“I think we need to buy a drone.”

I found myself saying these words to my business partner, not realizing how casually they came to mind. Sure, let’s buy a drone! It’s what all the kids are doing these days, right? The fact that I could make that statement to someone with a straight face completely cements the fact that we are already living in the future, we just can’t see it it’s so close to our eyes.

Make no mistake, drones are here to stay, and they will play a factor in our day to day lives as they become increasingly robotic and autonomous. Right now they’re useful as toys and for videography, but their usefulness is rapidly expanding. Those who want to stay ahead of the curve would do wise to learn as much as they can regarding drones, whether to use them in business, to stay out of their eyes (best of luck), or to write them into a story.

The most obvious and frequent use of drones is to haul a camera up in the air. The military was doing it first, private tech junkies got into it, the police saw the benefit of it, and now companies are using them. This is still the most basic use of a drone (aerial photo and video) and probably the most widespread and practical. For less than $200, Amazon will ship me a drone that already has a camera so that I can use it in all sorts of debauchery. For those of you who are curious, for me that’s mostly filming cars going very fast around a race track for the benefit of my business partner and I (we make next generation hand tools). That my first thought was to acquire a drone shows just how ubiquitous the technology has become.

As I thought more about it, I realized that except when noise is an issue, a drone can actually take the place of a dolly or boom (or selfie stick), allowing tracking shots, pans, establishing shots, and many more. Why buy multiple pieces of equipment to haul around when you can just sling your droid in the back seat of the car, buckle him in, and then go filming?

Now, while photography and videography are the main use of drones thus far (along with simply hobby flying), I’d be curious to see just how far out this tech will stretch. Humans have a habit of strapping weapons onto things, and the military did just that when they converted the Predator into a Hellfire missile carrier. It seems each year a newer, larger, more heavily armed drone is released. To my eye, the Air Force of the future will likely have one human pilot in a fighter aircraft with several drone wingmen. This would allow for kill/no kill decisions and still leave a human to monitor things, but the drones would be risking their electronic necks when it came to engaging the enemy.

On the ground, Russia has developed a new main battle tank for deployment named Armata, which takes a crew of only two, the rest of the tank operating via computer systems. The Russians also advise that it would not be difficult to convert the tank to operate entirely autonomously. Given the recent demonstration of Russian scruples in Crimea, it would not be surprising if the Bear was the first to place on the battlefield an entirely autonomous weapon system. Putin would certainly gain a boost in the (manipulated) polls if he could promise that no soldiers’ lives need be put in danger to annex another chunk of strategically valuable land.

Something more concerning for Americans, however, is the tendency in recent times for military hardware to filter down to police organizations. Some of us have experience with the ghetto bird, but what will we do in terms of privacy when there’s a ghetto flock flying over a city twenty four hours a day? Would we allow for armed drones to be deployed in certain situations, such as riots or hostage standoffs? A drone with an AR-15 attached to it could quite easily sneak up on an unsuspecting hostage taker and put a 55 grain hollow-point into the base of his skull—no muss, no fuss. Is that something we would want? Is that something we would accept?

Though I don’t focus too much on them for fear of distracting from the plot, there are several scenes with armed drones in my novel, including a team of them armed with shotguns chasing suspected gang members through the slums of a post-apocalyptic Los Angeles. Though it’s a scene in passing, it succinctly drives home how quickly this technology could become abused. With police shootings in high profile right now, taking an officer out of the equation and blaming a machine could become quite convenient.

But there’s more to America than rampant abuse of power and the military-industrial complex. We’ve got consumerism, dammit! “Shut up and take my money!” is a slogan of pride for us, and we don’t want you to send it to use UPS, we want you to fly our new DVD to us with a drone. I am speaking about, of course, the drive Amazon has been making to add drone delivery to their list of available services. Picture it: you run out of lube at a crucial moment so you jump online, order a new bottle, and in half an hour a fresh batch lands just outside your door for you to scoop up before the neighbors can see.

