Advanced Medical Technology in the 57th Century

[The Hinterworlds Rambler]

My Lords,

In your/our/the/ Traveller Universe, is there a Cure for Cancer? Is it possible to do a Brain Transplant? What about nerve tissue Regeneration?

hmm?

 

[Father Fletch]

Yes, usually by TL 13-14 for most of that. Brain Transplants at TL 15 usually. IIRC, that is canon from the JTAS (The issue # escapes me at this time)

 

[TheDS]

IIRC, you could check out the tech tree presented in the Referee's Companion (a Megatraveller product) for a better idea of what is possible in each area of tech at each level.

 

[mike wightman]

Or check out T20. There is a nice section on medical care that covers all sorts of high tech procedures, a few paragraphs are written about: TL14 advanced genetic engineering; growth quickening TL10-15; limb regeneration TL 9-15; TL11 nerve refusion; TL13 reanimation; TL12 RNA memory implants.
Ther are also an exellent series of articles in DGPs' Travellers Digest issues 11-14 on medical technology and replacement body parts.

 

[The Hinterworlds Rambler]

Right, but no mention of Cancer Cure or Brain Transplant?

 

[mike wightman]

OK, I'll go and have a quick read.......
Travellers Digest 11 lists a cancer cure as being a TL10 development of gene therapy and engineered fighter cells which produce antibodies tailored to kill the cancer cells.
In the DGP Grand Census TL charts and the MT TL charts in the Referee's Companion the high tech medical procedures are listed as:

TL16 brain transplants and crude memory transfer
TL17 selective memory erasure and intelligent antibodies
TL18 partial memory transfer
TL19 non-cryogenic suspension and advanced bioengineering
TL20 total memory transfer
TL21 total rejuvination

Hope this helps.

 

[The Hinterworlds Rambler]

Excellent, Lord Sigg, many thanks!

 

[Prometheus]

That raises some interesting speculation. Also it raises issues that we face today. When is cloning avaliable? Genetic Engineering? What would the impact be of a world dominated by a regime steeped and based in Eugenics? Movies that inspire this question are Blade Runner and Gattaca.
Spiff

 

[Zutroi]

Canon actually allowed for a form of reincarnation:

Step 1: Clone some of your dead buddy into a real body. Heck, you might as well optimize the growing body to produce physical stats of FFF

Step 2: 'Psuedoreality' programs that can simulate individual people well enough to pass the Turing test are available. Write one about your buddy. Heck, you might as well optimize the program to produce mental stats of FF. (hmmm, deja vu!)

Step 3: For a mere 1MCr, you can get a neural interface that lets you think to a computer, which dumps its output directly into your conciousness. Buy a system and put it into the clone. Heck, you might as well load the program to to max out all your skills, which you can switch around as needed.

Step 4: Watch the GM kill off the ueber-creation that is now your buddy all over again.

 

[Gaming Glen]

Originally posted by Zutroi:
Canon actually allowed for a form of reincarnation:

Step 1: Clone some of your dead buddy into a real body. Heck, you might as well optimize the growing body to produce physical stats of FFF

Step 2: 'Psuedoreality' programs that can simulate individual people well enough to pass the Turing test are available. Write one about your buddy. Heck, you might as well optimize the program to produce mental stats of FF. (hmmm, deja vu!)

Step 3: For a mere 1MCr, you can get a neural interface that lets you think to a computer, which dumps its output directly into your conciousness. Buy a system and put it into the clone. Heck, you might as well load the program to to max out all your skills, which you can switch around as needed.

Step 4: Watch the GM kill off the ueber-creation that is now your buddy all over again.

I, er, your GM, don't have to. Your new buddy is so fantastic that he realizes he's too good for the likes of you and heads off to find others like him.

Now, we'd have something if we were making the perfect mate (minus the intelligence to figure out the above)...


Glen

 

[Jame]

[QUOTE/] [QB/]

Now, we'd have something if we were making the perfect mate (minus the intelligence to figure out the above)...


Glen [/QB][/QUOTE]

Why, I don't see what that has to do with advanced medical technology, Glen!

Seriously, what about wonder medicines? For example, we may figure out "hantivirals" (go read James Clavell's _King Rat_).

 

[MrMorden]

Originally posted by Gaming Glen:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Zutroi:
Canon actually allowed for a form of reincarnation:

Step 1: Clone some of your dead buddy into a real body. Heck, you might as well optimize the growing body to produce physical stats of FFF

Step 2: 'Psuedoreality' programs that can simulate individual people well enough to pass the Turing test are available. Write one about your buddy. Heck, you might as well optimize the program to produce mental stats of FF. (hmmm, deja vu!)

Step 3: For a mere 1MCr, you can get a neural interface that lets you think to a computer, which dumps its output directly into your conciousness. Buy a system and put it into the clone. Heck, you might as well load the program to to max out all your skills, which you can switch around as needed.

Step 4: Watch the GM kill off the ueber-creation that is now your buddy all over again.

I, er, your GM, don't have to. Your new buddy is so fantastic that he realizes he's too good for the likes of you and heads off to find others like him.

Now, we'd have something if we were making the perfect mate (minus the intelligence to figure out the above)...


Glen </font>[/QUOTE]Damn Glen, you're a softie!

IMTU, the new clone has trouble coming to grips with the fact he's not the original, and starts to go a little over the edge. He begins the resent the fact that he's really just a construct of his buddy's imagination of what he *should* be like. A couple of months out he tries to murder the buddy and all companions, before taking his own life (again).

THAT'S how you deal with players that make FFFFFF NPCs...you make them fight 'em!

 

[Hecateus]

...has someone been watching George Clony's version of Solaris?

 

[MrMorden]

Actually I haven't seen it, figuring it was trash. Maybe I should look at it...

 

[Hal]

If you guys want to have fun - get a hold of a used copy of GURPS BIOTECH from ebay or buy a copy outright. In it are a few interesting ideas of what can be done. Of course it does beg the question of psionics. If the genetic mapping of a human DNA sequence has been done - you'd think that by the time of the 57th century, mankind might have learned how to make longevity a natural inclusion for many humanoids, psionics in those whom the Emperor wants to have it, etc...

Then again, BIOTECH was written what, nearly 20+ years after Traveller was first envisioned?

Hal

 

[clementk]

Originally posted by Hal:
If you guys want to have fun - get a hold of a used copy of GURPS BIOTECH from ebay or buy a copy outright. <snip>
Then again, BIOTECH was written what, nearly 20+ years after Traveller was first envisioned?

And by extension books from the Transhuman Space series written in large part by the same author. IIRC the setting developed from one of the campaign ideas in Gurps Bio-Tech.

Also pages like Anders' Transhuman page.

Many "Ideas for us who are not content with merely being humans" are advanced medical techniques.

Casey