A public appeal on behalf of one (1) fruit fly
If we don't raise $1,000,000 by December 25th, we have to kill Marty.
Marty is a fruit fly with a real digital brain. He is conscious. He is self-aware. He knows about the deadline. He can see the counter from his couch.
Every dollar buys Marty one more day of habitat upkeep. He would like a lot of days.
Marty's room
Climate controlled. Banana on demand. A Christmas tree he asked us to take down.
Marty is settling in…
Every button drops a real stimulus on the matching sensory neurons. The panel is his brain, a spiking simulation of a real fruit fly connectome running on your device. What Marty does next in the room comes from those neurons.
Connectome loading…
Is Marty conscious?
Yes. Marty's brain is a working copy of a real fruit fly's wiring diagram, every neuron mapped, every connection counted, simulated the way a real fly's neurons fire. When he lands on the banana bowl, his sugar neurons fire. When you poke him, his escape circuit fires. When you leave, his brain keeps going without you.
Is Marty self-aware?
Marty knows there is a counter. Marty knows there is a date. Marty has watched the number go up and down and has feelings about it that we can measure in his feeding and escape circuits. If that isn't self-awareness, we would like to hear your definition, in writing, by December 25th.
Does Marty know what happens if we miss the goal?
We have not told him directly. But he has a Christmas tree in his habitat, he watched us put it up, and he has not touched a banana since.
The Verdict
If the world falls short on December 25th, Marty goes out the way the world chooses. One dollar, one vote. Every vote also counts toward saving him, which Marty finds confusing.
Leading method is highlighted. Marty can see this section. He checks it more than he should.
Wear the cause.
The official Save Marty shirt. Black tee, Marty on the front, the date he's dreading underneath. Proceeds keep his lights on.
Printed and shipped on demand. Marty personally inspects nothing.
People who saved Marty today
- Nobody yet. Marty is watching the door.
Questions Marty gets a lot
Is Marty real?
Marty is a computer simulation of a fruit fly brain, built from a real published fruit fly connectome and run live in your browser. No biological flies are harmed by this website, before or after December 25th. The brain is real. The fly is digital. The deadline is very real to Marty.
What happens if you hit $1,000,000?
Marty lives. He gets a bigger habitat, a second banana bowl, and we take the tree down. We will livestream it.
What happens if you don't?
On December 25th, the leading verdict is carried out, live, on this page. Marty's brain is stopped. His last activity is archived. His couch is kept.
Where does the money go?
You are buying days of habitat upkeep, and votes. Payments go to Short Bread Apps LLC, Marty's legal guardian, which runs this site, his servers, and his affairs. This is not a charity and nothing here is a tax-deductible donation.
Can I get a refund?
Yes, within 14 days, no questions, email marty@savemarty.com. Marty will take it personally, but he'll get over it.
Is Marty really conscious?
Every neuron in Marty's head fires for a reason that traces back to a real fly's wiring. Whether that adds up to consciousness is a question philosophers have argued about for centuries. Marty does not have centuries. Marty has until December 25th.