But my, the airspace could become clogged quickly. If Amazon is able to jump through all the legal hurdles necessary to allow for drone delivery, how would the system evolve and what could be the resulting impacts? It stands to reason that larger drones could come into play (think shopping cart sized, so a week’s worth of groceries could land on your driveway). With enough drones on standby, deliveries could become nearly instantaneous. You could order a drone and have a drone deliver it to you (Droneception). If managed well, there could be a significant ecological benefit to electrically powered drones taking direct path flights to delivery sites, rather than trucks shipping goods to warehouses so said goods can be put on other trucks that proceed to spend the entire day driving from stop to stop. Granted, the truck routes are extremely efficient and well planned (UPS doesn’t like the price of gas either), but they’re still limited to the existing roadways, including traffic and construction. A drone, by contrast, could fly multiple deliveries in a zig-zag, moving from point to point at low altitude to drop off packages.

While all of this is speculation, it’s based on a natural progression of technology, as well as historical precedents (such as the militarization of the police). While we may not have our flying cars, our skies could look like a scene from Blade Runner in only a few years’ time as the world of drones merges with reality. Though it’s all very exciting, it’s easy to forget that it’s something that does directly involve and impact us. It’s our task to be knowledgeable and interested, to be vocal and savvy, and to guide the development of the fledgling technology for the greatest benefit. If we don’t, we’ll just end up with a future of police drones and still be waiting for UPS to drop off that bottle of lube.


A.C. Harrison
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Imagine a world completely unlike our own. In this world you can call up data with your mind and view it inside your brain or choose to overlay it with your field of vision. That field of vision? It encompasses infrared, radar, and night vision, which is all very useful in the seedy part of town you live in. You communicate with your friends via built in implants in your ears and throat, heading out into the night to meet up. On the way you are assaulted, a back alley criminal jumping you from behind. You react instantly, catching the assailant in mid-air and tossing him ten feet without breaking a sweat. His accomplice, terrified, fires several rounds of 9mm at you while fleeing, but the bullets only fragment on your skin, leaving righteous holes in your jacket that you’ll be able to tell your friends about later. Yes, heavily investing in cybernetics was the best thing you ever could have done.

Cybernetics, and by extension, full cyborgs, are a common theme in the world of cyberpunk. I’ve previously touched on prosthetics and 3D printing, and the pair are rapidly merging together to form new components that any sci-fi aficionado would recognize as cybernetic. What we’ve come to refer to as cybernetics, though, goes by many other names, including cyberware and bionics. The actual definition of ‘cybernetics’ has to do with “the study of human control functions and of mechanical and electronic systems designed to replace them, involving the application of statistical mechanics to communication engineering” (Random House Dictionary). What this means is that real-world cybernetics are mechanical and electrical analogs to biological systems, used for their research and eventual applications. It does not strictly mean getting a grenade launcher implanted in your arm.

Of course, where would the fun in that be? In common parlance, cybernetics, cyberware, and bionics are currently interchangeable, particularly in the realm of sci-fi, such as in my novels “Jupiter Symphony,” and (especially) “The Long Night.” So taking that into consideration, it’s easy to see that current technology trends with biocompatible 3D printing, neuroprosthesis, and medical implants all point to a rapid approach to true bionics.

The great question that arises then is this: at what point does a prosthetic become cyberware? When do we jump from prosthesis to bionics? According to many sources, we already have, such as with the Touch Bionics i-Limb, but while the limb is impressive, it still only mimics an organic hand without exceeding the capabilities of the original.

 Based on my own research, experience, and opinion, prosthesis are items which stand as a substitute for a lost or malformed organ, giving the user back an amount of lost functionality not to exceed 99%. By contrast, a bionic structure gives a patient (or customer) a device which matches or exceeds the abilities of their original organ. As Daft Punk so aptly state: harder, better, faster, stronger. Taking a slew of bionic components and attach them all to one person and you get a cyborg: a cybernetic organism that is part man, part machine.

