I'm writing this story about the disattached brain of a nine year old boy attached to a spaceship.
And I got some questions.
If there is no other organ other than the brain, and nervous system, would a person go through puberty? What amount of maturity is granted by puberty ITSELF-- i.e., is a 15-year old more sensible because of hormones, or because of experiences, than say, a nine year old?
And I was wondering about how to use a faster-than-light ship as a weapon. Mind you, the ship itself-- no cannons. If a FTL ship shifted into high gear in the middle of an armada of ships that lacked FTL capabilities, it could (could it?) create a gravity anamoly that would suck all the matter around it toward a single point, destryoing them.
What else could it do?
Posts: 14554 | Registered: Dec 1999
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posted
It depends. Did you include the pituitary gland or not? (it's attached to the bottom of the brain). It controls puberty. Triggers it and ramps up the production of all those extra hormones to induce puberty. Without it, then no puberty.
That's the simple answer.
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I sure as heck would hate to be broadsided by a ship traveling faster than the speed of light. Perhaps you could install a nifty looking battering ram. Posts: 5264 | Registered: Jul 2002
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Also...I'm not sure if brain development is quite related to puberty. I'd have to look. It's more of an on-its-own type of thing. Kids can not mature in body, but their minds still can develop in terms of decision and judgement and things of that sort.
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posted
Well, if you've got the tech to maintain a dis-attached brain, you pretty much have liscense to do as you please since you can probably dream up sufficient technology to introduce necessary hormones when/if needed. You could probably use a system of virtual stimuli to simulate the bodily experience of growing up, too, if ya wanted to.
Posts: 6394 | Registered: Dec 1999
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Have you ever read "The Ship that Sang"? There are a couple of books or short stories on the topic. I think Anne McCaffrey cowrote the series with someone else but I could be wrong.
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McCaffrey has been working with others on this as well. The new collection I saw yesterday at the book store was called The Brain Ships.
Posts: 2506 | Registered: Jul 2003
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Of course, that was about a girl who was like a Thalidomide baby (hands and feet without real arms and legs). Don't let the "done before" aspect scare you.
My opinion is that testosterone is fairly important to male puberty. The pituitary regulates when to turn it on, but puberty is accomplished more by the testosterone. It would be like getting a pentagonal wrench and throwing it at a burning house instead of using it to open the fire hydrant. Then again, how much of all the brain accomplishes would go on as we know it without other organs? The liver, for instance, is fairly critical to supplying a steady stream of glucose for the brain. Also, there is a bundle of nerves in the gut as extensive as the brain. "Gut check" might not be a metaphor for decision making after all. But at minimum, your disembodied brain needs glucose and oxygen and neurotransmitter synthesis/recycling.
Posts: 11017 | Registered: Apr 2003
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There's a certain amount of emotional dependence that the ship will need to have-- but I was mainly concerned with intellectual development. Can a brain kept at the physical state of a normal nine year old be as 'intelligent' as a fifteen year old?
I had thought of having this ship fall in love. . .but it's integral to the story that he feel alone.
And thank you, pooka, for your comments-- they have fueled my brain.
Posts: 14554 | Registered: Dec 1999
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FTL destruction is all purely hypothetical. With enough Technospeak than you can make FTL travel as destructive as necessary.
For Example: FTL travle requires creating a artificial black hole and using the gravitational forces to enter another dimension. As such any ship not on the correct glide path of this artificial black hole are sucked into it.
Speed is created by use of Nuclear explosions from the sheilded part of the ship. One ships explosive launch could direct the radiation and blast force into the unshielded parts of the other fleet.
To reach FTL Speeds, and to slow down from them safely, one must overcome basic Inertia. The most common way to do this is with the artificial gravity probably already in use aboard the ship. Such gravity manipulation can easilly be turned into a weapon, or accidentally used as one.
A tractor beam used to guide smaller ships into docking bays, or to send them out can have devastating effects if used at near FTL speeds. They become battering rams and grappels that are moving too fast to be seen and deflected.
Posts: 11895 | Registered: Apr 2002
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Scott my answer would be yes. If anything being kept at the 9 year old physical state would mean that the brain is more elastic and capable of learning and assimilating things more quickly than that of the 15 year olds. Kind of like Bean.
quote:FTL travle requires creating a artificial black hole and using the gravitational forces to enter another dimension. As such any ship not on the correct glide path of this artificial black hole are sucked into it.
Yeah, something like that!
Posts: 14554 | Registered: Dec 1999
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posted
And IMO most 9 year olds are more logical and fun to talk to than most 15 year olds simply because they aren't dealing with wild hormones clouding their logic.
posted
I was also thinking that if a FTL ship could fly around long enough, it would draw enough matter to it to become a roving black hole itself.
Universes could be created in this way-- when the FTL ship slows, the energy released causes the matter to explode outward-- a big bang.
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