First, I don't know which is the difference/connection between real and possible alternatives. By real you mean plausible? Secondly, consciousness goes away ev

First, I don't know which is the difference/connection between real and possible alternatives. By real you mean plausible? Secondly, consciousness goes away even though those many _relatively simple_ interactions are still there. So, I'd say, that we don't really know for sure that consciousness is not there when worms are eating our brains. Consciousness is a subjective phenomenon. That's what makes it impossible to study directly, without relying on reports. And that's what separates it from those _relatively simple_ interactions which we can model and study experimentally.