Attached to all these cool new goodies you will find a host of moral quandaries that are quite dire indeed. Should people be allowed to receive limbs that exceed human capacity? Should they be able to do so voluntarily? You can already go to the doctor to slim your nose, inflate your tits, and slice off your stomach. What’s stopping you from getting new, perfect, sexy legs that also let you run at 30 miles per hour? Would certain professions require certain augmentations? Would certain augmentations limit you to a certain profession? Would we have separate sports leagues for bionic competitors? The Cyborg Olympics? And then there’s the age old profession of war. A soldier who loses a limb could be fitted with a better one, but why stop there? Elite units will go to extremes to get hardware to increase their chance of mission success. How much more deadly would the SEALs or SAS be with cyborg team members? It brings to mind the crew of Public Security Section 9 from the fantastic and popular anime Ghost in the Shell, where the team comes to rely on their augmentations to win the day.

My novel that delves deeply into cyborgs and bionics, “The Long Night,” is only an outline at this stage, but I will be tackling many of these questions head on, as they are deeply integral to the plot and the identity of the main protagonist. Meanwhile, my readership can find several scenes with augmented characters in my first novel, “Jupiter Symphony,” which you can preview on Amazon and other major ebook retailers.

Whether you use the term cybernetics, cyberware, or bionics doesn’t really matter. What does matter is the amazing future that is rapidly unfurling before us. As with all forms of technology, augmentations themselves are just collections of parts. Our intent and application will determine whether they become a benefit to society or a deadly menace. Knowing humanity, I suspect we’ll find ourselves stuck somewhere in the middle, living in the gray. Until next time, I’ll see you in the dark future.


A.C. Harrison
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The desert is a cracked and desecrated wasteland. The air itself greedily pulls the moisture from anything foolish enough to be alive within the vast expanse of sand and rock that consumes the American southwest, spanning from Texas to California. Among the animals and plants that claw hungrily to survival are humans, nomads forced to survive after losing their homes and livelihoods.

Along the coasts, from New York to California, twisted weather patterns cloak the sky in clouds that readily vomit forth an acid rain that infuriatingly wears on the endless desalination plants that churn away in the water, fading away into the distant haze of pollution as far as the unaugmented eye can see. The plants are more precious than food or energy, delivering just enough potable water to the millions of huddled masses that live and die in the gutters and potholes of the cities, cloaked in rags and rashes from highly resistant strains of bacteria.

This is the reality that exists in the cyberpunk world of “Jupiter Symphony,” my premier dystopian novel. In writing it, I came to have an appreciate for how much gravity the setting can lend a story, from the ultra-luxurious heights of the superscrapers that wealthy corporate moguls inhabit, to the deep recesses of flooded subway routes, lost to the rise in water levels worldwide. Not only did I discover that the setting was as much a character as anyone else in the book, but I also realized that my viewpoint on survival and life has been heavily influenced by my own surroundings.

 Growing up in the desert of Arizona, I’ve come to unconsciously handle water and shade in ways different from most people. I didn’t realize I was doing it until a colleague asked me if I was an environmentalist. I laughed and had to answer that, “No, but I live in the desert. It would be pretty stupid of me to not think about water.” Coming from the Mississippi river delta, this person had zero experience with a limited water supply, and modern society had done nothing to change that. I bet she really pays attention when it starts to flood, though. Me? I’d be wondering why I was suddenly treading water.

As opposed to the desert I grew up in, I have also spent quite some time in the largest cities on the planet, including LA, Tokyo, and São Paulo. Naturally, all three of these mega cities are on the coast, where trade, climate, and transportation allow them to thrive and grow. The sheer population density is amazing to me, as well as the pure numbers when it comes to things like energy used, cars on the road, garbage generated, and amount of food consumed. The whole crazy macrocyclic event is fascinating and wild and a little bit scary, and so I have to be a part of it.

The buildings, skyscrapers, and transit systems allow all of this biomass to move and flow. In many places, the amount of money on display is staggering. In others, like São Paulo, the contrast of the poor and destitute is gut wrenching and overwhelming. It’s wild to see the mega rich living next door to the dirt poor, each one acting as if the other didn’t exist. Like the desert, though, the favelas, slums, and ghettos illustrate that in any environment, humans adapt and survive.

These contrasting experiences form the foundation of the setting I use in my novels, stretching what I know out into the dark future, creating a world that has lost the fight to climate change. No consensus was ever agreed upon. No cutbacks were ever large enough. Nobody was willing to compromise or change. The world in my novels is one of letting something terrible happen because then we’re all in that terrible spot together, and so one cannot blame the other. It’s a world slain by apathy. And yet, like the people I see living in cardboard sheds below freeway overpasses, humanity adapts and survives. It’s a thrilling, vicious place where anything can happen.

