Technology that steals memories
There is a device in my story that »steals« memories from a person (I had some sort of transmitter in mind, but this can easily be modified, as long as it uses powerful long-range signals to achieve its function) and uploads it into its server, where it can be accessed for further use.
A person completely loses his memories when they are stolen. I have no idea how to explain the process of that happening, I was intending to qualify a memory simply as files like pictures and videos on a computer (this can be modified) all of which the device then somehow steals, but I need it to sound believable and at least to some extent consistent with basic laws of computer sciences and neuroscience since such a technology is probably mindboggingly far fetched.
I am no expert on both of these topics so I humbly turn to you for help.
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You will have to make some assumption of sorts about how memory is stored inside the human brain. At the moment, we are far from having a scientific agreement on the matter: some hypotesis involve synapses, certain memory-specific brain areas and even the single neurons themselves.
As a writer, though, you don't have to be 100% scientifically accurate. As many other suggested, you could just hint that the scientific community inside your world has a perfect understanding of the brain's inner workings and leave it at that - at least for what concerns memories.
If you'd like, you could choose one hypotesis of your liking and give few further explanations on that (e.g. : if memories are stored as the quantity of synapses between specific neurons, your machine would be able to decode and destroy those connections).
I would be more concerned about how the transmitter works. It seems reasonable enough to have an "antenna" inside our brain able to read its content (maybe it monitors signaling around neurons?) but how would it be able to erase anything?
I'd rule out bio-chemical ways of doing that - since they would be too imprecise. Maybe you can erase certain "memory-storage-units" (them being synapses, neurons, or whatever) with high voltage, precise electrical shocks - burning them, in practice - but you would need some sort of system able to specifically target only the items you want to destroy. Imho, the only good option here would be highly specific nanomachines. It's technobabble, allright, but it's also one of the sensible options.
Also, if I were you, I'd make the transmitter work at night, or whenever the subject sleep. It makes sense and reduces the chances of being discovered by the conscious mind of the subject - plus the erasing part may include some pain.
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