"On Future Space Stations, Easier Without Legs?" Topic

I seem to recall a post-apocalyptic novel* where advanced humans return to Earth after thousands of years and make contact with one survivor in a small community in Australia.

Through genetic and other forms of modification, the advanced humans had radically changed their branch of the human family, in order to better function on permanent space stations and on multi-generation deep space travel.

QUESTIONS:

1) Has anyone ever thought of sculpting "modified" humans for gaming permanent populations on low gravity or zero gravity installations?

2) Aside from the occasional visible cybernetic implant, what would you expect their anatomy to be like?

Thoughts?

Thanks,

Dan
* I wish I could remember the title and author, so that I could read it again.

Or would you expect feet to be modified to become more useful:

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Dan

How about the top half being human and the bottom being octopoid, with a bunch of tentacles for holding onto things in zer-g (and possibly some sort of propulsion system like a squid)?

Without geneering, it would probably take longer to evolve into something radically different-looking than the entire history of civilization to date. With it – yeah, expect prehensile hand-feet, improved range of joint motion, overall body mass lowered as much as science would allow, little or no hair, and a slew of less-visible mods like more efficient lungs and digestion, modified sleep cycles, etc. Child-sized big-bald-headed (shrinking brains is hard) slender types seem likely.

If that sounds like the Gray alien stereotype to you, it's likely that our obsession with the UFO trope will someday encourage some genetic engineer to make humans into Grays just because he can. You can expect custom-built catgirls and stylish Gothpires while you're at it.

Lois McMaster Bujold, most famous for the Miles Vorkosigan series, wrote a book call Falling Free.

The book concerned a future Evil Corporation(TM)that bio-engineered humans (Quaddies) that had arms replacing their legs. They were designed for working in zero gravity.

When a cost-effective artificial gravity technology is developed the Quaddies become obsolete and the company discusses destroying them (to avoid legal and political ramifications).

The "normal" engineer that was hired to train them in construction work in space finds out and helps them escape.

While no other books were written about them are a mentioned in other Miles books.

Tim

Carique, you should read LEVIATHAN WAKES by James S.A. Corey. It's the first book of the Expanse Series. Much of its theme is centered on how humanity naturally adapted to the demands of life on permanent space stations, life on ships, and life in micro-gravities (there are drilled out colonies on the major moons of Jupiter), and on Mars.

I won't even touch the plot for fear of spoilers (it's a very rich, complex plot full of engaging characters and interesting settings – everything takes place in our solar system, btw – we don't have FTL), but much of its theme is centered on how humanity naturally adapted to the demands of life on permanent space stations, life on ships, and life in micro-gravities (there are drilled out colonies on the major moons of Jupiter), and on Mars.

Humans from Earth distrust Martians & Belters, whom the see as too tall and frail looking. Belters distrust Earthers and Martians, whom they see as squat and fat. Martians distrust everyone.

There are two books out thus far, LEVIATHAN WAKES and CALIBAN'S WAR. I highly recommend them. ABBADON'S GATE will be out later this year. Another two books have been contracted.

One of the authors (there are actually two) is an assistant to George R.R. Martin, and he seems to bring much of the stuff I like about Martin and little that I dislike into these books.

Best,

Shawn.

Tom,

So this is a possibility, you think?

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meninblack.wikia.com/wiki/Squid

Dan

Or, we could just spin the station.

Naw, that's too simple.

Nah. :)

Hey, these could be humans from the future simply visiting the Alps!

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Dan

They are already here.
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If your genetically engineering stuff then just add telekinesis. I remember a series about that. I think it was Anne Mcaffery. Pegasus was the name of it. Several books with the Pegasus theme.

Anyway. They used these telekinetic capable people to move things in space. They worked in a space dock loading and unloading ships. The one guy was paralyzed and used his mind to move his entire body. He could wonder around in zero-G without any trouble.

If your genetically engineering stuff then just add telekinesis.

Depends on how far out you want to get. Genetic engineering is real science, and it's not hard to see how its relatively crude current state could get to the point where major prenatal rewrites of human DNA are possible. Psionics like TK are much closer to pure fantasy wish fulfillment, about on par with antigrav or FTL from a real-world POV.

I think any kind of human future beyond this planet will require major genetic modification. The simple reality is that we are evolved to live in a very specific environment--Earth. We can't live and be healthy (for the long term) in environments with different gravities, air pressures, radiation, etc.

It makes more sense to modify ourselves to fit other environments than it does to attempt to modify those environments to fit us (terraforming would require a host of genetically altered plants and animals to accomplish so why not alter humans too).

Dougal Dixon addresses the idea in his book "Man after Man"

Problem with the 'modifying humans' approach is that you quite probably end up with the 'Quaddies' situation. Modified human produced by corporation or government is a thing not a person.

You can also look to C. J. Cherryh's 'Cyteen' – clones have owners and limited rights – not truly people.

Comment on current trends reserved for Fez.

Goragrad: "Modified human produced by corporation or government is a thing not a person."

Wait! So, if you wake up in a lab, either as a baby or an adult, with two limbs instead of four, or six limbs instead of four, does that mean you're no longer human?

Dan

Patrick,

That's a creepy concept there:

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Dan

This one is just too cute:

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Dan

Dan
* I wish I could remember the title and author, so that I could read it again.

It might have been Millennium and Millennium End by Ben Bova, the story is basically a space race to colonize the Moon, to cut to the chase the main character spends far to many years on a facility built on the Moon surface in Zero- G then has to return to earth for negotiations decades later as the moons 1st president only to discover that Earths gravity and atmosphere is now to heavy and needs to have a exo-skeleton and other equipment built to aid him in the alien atmosphere of Earth…..

Sounds like a cool story. Will have to check it out.

Thanks,

Dan

One clue …

The cover art for the novel I'm after is very similar to the one seen here on Vogt's "Children of Tomorrow":

Dan

The most extreme mod I could see for low-gee spacers would be semi-prehensile feet, like the arboreal monkeys. After all, magnetic shoes don't work very well when the structure you're trying to stick to isn't magnetic.

With handfeet and a shoe like the toeshoes or tabi of today, you can just grab hold and stay put.

Kinda like this:

The Transhuman Space RPG has several gene-mod parahumans that do this. The Tennin design comes with a modified foot that can be used as a hand, but is still primarily a foot. The Kumo is a modified Tennin where they just go ahead and have four arms, since the faction that uses the Tennin spends the vast majority of its time in microgravity anyway. The real limitation is aesthetics, not technology, in that setting.

Bruce Sterling's Shaper-Mechanist universe has both versions make brief appearances. It comes up in other books as well.

Moral, legal, and philosophical issues associated with transhumanism are explored in all these stories and settings, of course. The bottom line is that gross physical mods like that are the LEAST problematic.

Another thing to consider is that future humans with more extensive options for modifications to their forms are likely to use that possibility for what has always been humanity's favorite reason to change appearance-- pure aesthetics. I'd expect to see extravagant exaggerations of the "ideal" male and female forms, as well as things like crests, horns, etc. in place of hair, enlarged eyes, and so forth; also unusual skin colors and body art such as tattoos with kinetic/alterable components.

As far as purely "practical" alterations go, radically shorter or longer limbs both might be options, depending on the living space; eyes and nose/mouth/lungs modified for protective and adaptive purposes; skin with photovoltaic or photosynthetic abilities.