ANT Vehicles

I'd really love to find some of these vehicles in working order in AtB.



More info and graphics at: http://www.yankodesign.com/2009/12/21/united-nations-goes-ant/

Moving

I'm in the process of moving to my new house, so I'm not going to be around much to reply to emails or post anything new until I'm settled in. The nice thing is, I'm planning on designating one area as my AtB work-zone; absent all the other clutter that tends to distract me from brainstorming.

Hopefully I can start posting new stuff by the end of the month.

[IN THE NEWS] Fanged Frogs

Not too long ago, I wrote an article on a new AtB creature I called the Viper Frog. Well, as it would turn out, scientists have discover fanged frogs in Thailand:

Fanged Frog and Other Bizarre Species Discovered [livescience.com]

A bird-eating frog with fangs, an alien gecko equipped with orange eyes and technicolor skin, and a flightless bird are among the 163 newly identified species discovered in Southeast Asia last year...

Bird-eating fanged frog (Limnonectes megastomias): An opportunistic eater, this frog lies in wait for its prey in streams in Thailand. Males of the species use their fangs for male-to-male combat, as scientists have seen frogs with missing limbs and multiple scars.

And this wasn't the first fanged frog found recently. Another species was found in New Guinea:

Lost world of fanged frogs and giant rats discovered in Papua New Guinea [guardian.co.uk]

A lost world populated by fanged frogs, grunting fish and tiny bear-like creatures has been discovered in a remote volcanic crater on the Pacific island of Papua New Guinea.

So, it is possible that the Viper Frog could have evolved in nature. Funny how science fiction always seems to be one step ahead.

Chinchilli Day

I saw this promo for Las Vegas, and thought, "Hey, that sounds like a great idea for an Road Hogs game." Decide for yourself.

Cybernetics, Robotics, Bionics

What if bio-augmentation isn't for you? What if you grew up in the Empire of Humanity where purity is the expectation. Well, there's always mechanical augmentation.

Be it cybernetic, bionic, or robotic, there are numerous ways you can augment yourself without muddying your genetics.

Anthropomorphic Robotic Vehicles & Armor
Anthropomorphic robotic vehicles, like the Empire's Type 1 Robotic Armor, are much more maneuverable than typical wheeled and tracked vehicles. They also tend to have a higher psychological impact on the enemy. The drawback, in real life, is that they require complicated computer assistance to operate and require a lot more maintenance than a wheeled or tracked vehicle, which is probably why you don't see them being used by the military...yet.



Robotic Exosuits
The main difference between Robotic Armor and Robotic Exosuits is size. Robot Armor is an offshoot of Robotic Vehicles that users drive, while Exosuits (like the 2dx) are seen as cybernetic body armor that the user wears.





The following video is of an exosuit that could also be termed a Robot Vehicle, except for its size.


Bionic Limbs and Senses
Here we enter the realm of "The Six Million Dollar Man" and the "Bionic Woman". Whether you've lost your hearing, sight, or even a limb, you can get it replaced with a bionic equivalent. Often, that bionic replacement can have better functionality than the original. "We can make you better, stronger, faster."




The next two categories aren't designed to augment the human condition, but are going to be a part of a technologically advanced society.

Unmanned Robotic Vehicles
Remote robots were first used by law enforcement agencies to check and handle EODs (Explosive Ordinance Devices), but the current big thing is the use of Unmanned Combat Vehicles by the military that can piloted remotely from some distant command center (sometime on another continent). Most of these are UAV (unmanned aerial vehicles), but there are also ground and submersible vehicles for utility, scouting and combat purposes as well.



And while these units don't "augment" the human condition it does offer the introduction of remotely controlled robotic surrogates.



Autonomous Robotic Systems
Why put people in harms way when you can sent an autonomously controlled robot in their place? The autonomous robots are operated by an AI that is programmed to make its own decisions on the fly. While they are rather rough around the edges today, and do have the drawback of not being directly controlled by a human operator.




But watch out that you don't unleash a horde of AI killing machines on the world...

---

Informational Links

• iRobot (Government & Industrial Robots)
  
• TALON Military Robots
• HAL Suit (Cyberdyne)
  
• Touch Bionics
• Bionic Eye Cam (NewScientist)
  

[IN THE NEWS] Regenesis: The New You

A few years ago I had this idea for an idea that could add a little character to the world before the Crash and Big Death, and maybe play on how it might impact the world of After the Bomb.

Seeing as how the world was experiencing a golden age of Bio Science, I thought that it would be great if they had come up with a way to grow you a new body to order. "Bored with your current body? New You can grow you a new one to order." You would be able to everything from height, weight, eye color, skin color/tone, gender, facial appearance, etc...