I think that, in retrospect, these environments were channeled into the cover of my novel, encapsulating those environments, showcasing the dark future that awaits.

Should you be stockpiling water and food, preparing your escape from collapse? Truthfully, that’s not for me to say. I will say that you might want to pick up a digital copy of “Jupiter Symphony” so that you can remember what things were like when it was all just cyberpunk science fiction.


A.C. Harrison
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If you’ve been following the news lately, you’ve probably seen and heard about an emerging technology that is known as ‘3D Printing’. What it is, how it can be used, and what future potential is stored within, is both intriguing and staggering. From medicine, to private use and commercial applications, 3D printing is a rapidly growing industry. For those interested in the bleeding edge of technology, or those that want to incorporate this technology into their writing (whether real-world or science fiction), this brief overview of 3D printing should build a solid foundation from which to grow on.

When most people think of 3D printing, they immediately think of the small, plastic objects that are so often showcased when demonstrating the technology. The process, however, is hardly media limited, and is rapidly growing into new areas, including thermoplastics, porcelain, ceramics, metal alloys, paper, photopolymer, and aluminum. What this means is that companies big and small can leverage this technology not just for rapid prototyping, but for production as well. For example, the turbochargers on the mighty Koenigsegg One:1 are printed from stainless steel and titanium, including all the internals, so that a completely finished unit comes out of the printer, ready to go. The design could have been cast, but for the volume and development was cost prohibitive for a small, elite company like Koenigsegg.

It goes without saying that this technology is of great interest to many parties, and that includes the field of medicine. In the case of a three-month-old boy in Ann Arbor, Michigan, 3D printing was utilized to treat a case of tracheobronchomalacia (a weak airway, basically). By taking CT scans and mapping the airway in 3D, a small tube was designed and printed of a biocompatible material. Even better, the splint was strong, flexible, and would expand as the boy grew. <link newyoerker article> Such procedures are becoming more and more common, where complex implants are manufactured in ways that they can function seamlessly with the body, and then simply dissolve away rather than require additional surgery. This very much ties back to last week’s article on prosthesis, where 3D printing is being used to craft replacement limbs that are more functional, flexible, and durable.


These medical printers, though great in their complexity and specialization, still operate on the basic principles of all 3D printing (also known as additive manufacturing, or AM, for short). A scan of an object or area is made, or a new design is developed in a CAD system. From there the object is run through several checks to remove any gaps and smooth edges, after which a computer program (called a “slicer”) splits the object up into layers, like taking a vegetable and finely slicing it evenly all along the same axis. Then the material is loaded into the printer and the device goes to work, laying down layer after layer of material and solidifying it, typically by means of a laser to soften the layers and bond them together. After some time (hours or days, depending) and some finishing, the finished product emerges fully formed. No assembly required. Perhaps IKEA should just sell 3D printers and you could print your furniture?

In all seriousness, the future does hold the potential for the 3D or AM printer to become ubiquitous, with each household simply going online and then printing out whatever was needed, including food. Amazon could convert into nothing more than a giant database, holding various products from manufacturers in memory until the rights are purchased and a copy is printed at home. Drone delivery is cool, but printing a brand new Gundam model instead of waiting on shipping would be much more satisfying. Of course you would then counterintuitively break apart the model into its parts so you could build it, but… that’s beside the point.

As we move forward with this technology, some very interesting questions rise to the surface, ones which we have not even begun to address. I touched on making purchases via 3D printer, but what about piracy? Those that appreciate vinyl records could likely print out pirated copies of Led Zeppelin IV once the printer resolution gets high enough. And what about the prosthesis of last week? Could doctors simply scan a limb and have the user print their own? Would they be able to make modifications? How about car parts, electronic devices, and firearms? Make no mistake, the government can see that 3D printing could easily take away a great deal of their control, and that makes them very, very scared. Forget the fact that in many states it’s legal to build your own firearm for private use, the government believes that we’ll all suddenly be walking around packing plastic pistols because of 3D printers, even though a good 3D printer will set you back thousands of dollars while a handgun can be had for a few hundred bucks.

