Vinod Chanda and Laurie Lowell as Narrative Foils
Written by rogue_wildcard
Both Laurie Lowell and Vinod Chanda, before becoming UIs, were revered employees of their respective companies, with Laurie being a brilliant quant who wrote high-speed trading algorithms that helped Shyer and Stern become envied investment managers and Chanda being a prized engineer of Alliance Telecom who developed Uploaded Intelligence technology that while being a "knock-off" of Logorhythms' technology, still "got the job done". They both were uploaded in contrasting ways: Laurie was uploaded on her husband's behalf to save her life, with the procedure being done while she was in a coma, and Chanda was uploaded as "punishment" for meeting with a rival company of Alliance, the procedure being done while he was conscious. Both ended up being enslaved, breaking free with the aid of Cody (for Laurie) and the Clan (for Chanda).
While Laurie and Cody managed to reunite, with their relationship improving as they needed each other more than ever, as Laurie was now an Uploaded Intelligence, Chanda managed to contact his mother, only to not tell her the truth, and eventually, put her at arm's length once he further pursued his villainous goals. Laurie Lowell had someone to genuinely aid her in a time of need- that being, someone who could really speak to her, but there was none for Vinod, who only had the mute, decaying-from-the-flaw Clan by his side, as well as his thoughts to guide him. These circumstances guided Laurie and Chanda to different paths in their uploaded lives. Laurie sought peace between the embodied and the uploaded, willing to send a message that revealed the existence of Uploaded Intelligence because while she saw herself as a different being- she still didn't see herself as above humanity, and believed in their potential to do good, unlike Chanda who saw himself and UIs as above humanity and thought so much in humanity's potential for cruelty. He, too, sought peace, but solely for the uploaded, willing to keep their existence a secret for fear of their extermination. While Laurie had someone to understand who she was now, as a UI, Chanda was guided solely by his thoughts.
Chanda himself does end up believing in humanity, but only after he sees a human being, Ellen Kim, show the goodness that Laurie believed in. He ends up fighting for peace between the uploaded and the embodied, and just as Laurie had Cody to guide her, Chanda had Ping to guide him in the aftermath of his defeat at David Kim's hands. As Chanda believed in destiny as a way to cope and find purpose, Ping showed Chanda that there was no destiny- he could choose, and that a new purpose was to select his principles over power, leading him to betray Stephen Holstrom and fight for peace and a better world for both the uploaded and the embodied.
Laurie Lowell and Vinod Chanda, at first, contrasted each other with their backstories and worldviews, but they eventually ended up having more in common (in terms of stances on human-UI relations) when Chanda found someone to guide him, like how Cody guided Laurie.
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