The crazy thing is we are already ridiculously close to being able to do just that. Well, to an extent.

Gone will be the days of organ donors and the possibility of passing along infectious diseases. In the last decade or two we've been able to grow replacement organs, ears, and skin grafts, but this often required the use of a host organism (usually a rat or pig) for the replacement tissue/organ to be grown. Recently, it was found that you can strip the existing cell tissue from a donor heart, coat it with stem cells from the recipient to regrow a working organ, and the resulting organ won't be rejected since it is now covered with the recipient's own cell tissue.

To sweeten the deal, researcher have found that they can more easily reprogram adipose [fat] cells into stem cells. An since stem cells can be turned into any other cells in your body, all you need to do is put on some weight before hand and have it harvested when you need it, or put in a bank for future use.

We aren't just limited to soft organs either. We are now learning how to regrow teeth, and bones!

Throw all this together and what's to stop someone from growing you a whole new body? Just transplant the brain and you've got yourself a "New You". Sure, you and your new body will need to go through some physical therapy to operate properly, but you can get past that in the realm of science fiction.

To take this on an even wilder ride, why limit your new body to that of a human. Why not buy an anthropomorphic body, or something entirely alien. It appears that this idea is used in the movie Avatar (though instead of transplanting the brain, they use a mind link interface). Imagine transplanting yourself into the body of a centaur, mermaid, or winged human!!


You could take this to the extreme and figure that someone could use this technique to life forever, if it weren't for that pesky problem of deteriorating brain tissue, but who says that has to be a problem anymore? Brain tissue is pretty much just like any other in the body and should be able to be regrown. the problem is that you wouldn't just (or might not) be able to just grow yourself a second brain and swap out the old one due to the fact that (as far as we know) there is no way of transferring your consciousness from your original brain into the new one. One possibility I can think of is that you could periodically have new brain tissue grown within your new (larger?) skull to compensate for the loss.

However, again, in the realm of science fiction anything is possible...

So, there you go the basis of the idea that would be Regenesis: The New You, a company that can grow you a new body -- built to order.

Oh yeah, what about your old body? What if you want to go back to being the old you? Well, they will keep that for posterity in cryogenic storage, for an added fee.

---

IN THE NEWS Links

• Organs to Order
• Hybrid Heart
  
• Hybrid Heart Video
• Custom-made For You
  
• Regrow Teeth
• Scientists Regrow Chicken Wing
• Using Glass to Regrow Bone
  
• Stem Cells from Fat
  

[IN THE NEWS] Biologists Napping While Work Militarized

Scientists are often portrayed as the dupes of the military, or government conspiracies. Now a new editorial by Bioethicist Malcolm Dando states that biologists don't understand how their research is being weaponized. Read the full article to understand the very real ramifications.

Biologists napping while work militarized [Nature.com]

As researchers discover more agents that alter mental states, the Chemical Weapons Convention needs modification to help ensure that the life sciences are not used for hostile purposes, says Malcolm Dando.

At the 4th European Symposium on Non-Lethal Weapons in 2007, researchers from the Institute of Experimental Medicine and Charles University in Prague described the effects on macaque monkeys of combinations of drugs that produce a rapid loss of aggressive behaviour. They argued that the drugs could be "used to pacify aggressive people during ... terrorist attacks". The same researchers have also investigated methods of aerosol delivery to human volunteers.

Those who support the development of incapacitating agents often argue that using them in conflict situations stops people being killed. Historical evidence suggests otherwise. At the Nord-Ost siege, for instance, terrorists exposed to the fentanyl mixture were shot dead rather than arrested. Likewise, in Vietnam, the US military used vast quantities of CS gas — a 'non-lethal' riot-control agent — to increase the effectiveness of conventional weapons by flushing the Viet Cong out of their hiding places.

It's worth reading the entire editorial - full of facts of how life sciences has been perverted into blueprints for bioweaponry and just how some scientists either turn a blind eye to, or are complicit in the weaponization of their scientific discoveries.

However, in relation to the After the Bomb game setting, it offers a gold mine of possibilities. Whether it be mad scientists wanting to test their latest experiment on some rural locals, a war lord using the scientific discoveries of a duped scientist, or the Empire discovering some lost biological weapon from before the Crash, the possibilities are nearly limitless. As horrible, troublesome, or disturbing as they may be...

[IN THE NEWS] Bio-Hackers

It seems that we are already living in an age where people already have their own home bio-labs. Currently, it's a fringe group know as bio-hackers, creating the genetically-engineered bugs in makeshift gene laboratories for fun.

