Wavelength Posts: Cyborgs and Super-Science

Today's collection of Wavelength weirdness concerns high-tech topics like super-cyborgs. As far as anyone knows, nobody has cracked the secret of superpowers, but that won't stop our intrepid troupe of truth-seekers on the Internet. That said, significant strides have been made in incorporating super-tissue into existing systems. For example, the American mercenary Cloud has a sort of bio-radio or bio-radar built into his cells, and he's used radio rebroadcast equipment to extend his own range. So who knows.

As usual, my comments are in italics. Here goes!

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SUPER CYBORGS A REALITY

CONFIRMED SIGHTINGS are coming from an Army base in the Midwest about a new project undertaken by THE MILITARY. They have a super in a laboratory and have grafted several artificial systems onto his body. IS HE A VOLUNTEER SOLDIER, OR SOMETHING ELSE...?

This individual's superpowers are being ELECTRONICALLY CONTROLLED and REGULATED through the secretion of hormones and neuroelectric discharges. His body's powers can be amplified and driven BY COMPUTER, used in whatever fashion his MILITARY MASTERS SEE FIT.

Yeah, and if you TYPE IN ALL CAPS, it has to be true. Lowercase is for liars.

A highly placed source has provided my newsletter with tech specs, photos, and more information about this BRAVE AMERICAN whose body is now the plaything of his SOULLESS SUPERIORS. At this time, we are unable to release the information due to concerns about being shut down, but we all agree that something needs to be done.

The individual's capabilities are said to be at Stage 4.5 and combat testing is expected to commence within the week. Our source also confirms that this is only the FIRST OF MANY SUPER CYBORGS.

My source confirmed you need to cut the crap. Stages aren't fractional - if I was feeling charitable, I'd say the author meant "Stage 4 but more awesome".

THE DRAFT FOR SUPERS??!

I know a Stage 2. Are we looking at the re-institution of the draft for American supers? Are we going to be sending super-cyborgs to Iran or China? Someone tell me what to tell my friend!

How about "Wavelength is full of shit?"

PROJECT EQUINOX - MILITARY CYBORG EXPERIMENTS

The cyborg program under discussion is called Project Equinox. You can download a complete PDF from my secure site. Here are the details:

• Stage 2 soldiers are being screened and recruited.
• The program artificially progresses them to Stage 3 or Stage 4.
• Candidates have titanium and ceramic implants introduced into their bodies, grafted onto bone.
• Implants are electronically controlled and siphon power from the Stage 2/3/4 mitochondrial proton-motive force, the same thing that augments ATP recycling in the body.
• The implants provide a far superior control system for many powers, allowing candidates to choose from a menu of preprogrammed options or devise their own.
• The implants also stimulate the cells' mitochondria and synthetic symbionts, allowing new applications of existing powers that the natural Hashmal process didn't provide.

There are eighteen candidates in the program, found in bases around the world. They are being prepped for counter-terrorism, not S.O. or assassination.

Now I'm a little worried. If this guy is talking shit, it's convincing-sounding shit. Every so often, Wavelength does get it right.

The biggest obstacles in the Equinox program are technological, but they also have a simpler problem: how do you keep your soldiers from retiring or going AWOL with a billion dollars worth of state secrets in their bodies? Implanted bombs, brainwashing, or similar techniques are likely, but I haven't been able to learn more.

And this sort of thing is why I hate the military.

I did download this guy's PDF. From the illustrations, the implants are about the size of a grape each and clustered throughout the body. There's no metal-plated Terminators here - the cyborgs he's describing could easily hide in a crowd, which makes sense. I'm not saying I buy into this story, just that it's better than 75% of what appears on Wavelength.

CYBERNETIC POWERS FOR EVERYONE

I heard a rumor that they're able to do "cross-specimen grafts" and give normal people superpowers now. Any truth to this? If not, could some of these implants do it?

Cultured tissue has been successfully grafted onto supers, but the body has to be able to cope with the resulting rejection problems, same as blood transfusions. A Stage 0 receiving a Stage 2 graft would get very sick. A Stage 0 receiving Stage 4 tissue would probably die. It's conceivable someone could encapsulate such tissue into an implant and give it to a mundane, but that's a huge expense for little gain.

SUPER SCIENCE

How much of these physics-breaking superpowers have been replicated in machinery? How soon until I can buy a force field belt?

Unlikely. Study of superpowers has let us make great strides in theoretical physics, chemistry, and other fields. As yet, we haven't been able to translate those into meaningful inventions. That won't be true forever, but that's how it is today.

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That's it for another dive into the pit of rumor we call Wavelength. Go forth and have fun.