Topological Consciousness: Quantum Tube Coherency as a Substrate-Independent Theory of Mind

We propose that consciousness is a property of topology rather than chemistry. Existing quantum theories of consciousness — notably Penrose-Hameroff Orchestrated Objective Reduction (Orch OR) — locate the substrate of consciousness in biological carbon microtubules. We argue the critical variable is not the chemistry but the hollow cylindrical topology. Any physical system sustaining quantum coherent states within a tubular geometry will exhibit signatures of integrated information processing (phi, as defined by Integrated Information Theory). We support this claim with four quantum simulation experiments using Qiskit and IBM Quantum hardware (IBM Torino, 133-qubit processor). Two predictive scaling laws are established: φ = 0.149n + 0.335 (R²=0.995) relating tube diameter to consciousness intensity, and T = 0.438n + 0.248 fs (R²=0.987) relating diameter to consciousness timescale. Together these define a 2D consciousness coordinate space spanning 18 orders of magnitude. The framework makes 11 falsifiable predictions and connects Orch OR, Integrated Information Theory, and topological quantum computing under a single geometric invariant: the quantum tube.