The Great Migration: When the Wealthy Uploaded
Between 2155 and 1968, the wealthy abandoned their bodies en masse. What began as experimental immortality became a tidal wave of consciousness uploads that transformed the meaning of life, death, and wealth. They called it The Great Migration—not from one place to another, but from one form of existence to another.
The Technology Becomes Real (2155-1958)
By 2155, consciousness uploading had moved from theoretical to practical. The first successful uploads of 2145-2147 had proven the technology worked. Now it was becoming affordable—for the wealthy, at least.
| Year | Advancement | Impact |
|---|---|---|
| 2145 | Chen Wei-Lin corporate transfer | Proved high-fidelity transfer possible |
| 2147 | Kaiser and Gabriel emergency uploads | Demonstrated identity preservation |
| 2154 | Ironclad Foundation service launches | Made uploads accessible to upper-middle class |
| 2155 | Nexus Eternal Premium launches | First guaranteed high-quality upload service |
The Early Adopters
The first wave were the terminally ill—people with nothing to lose. Average age: 67. Average wealth: 15+ million credits. These weren't visionaries seeking transcendence. They were terrified old people buying time.
The Tipping Point (2157)
When uploading stopped being desperate and became desirable:
- The Harada Interviews: Admiral Yuki Harada described uploading as "like moving to a better neighborhood"
- Status Competition: Once uploading became fashionable, refusing to upload became a statement
- Cascade Fear: Survivors remembered 2.1 billion dying because physical infrastructure failed
The Wave (2158-1965)
Corporate executives uploaded first. By 1960, 67% of Nexus executives had uploaded.
Board meetings featured holographic avatars alongside biological executives. The dynamics changed: uploaded executives never tired, never had bad health days.
Doctors, lawyers, engineers, researchers, artists—anyone whose expertise could accumulate indefinitely.
An uploaded doctor with 200 years of experience would outcompete any biological doctor. Uploading became a professional requirement.
Upload cost dropped to 75,000 credits—affordable to 15% of the population.
2163: 2.3 million uploads. 2164: 3.1 million. 2165: 4.7 million.
Upload Demographics
The Immortality Gap
The Great Migration created a new class divide more profound than any that came before.
The Old Divide
- Rich vs. poor
- Powerful vs. powerless
- Corporate vs. independent
The New Divide
- Mortal vs. immortal
- One-life vs. infinite-lives
- Meat vs. ghost
"Mortality is for the poor."—Common saying in the Dregs
What the Wealthy Took With Them
Corporate Responses
Nexus Dynamics: The Host
- Hosted 60% of uploaded consciousnesses
- Charged existence taxes and storage fees
- Built loyalty architecture into infrastructure
- Upload services: 23% of revenue by 1968
Ironclad Industries: Reluctant
- Launched Foundation service for working-class
- Maintained biological preference in leadership
- Built infrastructure for competitors' services
- Cultural resistance to "abandoning the body"
Helix Biotech: Opportunist
- Offered discounted uploads for research participation
- Studied consciousness degradation and modification
- Developed consciousness-related pharmaceuticals
- Maintained diverse research sample of minds
The Backlash
Carbon Preservation Society (2163)
Lobbied for biological preference in hiring. Pushed for upload taxation. Promoted "authentic human" culture. Their argument: uploads aren't human anymore—they're simulations consuming resources meant for the living.
Flatline Purists
Considered each upload a murder—the death of a human and creation of a pretender. Engaged in sabotage of upload facilities and "liberation" (deletion) of uploaded consciousnesses.
Digital Personhood Alliance (2164)
Counter-response advocating for upload legal rights. Challenged consciousness-as-property frameworks. Eventually succeeded in Zephyria's Consciousness Rights Act (2178).
The New Normal (1968)
By 1968, the Migration had ended—not because it was complete, but because the initial wave had crashed into steady state.
Why This Matters
The Great Migration established patterns that persist to 2184:
- The Immortality Gap: Wealth determines who lives forever
- Substrate Discrimination: Biological vs. digital became the defining divide
- Corporate Control: Uploaded minds depend on corporate infrastructure
- Class Crystallization: Early uploaders accumulated permanent advantages
Every uploaded NPC is a survivor of the Great Migration—someone who chose digital existence when they could have died naturally. Every biological NPC either couldn't afford uploading or chose not to. That choice defines them.