[Metryq]

Vertigo, I've never written a sci-fi story. These threads are a fun exercise, and I pick up a few titles along the way. (Sure, there are threads recommending works, but threads like this are more focused on given subjects.)

While I find cyborg augmentation interesting, I don't know if I'd be tempted to do it myself, even if the technology were advanced enough to make limbs "equal to" or better than natural limbs. Greater strength and speed would be a plus, but could senses be designed to satisfy a person? For example, seeing in the dark via infrared or light amplification would be very neat, but would the cybernetic eyes be "just as good" as natural eyes under normal conditions? (e.g. No loss in resolution as a trade-off for the night vision.)

One of the things I like about Ghost in the Shell (in its various flavors) is the mix of augmented people. Motoko Kusanagi, tactical leader of Section 9, is a full-body cyborg, and not by choice (at least according to GitS:SAC). Some of the stories suggest that her senses, including touch, are far better than human. Yet Togusa, a former cop and least augmented of the group, has considered body augmentation to increase his speed and accuracy, but is afraid he'd lose contact with his wife and daughter through digitized senses. He is satisfied with a "cyberbrain" implant, that is equivalent to today's smartphones, and a bit more.

I suggested the Dr. McCoy connection to show how subtle "augmentation" might be. Perhaps the crew of the Enterprise have nanites in their blood all the time, getting a fresh supply as old ones are used up or metabolized out. The nanites might aid in fighting disease while visiting so many planets, but otherwise be rather passive until stimulated by a medical technician's "magic wands."

Another thing to consider: back when many of the sci-fi greats were written, the idea of being in contact 24/7, or being able to get information at a moment's notice did not exist for most people—even officials. Yet Heinlein's The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress made a big deal of it. I see an old cell phone in a movie now—the size of a small briefcase or as "small" as a brick—and I have to laugh. I lived through this change, and the results now seem second nature. Many people no longer wear watches because they have a cell phone with them.

It is actually such changes I meant to consider when designing your traveler culture. Say if a traveler is knocked unconscious in a fight, or kidnapped, telemetry will tell someone they are in trouble, what kind, and where. Of course, you don't want to short circuit any interesting plot turns by making them impervious. (Roddenberry rejected the idea of a "panic button" on the Star Trek communicators to beam one back to the ship.) But something like the GitS cyberbrain could be helpful. (e.g. Language translation services when interfacing with another culture. Such services might be as subtle as biometrics, like knowing that a native's respiratory rates are climbing, thus showing excitement, or possibly anger. A traveler may not know which it is, but the info may be helpful.)