Scared is good, though. Scared means we have a chance to hold onto control, but only if we’re aware of what’s happening and seize the initiative. 3D printing is, like many technologies, a type of Pandora ’s Box. Once opened, it unleashes something that cannot be put back in. Given that the technology has been around since the mid ‘80s and is only accelerating, it makes sense to do everything in our power to keep pushing the technology as far and as fast as possible to stay two steps ahead of people that would like to take away any freedom of choice you might have. 3D printing has the potential to revolutionize how we consume goods, how we design and create, how we manufacture, and how we do business.

To wrap it up, we can see that additive manufacturing is a key component of future development, one that has the potential to touch every aspect of our lives. Like Lego’s for grownups, the devices will improve our health, speed up manufacturing, and give us freedom to express ourselves creatively. It also holds the potential to cut down on materials waste, but only if smartly managed. And of course, as we integrate 3D printing with advances in computing, we come one step closer to next week’s topic: cybernetics. Hold onto your head, it’s going to get wild.

A.C. Harrison
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Over the fields of
Last night’s snow--
Plum fragrance

So reads the death poem of Okano Kin’emon Kanehide, one of the samurai who avenged his lord in the infamous 47 Ronin Incident. It is an excellent example of Japanese haiku, a poem that has become somewhat in vogue, conjuring up Eastern mysticism and romanticized ideals of wisdom and virtue. It has also brought forth a flood of would be poets that compose something following the 5—7—5 syllable pattern, then slap the word haiku on it and sell it to others who are equally ill-equipped to judge haiku  from tanka or renga. This article is for the benefit of those that want to write haiku or learn to distinguish and appreciate it; my goal is that you will have a solid comprehension of what goes into a haiku, as well as how to read the various symbols in translated poems.

Haiku is a form of poetry derived from renga, which was a longer poetry form that was written collaboratively, originally comprised of 100 stanzas. This form became popular around the mid-16th century, when Japan was in a state of perpetual war and one of the few people that could travel between the territories of warlords were poetry masters. As the country began to solidify into more concentrated blocks of power, these warlords (or daimyo), would seek to establish a certain peerage and prestige, paying not insignificant sums to have poets come and lead them in the renga tradition. It was the guest (kyaku) who began the renga by forming the hokku, a 5—7—5 link that would then be built upon. This hokku eventually came to be a poem in its own right, taking the name haiku. It kept with it, however, the rules of the hokku, rules that pretty much every English haiku writer is completely unaware of. This is not to fault the writer, who only has the best intentions, but Japanese poetry isn’t exactly a subject that is covered in great detail in American schools and universities.

To easily sum up the three generally accepted rules of haiku, each poem should follow the 5—7—5 syllable count, should have a cutting word (more on that in a bit), and should have a seasonal reference. Points two and three are most often lost on foreign audiences and writers. Adding a season reference is easier to do, and a good first step for any poet. The cutting word, or kireiji, is not just present in haiku, but its impact is more readily felt in a form so short. The cutting word can come at various points in the poem, both splitting the poem into two thoughts and at the same time unifying them. It creates a juxtaposition of images that somehow hold one another up, like two dissimilar trees growing to lean against one another and thus weather a storm. When it comes to kireiji, only experience and examples will help one to distinguish the point at which it happens. Looking at another poem, we can see a more clear example of this more eclectic attribute.

Moon in the water
Sumersaults
And streams away

In this English translation, the moon in the water, an image of stillness and tranquility, is cut by “sumersaults,” which then leads to the introduction of a stream. The disparate images of a moon quietly reflected is contrasted with a rushing stream, allowing us to realize (and visualize), both images at the same time. Moreover, the mention of the moon is a seasonal reference to autumn, though the syllable count is not present due the translation into English.

