Fantasist's Scroll

And, living batteries are born.

I love new power-related technology. Especially when it all turns back to the original power source: life. So, these two stories, one on USA Today and the other on SpaceDaily, about batteries that are powered by bacteria, just tickle me. The idea of germs, basically, keeping us in energy. Of course, some of you will make the extension to the Matrix, but that’s your hang-up, man.

Enjoy the stories.

Well, it looks like they might be soon!

According to this article on the Washington Post, there’s a working test model already. So far, it’s only a lab toy, but they’re working on making it a more viable reality. Of course, the goal is to make Predator-type robotic aircraft, but the possibilities are really endless.
There are two reasons ornithopters are cool. One, flapping-wing flight is more maneuverable than fixed wing flight. Also, it’s easier to hover with flapping wings. Two, because Frank Herbert described it in Dune. No, really, that counts!

Anyway, it’s a fun one for a Friday afternoon.

Well, the exoskeletons are new, but they’re for the elderly.

No, really, according to this article at Yahoo!News, a Japanese inventor, and college professor, has invented an exoskeleton designed to assist the elderly get around. Taking care of the elderly is something very important to a lot of cultures, though not so much to American culture for some reason, and the Japanese are especially sensitive to their elderly’s needs. This invention might help them out. And, again, it’s a fun story!

Hmm, seems like they’re early…

Well, not really, but this is a fun companion to the story from yesterday. According to this article on Radio Free Europe, the Japanese have already sent a robot “ambasador” on a diplomatic mission. And, how fitting that they sent it to the Czech Republic, the homeland of Karel Capek who invented the word “robot”. Anyway, a fun story!

I don’t really think so…

R.U.R. was the play written by Karel Câpec that first mentioned “robots” and, ironically, it was in an industrial context. That’s where most robots are today, of course, but, in this article on his website, Marshall Brain speculates that we’ll see them in a lot more areas. The article says that he expects humanoid robots to take at least half of all jobs by the year 2050. Of course, people have been saying this for quite some time and it has yet to actually happen.
Personally, I don’t think we’ll ever get the necessary artificial intelligence stuff worked out so that such a scenario is possible. Though, I have to admit, computer technology advances at a ferocious rate. Still, the dream of a “robo-servant” has been around for literally decades and we’re only now getting remote-controlled robots that look vaguely like a human.

Of course, science-fiction is a lot more interesting if Mr. Brain is right and I’m wrong!

I didn’t even know they were oppresed already!

Here’s a fun little article from The Village Voice about the World Transhumanist Association. In reality, they’re about a lot more than just cyborgs, but that’s what we’re closest to right now. But, should they get their say, bioengineered life and artificial intelligences would get similar protections. These folks are really forward thinking, in my opinion, since you’d have to define “cyborg” pretty loosely to even get close with current technology. And, as for AI or “genenginered” beings, well…. But, at least they make good fodder for science-fiction! Either way, enjoy the article.

Something just seems wrong about that to me.

According to this story on Wired News, scientists have successfully cloned a horse and that same horse carried the fetus to term. So, in essence, the horse gave birth to its own sister. As I mentioned at the top of this entry, there’s something about this that’s unsettling to me. I really think we’re going a bit far with this cloning technology. I admit that I really liked it when we were talking about bringing back extinct animals, but we get this kind of stuff along with the “good” stuff. It really makes me wonder where it will all end up.
Cloning, of course, has been a theme in science-fiction for quite some time. Both the good and bad aspects of it have been looked at in detail, but there’s always room for more stories. Will we eventually clone soldiers so we don’t have to send “real” humans into battle? Will we ever clone extinct animals, like dinosaurs and the marsupial wolf? Will we clone people to harvest the body parts for transplants? These are just some of the topics that have been covered, in varying detail, in science-fiction already. Mostly, these are cautionary tales and, I think that’s a wise and telling statement from the writers.

Larry Niven, that is.

One of my favorite Niven creations is in the news, after a fashion. Larry Niven, who resembles my father in law, incidentally, came up with the fascinating concept of “organ legging”. What that means is, essential, a black market for bootleg organs brought about as a result of demand that got out of control.
Now, in this article on YahooNews, they’re talking about organ legging, without actually mentioning it, but in the sense of preventing it. Frankly, the mere fact that someone is concerned enough to consider it’s prevention makes me shudder. That has to mean that someone has either tried it, or seriously considered it in a very real sense. Either way, it’s pretty freaky!

Consider what the world would be like if such a thing came to pass? What are all the implications?