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From: acm@bu-cs.BU.EDU (ACM)
Newsgroups: alt.cyberpunk,rec.arts.sf-lovers
Subject: Re: Future Police Speculations Needed
Message-ID: <15790@bu-cs.BU.EDU>
Date: Thu, 12-Nov-87 15:05:34 EST
Article-I.D.: bu-cs.15790
Posted: Thu Nov 12 15:05:34 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 14-Nov-87 20:16:25 EST
References: <1463@haddock.ISC.COM> <1824@trex.rutgers.edu> <23473AE4@PSUVMA> <21598@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> <4415@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu>
Reply-To: madd@bucsb.bu.edu
Followup-To: madd@bucsb.bu.edu
Organization: Boston University ACM
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Xref: mnetor alt.cyberpunk:177 rec.arts.sf-lovers:9002

In article <4415@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu> erc@tybalt.caltech.edu.UUCP (Eric R. Christian) writes:
>In article <21598@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> max@trinity (Max Hauser) writes:
>>In article <23473AE4@PSUVMA> AE4@PSUVMA.BITNET (Jon Acheson) writes:
>>
>>> ... Anti-terrorist techniques would also improve: in a hostage situation,
>>>fast-acting anesthetic gas would be shot into the room: before the thug can
>>>do anything, they are waking up in jail.
>>
>>Fast-acting anesthetics have been a staple soft weapon in science 
>>fiction at least since _Brave New World_ but despite massive
>>research they seem no more practical today than fifty years ago.
>
>It seems to me that much easier than a fast-acting anesthetic gas would be
>a bacteria or virus that causes unconciousness very quickly, yet can still
>be cured for several minutes (or more).  If it is contagious through the
>skin, the only defense would be the equivalent of a space suit.  I can
>very easily conceive of such a germ, and if we don't have it yet, I expect
>that there is someone looking for it.

Actually it's quite likely that several (unnamed) governments are
currently looking for such a thing.  Unfortunately it's easy to see
how such research could result in effects discussed in _The_Stand_
(King), _The_White_Plague_ (Herbert), or even _Vixen_03_ (Cussler).
Scary thought, no?

>Along the same lines, it seems to me that germ warfare could be effectively
>used by the criminal element as well.  Any nasty bug which you can
>innoculate your own people against would be useful.  Imagine having a
>hide-out doused with such a germ.  No unwanted visitors (for long).

There would be considerable problems with this.  First, it would
require the hide-out to be completely airtight (read: airlock, air
recycling equipment, etc) which would be far from cheap.  Also, unless
it is possible to have many slightly different viruses (viri?),
antidotes would soon be had by many and it wouldn't matter.  Even if
it would be possible to vary the virus slightly, it might be possible
to create antidotes that work over a wide range of viruses, limiting
the effectiveness of the defense.

I think that the only thing stopping this kind of technology is money.
The cost of the item does not justify the expenditure necessary to
create it.  Moreover, the cost of using the item is also prohibitive.
Easier to put in a good security system.  Also safer -- could you
imagine what would happen if the virus mutates on you?  Eek.

Probably a better way of doing this is to create some sort of
brain-inhibiting system (perhaps one that introduces faulty signals).
It need not be specific in what it inhibits or introduces -- just
dumping a lot of signals into the brain would probably work just fine.
The technology is much closer at hand (no genetic engineering!) and
need not be fine-tuned.  This, I suppose, would be analogous to the
type of weapons Niven refers to as stunners or tasps (recall the Niven
story "Jigsaw Man" [I believe] where people were captured through the
use of a beam that paralyzed them, and also the use of tasps in
_Ringworld_).  No risk of mutation, less cost of development, less
cost of use.

But can we build it?  Probably.  Remember the introduction of taser
guns to police?  Taser guns are essentially big batteries with small
guns that shoot probes into the victim.  Electrical current paralyzes
the victim (usually without harming him/her).  All you need to do is
find a way to do this without the wires in a limited field.
Difficult, certainly, but not as difficult as designing a virus from
scratch!

jim frost
madd@bucsb.bu.edu