posted
Hey, folks. I was brainstorming the other night, doing some heavy research for my new sci-fi story. In the tale, a military officer's brain is rescued from a body mangled beyond repair. The whole idea is similar to RoboCop, except the scientists don't get around to deleting my character's personality/memory. Anyway, my question is: what type of power source would be logical for an independent cybernetic body? Rechargable coils/power cells? Secondary solar cells? Internal power core (and this one is stretching the imagination beyond what I would prefer)? I'm looking into a recharging power cell and possibly a supplementary energy collection system combination. Any thoughts/suggestions?
A second question involves a component of the main character's CCU (Cerebral Combat Unit). He possesses an internal 'tactical data core'...think of it as a limited AI, designed to assist the transplanted consciousness with data processing and cybernetic systems interfacing. Anyway, I've created a bland personality for this 'core' and intend to expand the concept later in the story. Basically, how would you suggest I handle the internal dialogue between the main character and the core? My current, makeshift format goes something like this:
<You are alone, John Morrow. You have no genetic relations; no friends. You have nothing to lose.>
Yeah. That’s true, but….
<You are alone. You are intelligent, capable, and resourceful. The component of your personality that made you somewhat difficult to control in the past will be removed upon completion of the next procedure. This will extend your capabilities. Prepare for upgrade.>
No…I don’t want an ‘upgrade.’ I like my personality just the way it is.
I've seen similar formats in other novels. The subject is a little tricky, since the core is not really another individual taking part in a conversation. It's an entity within Morrow's mind, interacting on an internal level. Any thoughts on this subject?
Inkwell ------------------ "The difference between a writer and someone who says they want to write is merely the width of a postage stamp." -Anonymous
[This message has been edited by Inkwell (edited May 18, 2004).]
quote:I'm looking into a recharging power cell and possibly a supplementary energy collection system combination. Any thoughts/suggestions?
I'd probably go with a chemical battery system (e.g. Lithium-Ion, Nickel-Metal Hydride, or some futuristic variant on the theme), as such things tend to be smaller than regenerative power cells, which are (at present at least) quite large.
Or a power cell that needs refueling, perhaps from methanol.
quote:The subject is a little tricky, since the core is not really another individual taking part in a conversation. It's an entity within Morrow's mind, interacting on an internal level. Any thoughts on this subject?
You could do it like that. Although I might be tempted to go with a format that doesn't make it clear what's Morrow's own thought and what's the CCU trying to communicate, as if Morrow himself was having trouble distinguishing between the two. Could create some quite interesting conflict that way
quote:Posted by Jules: I'd probably go with a chemical battery system (e.g. Lithium-Ion, Nickel-Metal Hydride, or some futuristic variant on the theme), as such things tend to be smaller than regenerative power cells, which are (at present at least) quite large.
Or a power cell that needs refueling, perhaps from methanol.
I was thinking more along the lines of a hardwired energy reservoir requiring a 'recharge' every seventy-two hours or so (less if the CCU is not in constant motion, combat, etc.). The secondary system would extend those factors in a wartime situation. I'm not sure if I want to go with a regenerative energy system, per se...but it's not out of the question as of right now. I'm also pretty sure I want to stay away from current battery technologies (or things that sound similar), since this story is set in the future...at least one hundred and fifty years ahead of present day.
Inkwell ------------------ "The difference between a writer and someone who says they want to write is merely the width of a postage stamp." -Anonymous
posted
A power source for something set 150 years in the future?
Maybe a Mr. Fusion? No, we'll have those by 2015.
Consider that the rate of technological advancement is generally accelarating. So the power systems of 150 years in the future will likely be more advanced relative to today's power systems than today's are relative to the power systems of 1854.
You mentioned that there would be two energy systems: the primary (general use when re-powering is easily available) and the secondary (for extended use when resupply may be difficult.)
For the primary supply, I think something like a room-temperature high-capacity superconductor coil might work. Feed electricity in, bleed it off as needed.
Or maybe small, vacuum-enclosed, high-density, extreme-velocity flywheels, which have the added benefit of working as gyroscopic stabilizers.
For the secondary power system, no form of nuclear power is acceptable, because if you were going to use nuclear power you wouldn't need to bother with having the primary system. So maybe there are rules against using nuclear reactions in battlefield situations, because that's how things escalate.
For similar reasons, antimatter is right out (as is any form of "zero-point energy.")
