Dear Brent and TOK, in putting together a brief talk on Consciousness, I had to reduce my cell biologic approach to the problem due to time constraints. So I decided to start with E=mc2 as the mathematical expression of the Singularity of the Cosmos (I assume we're all good on Einstein). Based on that 'logic', development of the embryo as cell-cell signaling is the conversion of 'mass' (growth factors) into 'energy' (the downstream interaction of the growth factor with its receptor (think 'lock and key'), triggering an intracellular cascade of high energy phosphates that ultimately affect growth and differentiation of the embryo, culminating in homeostatic physiology at birth. The aggregate of those cell-cell interactions is Consciousness, bearing in mind that the origin of the brain is the skin as a graphic. That would explain Qualia as the way in which experiences trigger consciousness, i.e. why seeing 'red' free associates with the physiology of the individual, bearing in mind that those homeostatic signaling cascades reference not only the physiology of the current individual, but their past experiences as a species as evolution too, so the Qualia go way back in the history of the organism. I hope that was helpful.