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...

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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.

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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.