Okay, their not just creating germs and viruses, Boston bio-hacker Kay Aull (as seen in the attached video below) used her hacking skills to test her father and herself for the genetic disease haemochromatosis.



There's even a DIYbio forum where these guys share their 1337-skills. However, authorities are becoming increasingly concerned of the health and contamination risks of these at home bio hobbyists. DIYbio Founder Mac Cowell, in a Sky News said, "The main danger is if you're doing it on your own - the chemicals can be considered hazardous waste so you need to know how to dispose it."

So it will be no surprise when Erick's vision becomes a reality,

"It wasn't long before ordinary citizens could buy gene-scan attachments and software for their personal computers, before trading in gene patterns was common on the internet, and before 'virtual' breeding games let anyone experiment with mixing genes and chromosomes from different animals.

One of the most dramatic new products was called the EGG®, or Embryonic Genome Generator. Sold as "make your own mutant" kits, the first EGGs were used to grow transgenetic mice. EGGs suitable for growing dogs, cats and other pets quickly caught on. Within months, people all over the world were experimenting by mixing genes from different animals, and even from humans."

There are Bad Guys and then there are Villians

Some words of wisdom from Darths & Droids:

It's easy to throw monsters and Big Bads at your player's characters, adversaries who will simply do anything they can to kill them as quickly as possible. They'll use any dirty trick they can, any sneaky means at their disposal, any evil trap for the unwary PCs. They'll outgun them, hit them with their full strength, spare no expense, and hold nothing back. They'll kick the PCs when they're down. They'll be evil, nasty, rotten, wretched, and downright mean. They'll make false promises, break their word, engage in extortion, blackmail, torture, and slander. You won't be able to trust them as far as you could spit them.

Which is all well and good as far as it goes.

But if you want to make a villain, give them a sense of honour.

If you make your villains honourable in some small way, there will - inevitably - come a time when they can rub the heroes' faces in the fact that they have behaved in a way which is better than the PCs.

If your players care about their characters to any extent more than a hack-and-slasher, this is pure gold.

If you haven't heard of, or read Darths & Droids before now, take the time to start from the beginning and catch up. It's well worth the time.

[IN THE NEWS] Talking Mice?!

Talking mice? Well, maybe not today, but a team of German scientists, studing the evolution of speech and language, have created transgenic mice with the gene associated with human speech. [ScienceDirect.com]

IO9.com wrote: [link]

The researchers wanted to shed light on how humans developed our language capabilities, including the intricate thought and muscle coordination which allowed us as a species to develop complex language. One gene responsible for that development is the FOXP2 gene. Its absence leads to speech disorders, and its presence is an important component of human speech. Humans and Neanderthals are known to have a specific variation on the FOXP2 gene, though versions of it appear in other mammals and birds.

So while these experiments may not result in NIMH rodents, who knows what might happen if these mice are left to continue their line with the mutation?

[IN THE NEWS] Anti-Metal Virus (Bacteria)

I read an article today that got me thinking again about the Anti-Metal Virus Erick wrote about in Mutants Down Under Sourcebook back in '88:

LINK: Science Daily Article / io9 Article

Researchers are trying to find ways to use metal-extracting bacteria in a preemptive move to prevent struggles over natural resources.

In nature these deep sea bacteria extract metals from the sea water to form manganese or cobalt nodules and crust; the result of a process known as biomineralization. Scientists hope to harness this ability to mine the ocean floor for these and other precious elements.

It's not that far of a step to imagine that this process couldn't be perverted into some weaponized viral strain to produce the AMV that was mentioned in Mutant's Down Under. Does this send a shiver up anyone else's spine?

* * *

The first argument people inevitably make is the virus vs. bacteria argument, A virus can't affect metal! My response is that the AMV virus may not be a virus in the conventional sense. Alternatively, it may have just been given that name by some military or government entity because they like the sound of it and didn't care for the difference between virus and bacteria.

Maybe Anti-Metal Virus is actually a nano-virus. A swarm of nanomachines could concevably do what the the AMV is reportedly able to do, "metal artifacts immediately stop working and eventually rust into a useless blob." Perhaps, once the AMV comes into contact with a metal surface, the nanomacines penetrate the metal surface and start replecating (causing a localized EM field that paralizes any electronics and causes an accelerates the oxidizing process which first gums up the works and then eventally turns the oject into a "useless blob".

You could also just look at it from the ficticious (bends/ignores-the-laws-of-nature) perspective and take it as some futuristic/alien virus that actually can exist in a world populated by intelligent anthropomorphic mutant animals...