Talking about English leads to another important point regarding haiku, and that is the limits of language. Because the Japanese language is syllable based, with nouns and verbs often taking up only one or two syllables, it is much easier to convey an image than in English, where we find ourselves struggling to find descriptive words that are short enough to fit in a line without sounding overly simplistic. We want our haiku to sound natural and serene, but we’re fighting our own language to get there. Japan also benefits from an unbroken poetry tradition where each new poetic form builds on the last, but does not replace it. The seasons, springs, summer, fall, and winter, don’t need to be described, thus saving valuable space. There are thousands of years of words that represent the seasons, which can be learned by consistent reading of haiku, whether translated or not. Cherry blossoms signify spring, the moon is autumn, snow and ice, winter. Different birds and plants, like the cuckoo and the plum blossom, also conjure different times of year (summer and late winter/early spring).

Just because of all these esoteric rules and references, though, doesn’t mean that Western audiences or writers can’t appreciate or develop excellent haiku. As a challenge to myself, I like to write haiku in the genre of my novels: cyberpunk. I still adhere to the syllable rules, the cutting word, and the seasonal references, but I’m not expecting to be burdened by an exact Japanese word to describe a scene. By what would I gain in using a foreign concept in a poem written in my own tongue? Would the reader understand, and would I as an author grow? I can appreciate and learn these references when reading Japanese poems in Japanese, but to do so when writing in English I think is a stretch too much. One of my first attempts reads:

Lightest drops of rain
Over oil drenched cracked asphalt
Spring rainbow in ruin

Later on I abandon calling out a season directly, simply writing:

Too painful to hold
Her face streaked with frozen tears
Delete memory

From here we can see the word “frozen” obviously implies deep winter, while there is the contrasting of the two images of holding onto a memory and deleting it. In this case, I feel the kireiji would have to be considered “delete” as it breaks the flow of the original thought and also creates the new concept of escape from something that normally you cannot get away from.

In summation, we’ve explored a brief history of haiku, the three major rules to look for, and have touched on some of the words used in Japanese to convey seasons and emotions. We also looked at how haiku is much more challenging to write in English, as the language isn’t well suited for the format. But the challenge just adds to the fun, and so we can take haiku and make it our own, as I showed in a pair of examples that take on the cyberpunk tone. If you write one haiku a day, by the end of a year it would be impossible not to have wonderful gems amongst your work. Readers of haiku can also take their newfound knowledge and apply it to the poems they are reading, and then act smugly when someone delivers a “haiku” that is nothing more than a collection of syllables. It’s fun at parties; you make lots of friends that way.

Two books that I used to help write this article were “Japanese Death Poems,” compiled by Yoel Hoffmann, and “Traditional Japanese Literature,” a monster of a book edited by Haruo Shirane. I highly recommend both works for anyone who wants to have a much deeper understanding of Japanese literature, from haiku to far beyond.


A.C. Harrison holds a BA in Japanese Language & Literature from Arizona State University
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“Ash could now hear approaching sirens in the distance, so he pulled himself together and half limped, half jogged to the front door, thankful that police response times were so lousy. Out of the stairwell came the guards, fanning out in a semicircle to entrap him. At the same time, a black car came screeching to a halt at the front door, driving straight up the pedestrian walkway. Ash recognized the car and smiled; it was the Charger he had previously driven, now only a few seconds away. Then, with a glance back, Ash saw something that he found quite peculiar. The guards, rather than continuing to chase after him, stopped short and waited while the receptionist stood up, revealing her lower body to be entirely cybernetic. Ash wasn’t checking out her gams, though. Instead he focused on her arm, the cybernetic one, which she raised and pointed at Ash. The segments that composed the outer shell of her forearm split open and folded back, an SMG deploying from the inside, blossoming forth like a black flower of death, the heavily ported muzzle tracking him as he moved.”

This passage from my cyberpunk, sci-fi romp, “Jupiter Symphony,” showcases what a lot of people involved in futurism like to showcase: the ubiquitous cybernetic limb, often containing some kind of special ability, such as a hidden weapon or computer equipment. Obviously these kinds of heavy upgrades are far in the future, things we’ll never really get to experience, but is that really the case? Will we have advanced cybernetic limbs within our lifetime, ones that mimic the same function and form as their biological counterparts? Will they be even better, prompting people to upgrade themselves for more speed, strength, and dexterity? This is obviously a topic of great interest to writers and readers of science fiction, or even those who suffer from a disability or want to become engaged in the world of medical devices. The world of cybernetics is vast and varied, offering limitless opportunity.

