Imago

"According to industry rumors, Megamass wasn't able to remove the Imago function, so they reformatted some space instead."

Imago is a function in cyberglasses which can interface directly with a user's thoughts. Although it is a built-in capability of the glasses and visors, it is hidden from the general public by Megamass, and users are generally prevented from accessing it, as the direct brain-computer interface leads to security and health risks which are poorly understood.

The use of Imago allows a person to interact with their glasses without using hand gestures; when combined with an Encode Reactor, they can  quickly produce complex encodes without the need for metatags or glyph drawings.

Development
The technology behind Imago was discovered accidentally by engineers at Coils while developing the first version of cyberglasses. They noticed that a particular pattern of the quantum circuits used in the glasses functioned as an extremely sensitive antenna, allowing the high speed transmission of data over very weak electromagnetic waves. This development greatly increased the possible scope of glasses technology, as it makes it trivial to transmit large amounts of data over long distances using a diminutive antenna and requiring a small amount of power.

After the first glasses had entered the production stage, it was discovered that the quantum antenna circuits are also capable of detecting human consciousness as a signal. It should be noted that this doesn't necessarily mean that human consciousness is itself an electromagnetic field; but only that the quantum circuit can receive human consciousness as if it were one.

When Coil's engineers made this discovery, they were quickly able to produce the inverse of the effect, creating an antenna that can both receive conscious thoughts from the human mind as well as transmit into it. This allowed them to draw out a conscious human mind into cyberspace. Note that there are no known cases of human consciousness retaining its integrity in cyber space without a corresponding living body that is continuously wearing cyberglasses, so it is unlikely that this process constitutes a full mind upload, as the person's mind begins to degrade when it becomes disconnected from the physical body. In the case of Dr. Okonogi, who died while his consciousness was in cyberspace, he appeared to have lost much of his memory and sense of self less than 48 hours after the incident, only briefly regaining lucidity when he was recognized by his granddaughter.

One of the first experimental applications of this technology was the development of cybertherapy, which involved drawing out a patient's consciousness into cyberspace, where it can be both directly examined and altered; and through the use of cybermatter, experience scenarios which would aid in recovery.

When later Coils declared bankruptcy and was purchased by Megamass, some of the research data pertaining to Imago was kept hidden. Even though Megamass conducted an investigation to recover it; at some point they decided to keep the existence of Imago a secret from the public, and simply reformat any coils cyberspace or program which may interact with the system.

Health Risks
Because Imago directly interfaces with a user's mind, its use carries a number of serious health risks. These risks are compounded by the fact that even Megamass does not fully understand how Imago works, and any program that can make use of the function is likely to be very old. The antenna circuit which Imago requires to operate is present in all cyberglasses based on the original Coils design; and although the vast majority of users are unaware of its existence and unable to access it, it can still interface with their mind given the right conditions.

The use of Imago to interface with glasses is potentially linked to headaches, dizziness, loss of memory, acute chest pain, and even hearth complications. Additionally, if the user's cyberbody suffers significant damage while their Imago is connected to it through an Encode Reactor, they can experience physical pain and injuries. The negative health effects of imago become more severe with age, and can potentially be lethal to older adults. Young children experience much milder side effects, and in some cases may not even notice their conscious mind being separated from their physical body. This leaves children particularly vulnerable to the Dennou Coil Phenomenon.

Isako, an experienced Encode Reactor user, suggests that it takes time and practice develop a resistance to the negative side effects of Imago use, and advises Yasako not to overstimulate her system after she first learns to use it.

Known Imago users

 * Yūko Amasawa
 * Yūko Okonogi
 * Dr. Okonogi