The world turns. Episode 4 brings us to the edge of the cliff. The Uploaded Intelligences (UI) are stretching their metaphorical wings and figuring out what it is they can do.

All the while others are trying to find them.

As discussed previously – a real uploaded intelligence would simply be software operating on a physical computer. To this end, the humans in this picture are spending a lot of their time trying to figure out exactly where their errant UIs are hiding themselves because in a world built from power grids and datacentres tracking down software that uses huge amounts of power (both electrical and processing) isn’t all that hard.

Some of the discussion around what a human really is gets put to one side because we have a sequence in which one UI takes brutal revenge on their makers and others realise there’s more at stake for them than simply hiding their physical substrates.

Because for our UIs in Pantheon, they have issues. Flaws. And those flaws are existential in nature.

There’s no apotheosis here. Whatever our new UIs are, they’re not gods. Not yet at any rate.

We also have a sequence about self-discovery – this isn’t so much the casting off of what it means to be human but the retaining of its core: emotion and imagination. Thrillingly the show is proposing that it is emotion which ignites imagination, not processing power. It is hugely refreshing to see these UI powered not by infinite processing power but by their humanity. Now, that doesn’t set aside the problem of processing power and there are hints we’re going to see that shark jumped, but for now we remain resolutely limited by the ’old’ humanity our UIs bring to their digitally embodied selves.

The other question the show glides over without too much thought is just how do you encode emotion and imagination? What is it that makes them and for that matter, qualia? Emotion is hard coded into our nervous system and fostered by a brain that works based upon the limited feedback it gets from a world it can only sense through a strange sensation driven electrical system. In other words, the brain generates and feels emotion through being embodied. How does a UI feel emotion if it has no feedback system linked to its body? No idea and the show doesn’t really talk about it. It doesn’t matter too much except that if you’re putting front and centre a story about what it means to be human then eliding these elements feels… sloppy.

Into that mix we have Caspian who is rapidly discovering that the conspiracy theories he’s been chasing start much closer to home and Maddie who continues to wrestle not just with her luddite mother but with a father who’s feeling trapped and isolated.

There are a lot of moving parts in this episode but watching it I never felt I was following different disconnected trails. No matter which character was on screen I could see the outlines of their connections and could anticipate their wider struggles.

The show isn’t predictable, not quite. It’s got a lot of recognisable elements but it’s putting them together into the form of a compelling thriller. I was reminded of William Gibson’s near future style more than once.

Verdict: All of this is to say that it’s a fantastic day after tomorrow thriller that feels wide ranging and full of meat to be chewed on with friends after you’ve watched it. Who is doing what to whom? Why? How many UI are there out in the world? Is Maddie’s dad still her dad or just a facsimile and does it matter?

Any show that leaves you wanting to talk about it is one worth watching and Pantheon has me chomping at the bit to discuss what it’s saying.

Rating? 8 dangerous petrol pumps out of 10.

Stewart Hotston