In Arthur C. Clarke’s 1972 story “Dial F for Frankenstein”, the worlds first global network of phone exchanges was created by satellite link, and events happened that caused the characters in the story to wonder if the interconnected mesh of machinery had somehow become sentient. and that’s what we wondered when we saw this newest virtual CPU construction developed by GitHub user [katef] and made of a virtual analog synthesizer software called VCV Rack.

Analogous to a Redstone computer in Minecraft, there’s no physical hardware involved. but instead of making crazy synth sounds for a music project, [katef] has developed a functioning CPU complete with an Arithmetic Logic Unit, an adder, and other various things you’ll find in a real CPU such as registers and a clock.

While no mention is made of whether the construct is sentient, [katef] fully documented the build on their GitHub page, and so go check that out for animated pictures, links to much more information, and more. It’s quite impressive, if not just a little bonkers. but many good hacks are, right?

We love distinct CPU builds, and you might get a kick out of this one made from- that’s right- 555 timers. thanks to [Myself] on the Hackaday Discord server for the tip, and be sure to send in your favorite outrageous jobs to the Hackaday suggestion line!