From: Anders Sandberg (asa@nada.kth.se)
Date: Tue Aug 05 2003 - 14:34:47 MDT
On Tue, Aug 05, 2003 at 09:52:28AM -0700, Mike Lorrey wrote:
> Then again, I can also forsee a new SF myth: that vampires are
> posthumans who have too many embedded devices for their own bone marrow
> to supply, and so must harvest blood from others...
I actually have them in my current sf setting. "Nanoists" are people
with nanoenhancements (ranging from a bit of respirocytes or an onboard
wearable to Freitas' artificial circulatory system and laminated diamond
skeletons). Some of them (who have the right product activation keys ;-)
can transfer a "seed" to normal people, giving them parts of their own
powers (usually a complete package). This way you get clades of
nanoists. But one of them has a flawed package: when installing it
messes up the body so that neither digestion or excretion works. Such
nanoists would die, unless they use some of their onboard toolkit to use
other people as a source of nutrients and dialysis...
> > Seriously, it is an expected and useful development. I still think
> > it will not be good for fast slimming, but powering implants is
> > nothing to sneeze at.
>
> On the contrary, since your entire blood supply will power a 100 watt
> light bulb, imagine being a luminous technicolor cowboy on the rave
> dance floor, strobing and blinking your pounds away...
I think I would go for luminiscent cells and chromatophores - just look
at those squids flickering!
> What would be needed would be a fuel cell that can burn fatty acids instead.
Should be reasonably doable. Actually, we only need some device or
substance that takes fatty acids and turn them into an excretable form
at the right rate. Maybe a bit of gene therapy making mucosal cells in
the intestine to send back fat?
The big problem is that they are so hydrophobic. Maybe one could break
them apart and turn the parts into alcohols. Uh oh, bad idea :-)
-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Anders Sandberg Towards Ascension! asa@nada.kth.se http://www.nada.kth.se/~asa/ GCS/M/S/O d++ -p+ c++++ !l u+ e++ m++ s+/+ n--- h+/* f+ g+ w++ t+ r+ !y
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