul has now taken up residence in that artificial form?"

Poe said nothing.

Deshawn nodded at him politely. "I grant that it was verbose, Dr. Poe, but my last utterance was a question, and you are required to answer it."

"Well, if you want to play games…"

"What game, Dr. Poe? You yourself said it was significant that a biological person has a soul and an upload does not. Indeed, you used the language of philosophy to tell us that the Karen Bessarian in this courtroom must be soulless — a condition you described as being a zombie. There are those who would say that that is a game, since you yourself have admitted that you can't detect, measure, or point to the soul." Deshawn walked in back of the plaintiff's desk, and stood behind Karen, one hand on each of her shoulders. "Even if souls are only created by God, and can't be duplicated by any mortal process, isn't it still possible that Ms. Bessarian's soul now resides in this artificial body — making her no more a zombie than the original was before it passed away?"

"Well, I…"

"It is possible, isn't it?" said Deshawn.

Poe let out a long, shuddering sigh. "Yes," he said at last, "I suppose it is."

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