We’ve all been taught to trust our instincts. That little voice that tells us infallibly, what is right and what’s wrong. Sometimes we subconsciously or willfully disregard that voice, thinking that, this time, it’s different. Sometimes our goals, our egos, our sense of logic, override our feelings and intuition.

But since neuralink adapters have connected our thoughts directly to the cloud, we’ve been able to explore new ways of thinking, with augmented intelligence. Boosting our natural brain power with silicon memory and processing speed has given us the ability to transcend ‘natural’ thought.

Augmented thinking is exhilarating; being able to run simultaneous scenarios and extrapolate beyond our current reference frameworks has made every decision more rewarding, and all our actions more effective. It’s like having a superpower!

But augmented thought is also highly addictive. Disconnect from the cloud and you’re lost. Without perfect knowledge, what can you do? What should you do? You need the ability to access all your memories without racking your brains. Natural smarts don’t cut it anymore.

The relief when you reconnect is palpable. Now you’re alive again; now you can think properly, and reason confidently. Now you can act decisively, secure in the knowledge that you’re right!

But there’s always that little niggle somewhere in the back of your mind. Are these truly your own thoughts and feelings, or have you been subtly influenced by the collective consciousness, hacked from the inside by the global consensus? Are you the ultimate victim of confirmation bias, or have you been corrupted by conventional wisdom?

Can you ever trust yourself again?