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CONTENTS of entire timeline

CONTENTS of 2018 AD-2025 AD: Consumer robotics go mainstream; 'wire heads' appear; do-it-yourself medical care; organ regeneration; unmanned planes of many types becoming common

This page last updated on or about 10-15-05
a - j r m o o n e y h a m . c o m - o r i g i n a l


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2022 milestone: The "Wire head" phenomenon

Larry Niven's 'wireheads' are becoming a significant demographic factor now, as it is possible for people to obtain the technology in a variety of ways, often via means much less intrusive than the surgical procedures envisioned by Niven. Never-the-less, a number of these people are seriously injured by flaws in the technology and implementation in the early days; however, the strong demand for the service means few are put off by the danger.

"Wireheads" as described in the works of Larry Niven and others like Spider Robinson are people with a surgically implanted interface direct to the pleasure centers of their brain, which allows them to 'turn on' their personal happiness or pleasure like a light switch, requiring nothing more than a source of electrical power. It turns out that such physical surgery is unnecessary for many desiring the functionality of the wire, however-- thus lowering the fear and cost threshold for experimentation. END NOTE.

Though in the more developed states 'the wire' is seen as similar to previous problems with drugs in decades past, the technology is bringing about much worse consequences in other parts of the world and society. Dictators and totalitarian states which in previous years had often used designer drugs to help maintain loyalty and obedience in close aides, bodyguards, troops, spies, and sometimes even among the general populace, now are increasingly turning to the wire to supplement those tools, making their grip on power even tighter. In several high profile conflicts between the volunteer forces of the developed states against certain other nations of the 21st century, the maniacal obedience of such drugged and wired personnel proves a much tougher nut to crack than the mostly unwilling slaves of earlier despots, such as the soldiers of Saddam Hussein in the Persian Gulf War of the late 20th century.

Push-button orgasms could be made available to women with the implantation of a small electrical device under the skin, and wires into a certain spot in the spine. Such a device might also be applicable to men.

-- Push my button by Ian Sample, 7 FEBRUARY 2001, EurekAlert!, New Scientist issue 10 February 2001, http://www.newscientist.com

-- Orgasms 'at the touch of a button' ["http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3395507.stm"]; news.bbc.co.uk; 14 January, 2004

-- Oh, come off it ["http://portal.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/01/18/nbuzz18.xml&sSheet=/portal/2004/01/18/ixportal.html"] by Elizabeth Day; 18/01/2004; portal.telegraph.co.uk

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