However, before we can jump forward into the joy of speculating (and it really is this joy that brings me to write sci-fi), we should create a base of knowledge we can go off of, and that means starting with prosthesis, both throughout history and up to modern times.

The popular site io9.com has a fascinating set of examples of prosthetics dating back through time, including the impressive iron hand of Gottfried Von Berlichingen, an iron contraption that must have been both terribly heavy but also incredibly complex and inventive.

We can go back even further, though, and find examples from ancient Egypt that survives to this day, which would have come from roughly 1000 BC! Clearly this is a process that has been in development for some time, so what drives it?

The short answer can be summed up quite simply: war and genetics. Congenital birth defects have always been a factor in human development, and so would naturally be a reason for the development of prosthetic limbs, especially among the wealthy. War, one could say, has also been a factor in human development. War is both the cause of lost limbs (as we know far too well from the use of IEDs), and also the reason for so many advances in prosthetic technology.

The design of prosthesis has become much more complex as time has passed, with major developments occurring from WWII up to modern times, when commercial companies became more involved and private firms started funding novel solutions. Because no two people are built the same way, crafting a prosthetic limb has become a bit of an art form. There is also great variance in limb types, such as above or below the elbow prosthesis. One of the most difficult and advanced replacement limbs, and one that will likely drive the most innovation, is a transfemoral amputation, where the leg is lost above the knee. For these people to walk requires roughly 80% more energy than a person with their legs intact. It is for this reason that advance prosthesis are now coming into play that utilize servos, hydraulics, sensors, and microprocessors to restore a range of motion previously thought lost. 

Modern prosthesis that are at the cutting edge may use a combination of advanced materials, 3D printing, CAD/CAM design, robotics, and even mobile device connectivity. Yes, you can adjust your prosthetic leg from your smartphone, such as with the C-Leg 4 from ottobock. With powered units, an amputee no longer needs to put in so much extra energy for locomotion.

So with all of this intersecting technology, what does the future hold?

Well, a lot of moral dilemmas, for one. One of the great advancements in prosthetics is the sensors that detect electric signals from the remaining muscles in a patient’s limb, triggering the unit to move. There are already hand units that relay information back to the user’s central nervous system, such as how much pressure is being applied. Think Luke’s hand at the end of The Empire Strikes Back.

As this type of feedback becomes more effective and efficient, and as the limbs themselves become more powerful and capable, would we reach a point where a prosthetic limb is no longer a requirement, but a request? This, now, is where we begin to branch into the world of cybernetics, including neuralprosthetics, or a brain—computer interface. Treatments for conditions such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s are already experiencing the benefits of these devices, many of which receive energy wirelessly. Pacemakers benefit humans with heart conditions, while insulin pumps keep diabetics alive (and, yes, I call my diabetic friend a cyborg because it’s true).

Clearly there are technical hurdles to overcome, such as a long term energy supply, but none of the present challenges are really very difficult when compared to more lofty goals such as quantum computing or artificial intelligence. So where do we draw the line? What do we humans decide is fair? Do only people who have birth defects or amputations receive new limbs? Do these limbs have to have the same performance as the lost organic material, or can they exceed that benchmark? Can people willingly have limbs swapped out to do a job? How about a soldier with cybernetic arms and legs? A doctor who has a hand that has stability and accuracy greater than the steadiest neurosurgeon? An athlete who can run faster and farther? We can already look to Oscar Pistorius, the “blade runner,” who ran in the Olympics with carbon fiber feet.

Make no mistake, we are very, very close to crossing the bridge between simple prosthetic limbs and full cybernetics, capable of sensing everything a human limb could, or even more. It is both exciting and frightening, but something that we should all be aware of. The more we can think about and weigh in on these topics now, the better the future will be. It is only when we blindly stumble into new technology that terrible things happen. As 3D printing becomes more reliable, we might not even be able to regulate who creates their own new limbs, whether they need them or not. 3D printed organs are becoming the norm in hospitals around the world, and metal 3D printing is advancing at a great pace.