Your choice.

QualComm Bioengineering

Found this video while visiting the Science Fiction blogzine io9.com

Journey behind the scenes at Qualcomm where we learn how they built their wireless service on the backs of pigeons, wolfpigeons, sharkfalcons, and (science willing) crocodeagles.

For more information, visit: Qualcomm

If It Ain't Broke...

One thing I have realized from all the stories I've seen re-imagined from one format to another (be it book to movie, movie to television series, or movie to video game), it's that they always muck it up because someone thinks, "I can do it better!"

I should have realized, when I started taking the notes from one of my more favorite AtB stories, The Green Death, and formalizing it to share with anyone who cared to run it, that I was falling into the same muddy trap. I started adding what I thought was some extra depth that was missing from the original notes, stuff that might have been missing. However, what I really started doing was changing the story into something different. I realized that had actually happened was that now, the original adventure was missing.

So now it's back to the drawing board and try to post what I had originally intended, a quick little one-or-two session adventure that's straight to the chase.

Apocalypse Meow, The Animated Series

Apocalypse Meow, known as Cat Sh*t One in Japan, is being made into an animated series. The trailer looks awesome, and I hope it get's released over here. I'd imagine that they will probably rename it if it does...

If you've never heard of Apocalypse Meow, is was a three volume manga series set in an anthropomorphic animal version of the Vietnam War. The series appears to change the setting to the Middle East. I never bought the mangas - something I chastise myself over each time I think of it - so I can't go into any details. One of these days I'll have to track down a copy of these books.

The animated series is due for release early 2010, so it probably won't hit the states until 2012.

Gene-Hound (Purebred)

[Revised March 2, 2009]

The Gene-Hound is a transgenic chimera blend of Wolf, Blood Hound, and Rottweiler with a specially designed extra-sensory organ, sort of a complex bio-computer, tied into several of the gene-hound's other senses and organs (sinuses, lungs, taste buds, and skin) that it uses to sense and track transgenic mutants.

Before the Crash, scientists and law enforcement agencies utilized these hounds to track down genetically modified plants, animals, and humans that had escaped into the wild. A few other animals were gengeneered with the gene-hound's extra-sensory organ, but only the Gene-Hounds were known to survive the Big Death.

The Empire of Humanity military will often bring a gene-hound along on raids to pick out any mutant animals that may be trying to hide themselves as wild animals, or use them to track down any escaped military and/or political prisoners.

Size Level: 6
Build: Medium

Mutant Changes & Costs
Total BIO-E: 20, for Animal Psionics and Powers only.
Attribute Bonuses: +4 I.Q., +3 P.S., Brute Strength +3 M.E. and +5 Spd.

Human Features
Hands: Partial.
Biped: Partial.
Speech: Partial.
Looks: None. Appears to be a very thick and solid hound, with a large short snouted skull that is a cross between Rottweiler a Bloodhound, without the jowls, and with the erect ears and yellow eyes of a wolf. Their coat is medium length and consists of a waterproof undercoat and a coarse top coat. The fur is normally black with mahogany patches, but some variations have been know; light gray or a dark brown, or the very rare red.

Natural Weapons:
Automatically gets 1D6 Damage Canine Teeth
Automatically gets 1D4 Damage Running Claws
5 BIO-E for 1D6+1 Running Claws
5 BIO-E for 1D8+d Damage Canine Teeth
10 BIO-E for 2D6+4 Damage Canine Teeth

Unique Mutant Animal Powers:
Mutation Sense (Special!). This ability is automatic and constant, the gene-hound can sense the presence of mutant animals in close proximity.
Range: 15 feet, +5 feet per level of experience.
Base Skill: 60%, +3% per level of experience.

In addition, much like the Cell Reader, the hound can sense the genetic structure of an animal, human, or plant by coming in contact with some fragment of the subject (tissue, blood, seeds, etc.). The character can identify the type of animal from which it has evolved, as well as any genetic modifications or mutations and added genes from other species. The gene-hound can even identify a Shifter Mouse in disguise.

Gene-Track (Special!). Like a souped-up Bloodhound, by sampling some fragment of the target (tissue, blood, pollen, etc.) the hound can track and identify specific mutants over great distances.
Base Skill: 60%, +5% per level of experience. Roll once per hour to stay on track.