A possible secondary power source could be a very sturdy and versatile combustion engine or fuel cell that can use biomass (or any hydrocarbon) for fuel. That would allow the cyborg to scavenge for fuel as needed.
posted
There's some current research going into energy reclamation - I wish I could remember where I read this - one aspect of which is a battery that is recharged by capturing the motion of walking. I think its the same guy who came up with the Segway scooter, but it might just have been the same magazine.
MaryRobinette
[This message has been edited by MaryRobinette (edited May 18, 2004).]
posted
If I were building a cyborg soldier i'd hedge my bets, solar wind hydro-electric, even a super-emergency internal-combustion engine. of course that would just be for backup. Nuclear would be dangerous. But of course who says you need electricity, perhaps there is a new energy source. Posts: 1895 | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
Many thanks to all of you for the suggestions and comments. I'm fairly happy with the way this story is progressing. I think it may have some potential...perhaps I should send it in to the WOF contest (or elsewhere). A little bit of Harrison Ford's Fugitive character, a little of Dumas' Edmond Dantes, with a dash of the Terminator thrown in for good measure. Who knows? Maybe everything will turn out in the end, despite such an…unusual…mixture. Thanks again.
Inkwell ------------------ "The difference between a writer and someone who says they want to write is merely the width of a postage stamp." -Anonymous
posted
Actually, a small nuclear reactor would be a lot safer than most anything else you could use. But plutonium is expensive and can be turned into bombs. So I go with Eric's suggestion that it is a tightly controlled substance, or use some other excuse.
Technological advance isn't always on an upward curve. In recorded history, many societies have reached an apex of technological development before either sinking into cultural decline or deliberately rejecting technological development. Although the precise mechanics of this are somewhat sketchy, we could easily do the same. So maybe your future has lost some nuclear science. It isn't necessary to retain a strong understanding of nuclear physics to advance cybernetics and bionic technology, after all. Conventional molecular chemistry, leaving aside any knowledge of controlled nuclear reactions, will suffice.
In any case, the exact terminology used to describe technology 150 years from now would probably be largely incomprehensible to today's technophiles. If you have determined to let the needs of the story dictate the parameters of the power supply, then choose a technology on that basis.
If you are postulating that this is a continuation of our own technological development, I would go with a small fusion reactor for the primary source and a small fission pile for the emergency backup. The fusion device could be a micro tokamak or some type of cold fusion, but it would still require energy input to get the energy out (such is the nature of the beast). A simple fission device--like a small ingot of plutonium heating an advanced thermo-couple or some kind of turbine--would be very reliable, and also quite safe if you weren't demanding too much in the way of performance.
I would reject using an anti-matter annihilator or similar technology to power a small combat unit. Anti-matter reactors tend to blow up rather violently when shot. They also put out a lot more radiation for a given energy requirement. And they are the very devil to shrink to a man-portable size.
As for the conversations with this "CCU", I presume that you have a good reason that it talks rather than simply presenting tactical information directly to his senses (which are, after all, bionic)?
If there is a reason for it to converse, then there must be some instrumentality by which he talks to it. Since your story spans the time during which he is learning to use the system, simply take the reader through that process. From that point on, whatever format you have devised to indicate his communication with the unit should be acceptable to the reader.
posted
I had an idea for you post. Maybe this cybernetic soldier still needs rest ( after all he still has a human body ) and maybe the little bit of electrical impulses from the human body somehow recharges him a little and then when he sleeps ( if he ever can get away from his internal comflict ) the power source recharges a little? Is that the kind of thing you were going after? Or he could have a hydrogen/oxygen or something of the sort of a reusable power source. Just throwing ideas out there.
posted
Hi inkwell, If u're going to limit the power supply to lasting only 72hrs, which is a pitty, i would have thought that 150 yrs in the future we would have power sources that r small enough for your use but would last a whole lot longer - or at least i hope we will... but perhaps that is part of your story. In that case, if it were me i would stay away from the miniture fusion or necular reactors as they r bound to produce power for years, not hours. I think that Erik's 'high-capacity superconductor coil' would work well. As for the emergency backup, why not use the same type energy source but have it as a form of life support energy source that can be taped into at critical times but also puts the cyborg at rist of shutdown or even perminant failure. As for the internal speach, i like the format u used. I once read a novel where the two primary characters were a man & an entity in his head, the writer used the same system & it worked fine.
Posts: 2 | Registered: Jun 2004
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