| The Science of Science Fiction Along with 3 other Silicon Valley power brokers, Elon Musk is developing a brain control interface system. (From the linked article:) "You might think Elon Musk already has his hands full as CEO of both Tesla, the electric car company, and SpaceX, the reusable rocket company. Yet in March he revealed a new firm, Neuralink, devoted to building high-bandwidth BCI systems that will be implanted in the brain. Musk has said that an ideal technology won’t require brain surgery, and he has floated the idea of components that could be injected into the bloodstream. While he hasn’t divulged further technical details, neuroscientists say he may be basing his plans on cutting-edge research involving tiny “neural dust” electrodes or mesh electrodes that unfurl in the brain." If you've read ITHAKA RISING, this will look quite familiar. The neural Jem obtains is less a single device than a targeted injection of an array of nanoemitters that augment the brain's own electrical impulses and broadcast them to a tiny implanted amplifier. And just like in the Halcyone Space books, Musk's company envisions this first unvieled as a medical device for individuals with disabilities, before it becomes widely available as a brain function augmentation device. Based on my experience working in health care and knowing neuroanatomy (as well as consulting with my interventional radiologist spouse), I describe the insertion process with Jem awake so he can give the doctor's vital feedback. * “Okay. You did great. We’re going to inject the first dose of emitters now. You’re going to feel a buzzing in your head. Most people describe it as a tickle. There are no pain endings in the brain itself, so giving you more pain meds won’t help. It will pass. Are you ready?” “What do you think?” “Injecting now.” A racing heat moved through his neck and into the middle of his head. It wasn’t painful. It was weird, like someone had painted his brain with light. Then a swarm of burrowing insects crawled through his head. “Get them out of me!” He fought against the head restraints, but he couldn’t move. A thousand tiny pincers bit their way into his brain. Fragmented images lit up in his mind. He was on Halcyone’s ruined bridge, wide-eyed as red emergency lights flashed their warning and klaxons drowned out the sound of his own thoughts. “It wasn’t my fault.” Jem voice played in his memory. My fault. My fault. My fault. Something tore the memory into shreds. A light flared in Jem’s field of vision and he was staring out the observation lounge viewport as their ship left Hadrian space and the planet dwindled in the distance. Behind him, Barre and his mother were arguing again. “I’m old enough,” his brother had pleaded. “Look. They only accept a handful of musicians a year. And they want me.” He tried to show her his micro. She tossed it aside. The pain in Barre’s eyes burned through Jem’s mind as a white hot ball of flame. It seared away the memory, leaving Jem panting, a faint warmth at the back of his head. “Okay. Okay. I’m okay.” He choked back a sob, afraid that if they knew what was happening, they would stop the procedure. (From ITHAKA RISING, Halcyone Space book 2) * This technology will likely progress faster than we believed possible. While there are technological and medical hurdles to implementation, I suspect the biggest problem brain/machine interfaces will cause is the difficulty in unplugging.
It's hard enough with smart phones. If the universe of information (and distraction) is a single thought away, how will we find silence and stillness?
I am no luddite by any stretch of the imagination. I tend toward the early adoption of technology side of things, but I do worry about what the ubiquitous nature of things like FB 'likes', and G+ comments do to our dopamine (the reward area of the brain) system. If the ability to get that 'hit' is now brain based, that can lead to some very troubling scenarios. Talk about life hacking. And that leads me to more plot bunnies. . . | 
