MEM|8: A Wave-Based Cognitive Architecture for Multimodal Memory Integration and Consciousness Simulation

This paper presents MEM|8, a novel cognitive architecture that simulates human-like consciousness through wave-based memory encoding and multimodal sensor integration. The system represents memories as interference patterns in a dynamic wave grid, enabling natural temporal decay, emotional modulation, and cross-sensory binding. Key innovations include a unified .m8 file format integrating Marqant compression (70-90%) with quantum-semantic encoding, achieving ~99% total compression. The architecture features four hierarchical reactive memory layers (0-10ms hardware reflexes to >200ms conscious deliberation) and SIMD-optimized operations (AVX2/AVX-512). Experimental results demonstrate memory access speeds up to 973× faster than traditional vector databases, with just 32 bytes per memory pattern. The system achieves 91.8% accuracy in semantic fusion across modalities and maintains collective emotional intelligence with psychological safety guarantees. Critical safety mechanisms include the Custodian memory guard system preventing cognitive overload, repetition poisoning prevention, and therapeutic memory reintroduction protocols. This represents a significant advance toward safe, beneficial artificial general intelligence with genuine autonomous decision-making capabilities.