>Howdy,
>Richard asks about cyborgs and how do ya tell them from normal people or
>robots.
Well, indeed he did!
[SCOTT discusses TLs of replacement parts]
>But I also remember that at TL 9 limb regeneration is possible, and at TL 12
>they talk about regeneration of complex things like eyes. So, to be frank,
>I'm not sure why the question of cyborgs come up. If you want to have a new
>limb, you can grow it just as easily as have one built for you. There will be
>people who want cybernetic stuff built into them, but that would be rather
>more rare than the guy who lost an arm and wants it back.
I think part of the problem of choosing cyberware over regeneration could
be a simple matter of time. In order to have a properly 'designed'
regenerative part, whould suggest the involvement of sample DNA. After a
sample is taken, then the limb or organ is grown from 'scratch', which
would take some time. While various biochemical accelerators could be
used to hasten the process, I think there would still be required, a
significant amount of time to grow the limb.
Then it has to be attached to your body, the chance of freak rejection
has to be eliminated, any shock to the body from re-attaching a significant
addition (in terms of blood supply, nervous system reactivation, etc),
and THEN thelong process of regaining meaningful use from the new part
begins, also moderately lengthy.
This is all wonderful, if you have the time and money.
But for the working Joe on a working Joe's wage, who needs a new arm pronto
or else he loses his ability to support himself, a prosthetic is a more
suitable answer.
>Now, the cyborgs would then be cyborgs by CHOICE. And depending on how
>obvious the individual wants it to be, above TL 12 you'll need a densiometer
>to pick them out. Even at TL 12, if the addition is small and carefully kept
>to be the same density as surrounding tissue, an implant might be VERY hard
>to detect. X-Ray? Build it out of plastic.
>As to the question: Can a cyborg pass for a robot? Well, if he was
>designed to do so, sure. But who would wanna be designed that way?
Well, it would certainly be a matter of taste, but there is no end of
example amongst humanity, of people who just LOVE to alter there
appearance with things as simple as makeup, to bones, rivets, zippers,
pins and assorted other 'heavy metal'. So I'm sure cybernetic eyes are
probably a trendy item somewhere, as would be a pump action shotgun
mounted in an artificial limb, if you happen to be an enforced for some
cheap mob in the gritty part of town 'Just About Anywhere'.
Of course this doesn't become muchof a concern for many Trav Characters,
who are mostoften taken from the ranks of the elite armed forces or
similar services. But I can certainly see many opportunities for
deep cover Scouts, serving as spies, where it would be of advantage to
have a body on the borderline...IE, one that could alternately pass as
Biological or Cybernetic, depending on the circumstances.
In a room full of robots, if the baddies are out to get you, you sure as
hell wanna match in with the rest of the 'bots!
------------------------------
>But, I'd bet that at
>differing tech levels, software engineers could handle the task with equal
>ability, the main trouble is getting the hardware in shape to where a good
>enough program can be run.
I agree! It's my feeling that those proponents of an intelligent machine
are too wrapped up in making it appear EXACTLY like a human. Why not let
mechanical engineers solve the problem of an ambulatory machine with senses
that work at a level, good for simulating human senses first.
Once the little sucker can move around, then start programming. It seems
to me that if you abandone the idea of trying to duplicate how human body
structure works, in a machine, then you can go on to invent a new series of
joints that are strong and flexible. When that happens, THEN let's see
how we can apply these new dynamic joints to a human shaped bot.
After that, it should be a piece of cake! [Hahahahahaha]
>Scott Kellogg
>"Dreams are stranger than reality..." - Me at 3 am the other night.
Dale Poole
"Strangers are dreamier than reality..." - Me, just now. Really!
[email removed]