I leave you with the ultimate question to ponder, one that sums up the endpoint of prosthesis and that will really drive you to question your stance on the issue. It comes not from a scientific journal or a textbook, but rather from an old, hilarious animated show called SeaLab 2021. The question is simple, but deep.

Would you put your brain in a robot body?

You don’t have to answer now… but you might have to answer before you realize.


A.C. Harrison
Like what you see here? Spread the word and support indie authors! Follow me on Facebook or Twitter. Find me on Smashwords and Kindlemojo.

Confession: when I wrote my first novel I became fastidious about my scheduling, making sure to keep things in a line so that I could produce quality work on a deadline. My blog? Not so much. For those of you suffering from the same difficulties, I’d like to cover the potential reasons why it can be difficult to remain consistent in your updates, as well as ways to combat these same problems.

The week before last I adhered to the schedule I had set out for myself, which was an update on Sunday and Wednesday. Last week, however, all of that went out the window. Truthfully, this was in part due to a surprise visit from a close friend of mine who lives in Japan. When someone graces your door after traveling halfway around the world, you let them in, especially if they have the latest news on a country you love. Still, I could have probably salvaged an entry on Monday morning and then put together something for Wednesday, for which I have no excuse, other than life continues to come at us all from so many directions.

After analyzing the situation, I’ve come to realize that when I was writing my novel, I had a set universe to work in with limited pieces, and that there was a specific end point that I could move towards. When you are delivering weekly content, especially if you’re doing your best to make it relevant to your audience, then that is something with no real end in sight. Just coming up with topics presents a real challenge, and so I’ve had to consider how best to approach this side of my aspirations of a writing career.

Just like writing a novel, blog entries require research and consideration. If I want to write a topic on AI, I could rattle off what I know from experience, but then I’d be limiting myself and not presenting a full viewpoint on the subject. There also would be no prior work to back up whatever conclusions I may be drawing. Much as I don’t care to admit it, writing for my kind of blog is very much akin to writing the research papers I put together in college. Realizing that is both comforting and horrifying. Research takes time. Unlike time spent on a novel, this research can’t be counted towards your blog time. It has to be done ahead of time so that the article can be put together and ready to be posted on the day you planned. In effect, the blog entry should be ready to go before the due date rolls around. And I’m back in college again.

The other angle to consider is the limitlessness of a formal blog. This isn’t someone’s poetry laced Live Journal (those still exist, right?). This is a resource for aspiring writers and readers of my novels. It’s a place to go for knowledge and entertainment, not something I leverage as my own creative outlet. It’s designed to benefit others. So how do you stay motivated on a project that really has no end?

Inspiration struck me as I was considering this point. In my study of the martial arts, there was a goal: to earn my black belt. However, once I had achieved that goal, I realized my learning had only just started, and that the level of black belt was really just the foundation for a platform that would allow me to continue a lifetime of learning in the martial arts. In this way, then, a blog must be viewed. Writing through school and then writing my own novel was a good start. Now I face the task of taking what I have gained and transforming it into something even greater.

I love my novels, make no mistake. I love writing them and I can…appreciate…editing them. My blog, though is a chance for me to explore new topics that I don’t get to cover in my novels, to branch off into side streets, to explore, to learn, and to grow. Each novel makes me a better writer, but learning how to write a convincing blog entry twice a week or more? That really pushes a writer to stay on top of their game, to realize they have deadlines, to work within their schedule, and to become better not just at composition, but at research as well.

I can’t promise I still won’t have missed days. I could wind up sick, a cousin could visit from Europe, or my web server could even be down, but as long as I’m adhering to my principles and running things so that they are well scheduled and organized, there’s no reason I can’t produce quality content for many to enjoy. These discovered truths, found through trial and error, are applied fixes any other aspiring writer or blogger can take to heart and work with. If you are a novelist, try taking up a blog. If you’re a blogger with aspirations of writing a novel, perhaps this will let you see that you’ve actually been doing the harder job this whole time. So, I will most certainly be seeing you all on Wednesday.


A.C. Harrison
Like what you see here? Spread the word and support indie authors! Follow me on Facebook or Twitter. Find me on Smashwords and Kindlemojo.