Mutant Animal Powers:
Automatically gets Advanced Smell.
5 BIO-E for Advanced Hearing
10 BIO-E for Advanced Taste
10 BIO-E for Leaping Standard
15 BIO-E for Beastly Strength
5 BIO-E for Extra Intelligence Quotient
10 BIO-E for Extra Mental Endurance
5 BIO-E for Extra Physical Endurance
5 BIO-E for Extra Physical Prowess
10 BIO-E for Extraordinary Speed
10 BIO-E for Predator Burst
10 BIO-E for Internal Compass

Animal Psionics:
Most Gene-Hounds tend to have few, if any, psionics.

Vestigial Disadvantages:
Automatically gets Domestication
-5 BIO-E for taking Color Blind
-5 BIO-E for taking Vestigial Tail
-5 BIO-E for taking Vestigial Ears
-10 BIO-E for taking Diet: Carnivore

[IN THE NEWS] The Great Escape

One of the greatest fears about Genetically Modified Organisms (both plants and animals), is that, one day, they might escape into the wild and taint the wild non-modified breeds. Well, it's happened: [newscientist.com]

"It's official: genes from genetically modified corn have escaped into wild varieties in rural Mexico. A new study resolves a long-running controversy over the spread of GM genes and suggests that detecting such escapes may be tougher than previously thought."

This has gotten me to thinking about how future gengineers might detect and track escaped GMOs. Enter the Gene-Tracker.

As soon as I read the New Scientist article, I had this idea of genetically augmented bloodhounds that could smell GMO plants and animals, much like some animals are supposed to be able to sense cancer and illness in people.

For more information in the GMO debate, visit these sites:

• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/harvest/
• http://www.actionbioscience.org/biotech/sakko.html

Panacea-Goat (Genetic Chimera)

In the mid-21st century, pharmaceutical scientists had genetically engineering goats to produce a variety of drug proteins in their milk to treat various diseases and illnesses. In the years following the Crash, mutagens in the environment altered the goats so that they gained the ability to detect what disease or illness was affecting others and produce the appropriate cure in their milk.

Panacea Goats look like any other goat and tend to live among normal non-mutant goat herds. The only way to tell them apart is with a genetic test or a Cell Reader. Due to this these mutant goats are considered very rare.

It is rumored that the milk of these goats will grant an extraordinary long life, maybe even immortality, to anyone who drinks it regularly and thus these goats are a highly sought commodity.

Size Level: 6 (Medium)
Size: 4' long, 4' 6" feet tall
Weight: ~75 pounds
Hit Points: 20 (2D6+10)
SDC: 12
Psionics: See Aura, Cell Reader, Telepathic Transmission
Attacks Per Melee: 2
Damage: Horns 2D4; Hooves 2D4 (front only)
Mutant Animal Abilities: Panacea Milk (special), Immune to Disease & Illness
Average Life Span: 10 years
Habitat: Various
Notes: Panacea Goats have greater than animal intelligence, and may communicate to others with their telepathic transmission in short and simple words (yes, no, leave, sick, danger, etc.). Only females produce the Panacea Milk.

Panacea Milk (Cure Disease/Illness 85%): To produce this cure-all, the goat must first sample a bit of the patient's blood. This is usually done by the goat biting the sick being and drawing blood (1 hit point). This would normally heals within fifteen minutes. It will take 8-48 hours for the goat to produce the cure in their milk, depending on the severity and nature of the disease/illness, during which time the goat must consume a large amount of grass. There is an infinitesimal chance that someone might be allergic to the proteins in the goats milk, in which case hypersensitivity reactions, including anaphylaxis, are possible. Fortunately, the goat will know this from their Cell Reader ability and will not produce any milk for them.

Empathic Transmission: (See Heroes Unlimited or Beyond the Supernatural)

[IN THE NEWS] Pharm Animals

In After the Bomb, the Spider-Goat was based on experiments done around the turn of the century to mass produce spider silk through goats milk. [1], [2], [3]

Now it's come out that a pharmaceutical company has produced a drug from a human protein extracted from the milk of genetically engineered goats. [4], [5], [6]

The process for producing ATryn involves scientists inserting DNA for the human antithrombin protein into a single-celled goat embryo. This embryo is implanted into a surrogate doe. The resulting transgenic offspring are able to produce high levels of antithrombin in their milk. This protein is collected and purified from the milk to produce ATryn, which is administered to patients by intravenous infusion.

So what kind of AtB mutant could we come up with with this? How about an animal that could produce almost any kind of curative drug. A veritable walking pharmacy. Given time, who's to say that scientist couldn't create goats that could produce multiple drugs in their milk, or even one that could sense what is ailing you and then produce the appropriate drug(s) to cure.

