Disguise Kit

[Chuck Anumia]

At what tech level would it become possible to alter a persons appearance by stealing the target's DNA and using it to create a disguise?
Or
To genetically alter someone's identity?

 

[CosmicGamer]

At what tech level would it become possible to alter a persons appearance by stealing the target's DNA and using it to create a disguise?
Or
To genetically alter someone's identity?

To what degree? Just enough to fool some biometric device? Making an identical clone?

How about the philosophical issue that at some point these type of DNA and genetic changes are not disguises. You are altering the person and at what point are they no longer the person they once were?

Also, please specify which version you want feedback on as there are some TL differences between them.

 

[Quint]

At what tech level would it become possible to alter a persons appearance by stealing the target's DNA and using it to create a disguise?
Or
To genetically alter someone's identity?

I think it really depends upon if you want them to survive, plus how long you have. It seems like re-working someone's DNA permanently in such a way that it doesn't kill them would be a pretty sophisticated job.

Without a review, this seems to be a TL13+ sort of thing, maybe even a TL16+ - then again I have semi-regular TL16 and 17 IMTU which is "where the magic happens" so I might be biased in my answer.

I'm not certain that I'd link "DNA" to appearance quite so cleanly - that really does seem to be in the "magic tech" sort of computer modeling sort of thing.

D.

 

[CosmicGamer]

stealing the target's DNA and using it to create a disguise?

Initialy I thought you were talking about a more technological disguise as it spoofing a biometric security device. If you are talking about just appearance, like Quint says, this may not be as possible as you think as a lot of what someone looks like is not in their DNA.

People change their hair color and style, wear makeup, use colored contacts, gain lots of weight or lose weight and look different. Work out and look more muscular. Get tanned. Got their nose broke. Had poor diet when young and didn't grow up properly. Eat lots of sweets and have bad teeth. May have piercings or tattoos. Face lift, nose job or other plastic surgery. The list of non DNA factors keeps going.

 

[JimMarn]

Either Analog or Asimov's, back about the 1980s, had a short story called 'The Chamelion Corps'. If they needed to substitute someone, they found a person of similar build and height, gave them videos to watch, trained them on all the little oddities the person had like tugging at the ear when talking to a supervisor, etc. Seemed 'near future' to me.

 

[Chuck Anumia]

To what degree

I suppose there would be several levels of disguise in the kit then
1. Looks alone (similarities can be simulated without DNA)
2. Facial recognition (Perhaps enough to pass a facial recognition program)
3. Retina Scan (deeper cover requiring retina overlay or simple insert/contact lens)
4. Full body DNA replacement (cloning from an injection)

 

[Supplement Four]

I'd go with TL 16. I'm basing this on the technology for androids and robots. A true android is TL 16 in Traveller. Biological androids must be even higher (like replicants in Blade Runner).

Now, you're talking about taking someone's DNA and altering your own features with it.

If it were possible at a lower tech level, I'd surely make it so it takes surgery (to splice in the DNA) and a long time for the DNA to change a person's looks (old cells would have to die out and be replaced by the new cells that are directed by the new DNA).

Just my two credits.

 

[Limburger59]

Initialy I thought you were talking about a more technological disguise as it spoofing a biometric security device. If you are talking about just appearance, like Quint says, this may not be as possible as you think as a lot of what someone looks like is not in their DNA.

People change their hair color and style, wear makeup, use colored contacts, gain lots of weight or lose weight and look different. Work out and look more muscular. Get tanned. Got their nose broke. Had poor diet when young and didn't grow up properly. Eat lots of sweets and have bad teeth. May have piercings or tattoos. Face lift, nose job or other plastic surgery. The list of non DNA factors keeps going.

These same thoughts came to my mind. Unless there is a scanner that requires a drop of blood, or just a few flakes of skin, in order to open a door or access an account, DNA can't reverse or override environmental factors. The new DNA will change eye or hair color over time, but I can't see how it would change the retina pattern. Height and weight would be pre-determined by the character's original DNA, plus diet, environment (home world gravity, tainted atmosphere, high school sports) and by that nasty grav-sled accident when you were 10. I don't see how a DNA transfusion would add 10 cm to a grown man's height.

 

[Limburger59]

The Stainless Steel Rat series has excellent descriptions of the steps needed to disguise oneself, and/or pass oneself off as someone else.

 

[JimMarn]

Retinas can be altered by laser surgery. The person pretending to be someone else, upon being confrtonted by a retina scan, could mention they were subjected to laser damage on their eyes.

I've had retina laser surgery to correct some problems, the retina changes shape almost daily for years after the surgery. Doesn't stop me from seeing though.

Hmm... this would have 2 problems that I can come up with right away: 1) a doctor (opthamologist) looking at the retinas would be able to easily tell if the laser had actually damaged the retinas or not, 2) eye surgery done by lasers causes cataracts over time.

 

[Enoki]

DNA is also mutable to a degree. That is it could change over time and depending on species considerably. That could be problematic.
Then there are twins...

I'd say on the whole it would be an iffy way to go for disguise or for security.

 

[SpaceBadger]

There was a Joe Haldeman novel - actually collection of short stories with connectors added in between, IIRC. Title is eluding me, but hero was a Buddhist often referring to the Eightfold Path and regretting how his work made him violate his religion, if that helps any one recall it.

They had some sophisticated disguise thing that basically altered his body to match that of the subject, all the while he was being loaded up with memories somehow taken from the subject, so that he would actually BE the subject until someone spoke a series of code words that brought back his agent personality to do whatever job required doing.

Anybody else remember that one?


EDIT: Yay google. It was "All My Sins Remembered".



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