I am not convinced that we will be to able up/download our consciousness. Not only that we don't understand half of what is going on in our brains and that new horizons still are opening up there, but when we see consciousness as an emarging property," then the type of hardware it is based on does matter.<br>As Lord Rees continues to speculate that therefor immortality is in our grasp", that i do not deny, but i think it will be a biological based immortality. There is a ton of research in the area of immortality. Should it come, it won't come for everyone at once and that may lead to a different type of class or even species while the old one may not sit idly by getting replaced that way or having to follow rulers who could live forever. Just imagine Boris Johnson or Donald Trump or anyone you can't stand would live forever and continously lead your nation. So more likely it will first be kept very private and very expensive ... .