In mythology, a panacea, named after the Greek goddess of healing, was supposed to be able to cure all diseases, illnesses, and extend life...indefinitely. Thus is born the Panacea Goat.

[IN THE NEWS] We are becoming Homo Evolutis

Here's an interesting new article in Ars Technica:

At TED 2009, Juan Enriquez talked about the new human species emerging before our eyes. Thanks to an array of biological advances and our growing aptitude in robotics, we now find ourselves in the early days of the deliberate creation of what he called a new species.

We are already in the midst of minor improvements to the human body and mind; Enriquez gave examples of growing new tissues for successful transplant, programmable cells, and augmenting our abilities through robotics. As this trend accelerates, more and more aspects of the human experience, of the human life, will be capable of scientific manipulation. While some improvement may come post-birth, our understanding of DNA and biology may lead to something much bigger.

The day may come when we are able to take the best biology of the known animal kingdom and make it part of our own.

Read the full article: http://is.gd/iz1U

Other Juan Enriquez TED Talks:

• Decoding the Future (2003)
  
• Growing New Energy (2007)
• The Arrival of Homo Evolutis (2009)
  

Two Talking Rabbits...

Found a humorous comic strip at PartiallyClips which brings up the striking difference perspectives Fantasy and SciFi take on subjects such as two talking rabbits riding a flying rocking horse.
(Click on the picture to see the whole strip)

As the first rabbit indicates, in a fantasy setting such a subject is usually just accepted. 'Two talking rabbits on a flying rocking horse? Okay.'

Science Fiction on the other hand almost always demands an explanation. 'Two talking rabbits on a flying rocking horse? How did the rabbits learn to talk? How can a rocking horse fly?'

Both genres have their pros and cons, but at some point can't we just accept some of the things in Science Fiction without having to sit through a lecture by the author as to why something is the way it is?

Star Wars was pretty good at telling their story without resorting to giving us a technical thesis as to how Light Sabres worked, why there was gravity on the space ships, and how the the Force worked (well not until the Phantom Menace...). Some will argue that Star Wars is Science Fantasy rather than Science Fiction. I'll argue that the stories were just 'cutting to the chase'.

After the Bomb rides the line of 'cutting to the chase' and trying to offer up a technical explanation as to why there are mutant animals in the world. The plausible--but not definitive--explanation is given that it started out as a prank by a couple kids which got out of hand. Other than that, the game pretty much cuts to the chase that humanity is near extinction and that animals--both those mutated by the virus and those engineered before the Big Death--are rising up to become the dominate species on the Earth.

Do we really need to know why and how? No. However, our curiosity compels us to find out. And that, really, is the nature of Science Fiction; curiosity.

Run Rabbit Run

Been trying to come up with another story, so when I saw this picture today I decided to write the first thing that came to mind. It's probably crap, but it's practice...

** ** **

It was a wet and miserable Jersey night as I sat on an old crate waiting for my contact to arrive in the alley behind the Run Rabbit Run. My only companions a pair of wild rats diving for scraps in the kitchen dumpster. I don't know how the wild ones can stand the damp, but the cold drizzle seemed to find it's way through my coat and soak my fur underneath. My grandfather used to tell me that from what he remembered from his 'wild' years, before he was 'lifted' by the humans, it was instinctual; that he would just ignore the cold and the damp. Personally, I think he was full of it. He was an old fart and a little soft in the head, but my father believed him and would always listen to his stories over and over again. My father told me that most of the lifted couldn't remember the time before, while they were still wild, or at least they won't talk about it. Makes me glad I'm a third generation 'fur'.

Most of the 'furs' of my generation don't think about it because we're to busy trying to rebuild the ruined remnants of the old human world into a new world of our own design. One where we don't have to live in burrows and nests and kennels like out wild cousins. Those crazy inbred human holdouts up north and their subservient New Kennel lap dogs aren't making our lives any easier though. Most of the humans around here have resigned themselves to the fact that animals have started to take over and that the 'Age of Man' has reached its final chapter, but the Empire of Humanity acts like this planet is their birthright and no stinking 'mutant' animals--lifted or otherwise--are going to take if from them.

I guess that's why I decided to join the Cardanian Intelligence Agency as a field agent. A few years ago, the Empire started sending in covert espionage agents to hamper our progress. Assassinations, sabotage, poisoning water and food supplies, even trying mutagens to reduce the lifted animals back to wild beasts. Their campaign of terror went unchallenged for most of a decade until President Foxline approved the creation of the CIA to combat the phantom threat from the north. A threat the militia families couldn't answer.

