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Joined: December 31, 1969, 08:00:00 PM
Sprint Hack by Zac Miller
Content-wise: the genetic manipulation pre-birth to correct and improve is probably not that far off. An OS for your body that let's you manipulate your endocrine system is probably a little further in the future. The virtual (communication, body OS program access, etc...) being projected right into someone's eyes sounds very cool, maybe a little scary when you think of the ads that would run while you're sleeping, but it made me wonder, if people in this world have all this implanted cyberwear wouldn't they probably also have direct brain control of the virtual cursor, which would eliminate the need for funny hand motions:
He activated the program he'd cooked up and his endocrine system peeled open, hormone bars and charts glowing in place. Raising his hands, Nelson's right index finger hovered over the epinephrine bar. Normal levels, bound to build up when he picked up speed, but not enough.
Does anyone watch for this sort of thing? Nelson closed his eyes again.
Then again, it made me wonder where Big Brother was in this scenario; wouldn't all vitals be closely monitored? Everybody's wired, it seems like it'd be easy to beam the info somewhere to be monitored during the race.
In the end it did seem to me like Nelson was cheating and he was using the rationale that many cheaters use: "I'm just giving myself a fair shot, because the game is unfair." It was hard to be sympathetic for him given the circumstance.
I'm not sure the author would consider this story part of Biopunk. It doesn't seem to fulfill the "punk" part of the equation, but it does seem to share some themes.
Biopunk science fiction is a subgenre of cyberpunk fiction that focuses on the near-future unintended consequences of the biotechnology revolution following the discovery of recombinant DNA. Biopunk stories explore the struggles of individuals or groups, often the product of human experimentation, against a backdrop of totalitarian governments and megacorporations which misuse biotechnologies as means of social control and profiteering. Unlike cyberpunk, it builds not on information technology, but on synthetic biology. Like in postcyberpunk fiction, individuals are usually modified and enhanced not with cyberware, but by genetic manipulation.
--http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biopunk#Science_fiction
Good story.
John