So now I sit here in dark alleys in the Contested Lands waiting to receive information from our spies and then deliver it to my superiors for review. It's not a glamorous job, and certainly not a safe one--I have the scars to prove that--but I'm told that we've been able to stop a dozen or so attacks this past year, so I am proud of what I do even if I have to catch pneumonia once in a while.

As I sit in the dark and the wet I keep an eye on the street at the far end of the alley, I chose this location because it's a dead end--only one entrance to the street and one into the kitchen. If there's gonna be any trouble, it'll come from one of those two directions, and then, most likely from the street. The humans and dogs they send after us are usually not very creative and almost always go for the frontal assault. Once they sent a sniper, but dogs don't tend to know what the meaning of the word, 'stealth'. He made such a racket accessing the roof across the street from the meeting spot that night that my contact was able to sneak up behind him and take him out before he had his rifle fully assembled. I still have that gun back at my apartment as a memento.

Finally, at half past midnight the light thud of cat paws landing on the corrugated steel awning over the taverns rear entrance announced the arrival of my contact. Steve was one of the few who didn't shed their wild forms when they were lifted. This was a huge asset to the agency, since most Humans won't give an animal a second glance, unless it's doing something obviously uncharacteristic for a wild one. Steven was a pro though. Even when we meet up in a safe spot like this one, he won't drop the pretense of being a wild feline until he's absolutely sure the area is clear. On more than a couple occasions he's even fooled me.

Finally sure that we are not being observed, Steve hops onto the crate next to me and shakes the damp from his fur. I half-seriously ask if he was followed, and receive a cold feline stare in reply. Sometimes I think Steve is going to forget that he's more than a wild cat. After the exchange of code phrases I slipped the collar from around his neck and removed the microfilm tucked inside. I placed my prize in the concealed compartment in the butt of my knife and tossed a small plastic wrapped gift onto the crate at his paws, which he snatched up in his mouth before leaping down to the alley floor and skittering out into the night.

With my package retrieved I shook the wet from my coat and left the alley to enter the tavern through the front door. I had a few hours before my ride back to Cardania would arrive and the Bunnies at the Run Rabbit Run were a nice way to pass the time.

Is Science Fiction Dying?

Some time last week I stumbled on a post somewhere about science fiction dieing out. I immediately wanted to post a response, but couldn't find the words. Today, I found a post on New Scientist entitled, "Is science fiction dying?" by Marcus Chown. I won't say that my response was the most eloquent I could have posted, but I think it pretty much expresses my opinion on the subject:

Science Fiction won't die because it's fiction. The reason it feels that way now is because of the speed at which science is advancing. Back in the 50s and 60s, what was seen as sci-fi (space ships, small computers, androids, etc) was so far out of reach that if kept it's allure for a long time. Nowadays, all that is quaint.

Another problem with sci-fi is that elements of sci-fi are creeping into a lot of non-sci-fi media and diluting the WOW factor. Sci-fi now has to go that extra mile to keep from seeming quaint.

Sci-Fi needs to move from the realm of cyberpunk to biopunk since bioengineering is more the area of where science is going to be making slower progress than computers and robots and space ships.

Well, maybe not the space ships...

I do think that sci-fi in a lot of respects is already moving into the realm of biopunk with speculation on cloning, genetically modified plants and animals, drugs, etc. Stories about people who have been genetically altered to have gills or wings, evolved anthropomorphic animals, epidermal computers, and bioroids are where Science Fiction will continue to keep it's edge.

Science fiction won't die. At least not until science does.

Awsomest DNA Science Video

BioWare

One of the projects I've been trying to find time and inspiration to work on is the idea of the "Body Shop" from the pre-Crash period of AtB. In an article I found today, "The Wicked Side of Cyberpunk", Earl S. Wynn talks about the staples of Cyberpunk sci-fi and their Bioware (Biopunk?) equivalents:

One of the defining factors of Cyberpunk is cybernetic implants, but circuitboards and clunky metal bits aren't the end all and be all of implanted augmentations for the human body. Consider the lab-grown skingrafts that worked as experimental insulin patches in the early nineties, and now take it a step further. Imagine a full recoating of the dermal surface with a graft or a "skinweave" of engineered cells that can do anything from filling the body with specially-tailored chemicals to generating it's own exterior coating of poison, color-changing pigment, or even organic superlubricant. Improved organs are a possibility too- imagine a digestive tract upgrade that allows for the digestion of things like gasoline and broken glass (Hey, with the right culture of microbes, anything is possible) or lungs that can glean air from water or nerve gas without any ill effects. But lets take it a step further even than that- imagine being able to get anything you wanted in a body, and then imagine the cosmetic and fashion fads that would start. That's right. Think tails, bizarre-colored eyes, lavender skin, reculturing of the bacteria in sweat to produce a specific scent instead of the dreaded sour tang of B.O. Going into a bar in the city would be like walking into a scene from Star Wars- we'd have all the aliens we'd ever need right here on earth.

Wynn goes on to talk about Brain Mods, Subdermal implants, Brain Hacking, and other topics that could have been present in the golden age before the Big Death.

I'm hoping that maybe I can take and use this to inspire me to get back to work on the Body Shop article. I think it would be an interesting addition to both AtB and Heroes Unlimited.

Frank The Duck

Found this interesting news story of a truck driver and his... pet duck, Frank. I'll have to make a character based on Frank. :)

AtB Politics

This past election season it struck me that President Thana has technically been in power for over twenty years (AtB first published in 1986). Does Cardania have Presidential term limits? Does she have a VP? Who is the Secretary of State? How closely does Cardania's government mirror the modern United States?

We know that while Cardania based it's government on the Constitution of the United States, they most likely scraped, or re-wrote, the amendments to the Bill of Right to suit the fact that theirs was a solitary state (not a "United States") - I patched this by dividing Cardania into eight counties, each governed by elected Governor and Councilors (similar to the U.S. Governor and Senate), and each county having a two Senators in the Cardanian Senate. I dropped the House of Representatives to streamline the Legislative branch in the game, going for a more Roman Senate structure (as best I understand it). Cardania has five appointed Supreme Court Justices.

While we know the governing styles of the main AtB states (Empire of Humanity, Cardania, and Gatorland), and have a vague idea of their political interactions (The Empire and Cardania's Cold War), the book (understandably) doesn't go into the diplomatic side of things, even though such a topic would have been really helpful in understanding how these two keep from going for the others throat. We are told that it is merely a matter of numbers - a few thousand pure humans versus millions of mutant animals on all sides - that keeps the Empire from instigating to all out war with Cardania, and the threat of the Empires high-tech weapons that keeps the mutant animals from invading, but are there other mechanisms in place to keep them from "pushing the button"? Could the two have some sort of diplomatic presence in the "Contested Land"? Could Gatorland be pulling some strings from the shadows? Does the Empire and/or Cardania hold a "wild card" (nuke or bio-weapon) that scares the bejesus out of the other?

Food for thought...

Bart's Demise

I have decided to try, once again, writing some AtB based flash fiction. I'd really like to try and work my way up to an actual short story, but as they say... 'You must crawl before you walk, walk before you run...'

- - - - - - -

Bart had waited for hours in the snow covered branches of the pine; waiting for a courier to pass by on the road below. The mutant squirrel had been given the unenviable task of making sure that documents bound for the Empires capitol did not reach their destination. He died quickly from a snipers bullet.

Anthro Humor

More Bizarro humor can be found at Bizarro.com and BizarroComic.blogspot.com

[IN THE NEWS] Back From The Dead

No, this isn't an article about Zombies in After the Bomb. Instead, we're talking about bringing extinct species back into the world.

We know that in the 2nd Edition reboot of AtB, the world had entered a Golden Age of Bio-Engineering and that a few mutant "throwback" species had been brought back from extinction (ie. Passenger Pigeons, Egyptian Cats, etc.). While many of these throwbacks in the game were not necessarily pure blood reincarnations of the extinct species, a new article was posted on NewScientist.com yesterday, Ten extinct beasts that could walk the Earth again, suggests that it may be possible to bring back those species for which we are able to sequence their DNA:

"THE recipe for making any creature is written in its DNA. So last November, when geneticists published the near-complete DNA sequence of the long-extinct woolly mammoth, there was much speculation about whether we could bring this behemoth back to life.

Creating a living, breathing creature from a genome sequence that exists only in a computer's memory is not possible right now. But someone someday is sure to try it, predicts Stephan Schuster, a molecular biologist at Pennsylvania State University, University Park, and a driving force behind the mammoth genome project."

With the EGG's described in 2nd Edition AtB it is most likely that a wolly mammoth would have been, if they had an EGG large enough, brought back from extinction, and that they may, in the game, be roaming the northern wilderness as the glaciers slowly make their way south.

There are so many other extinct species that people have wanted to bring back, not to mention that there are so many species that go extinct every year and others that are dangerously near the edge. Luckly, in the realm of RPG's, we are not limited to those considerations (land, money, and ethics) that would limit what we can do in real life, so let your imagination run wild and bring back something extinct in your next game.