Sci-fi often overtakes reality. In my books, many of my worst predictions about the future are already coming true – like chips in people. A chip to use a photocopier could become much worse.
I have written before about my fears that if I don’t publish my novels soon, they will come true.
This was in danger of happening to my satirical speculative thriller Eternal Life.
Sci-fi overtakes reality: chipped at birth
When I wrote Eternal Life, I imagined that before long, every human would be chipped at birth. I imagined that such chips would be linked to your DNA to prevent transplants. Those chips would communicate with a central database a thousand times a second to confirm your location and what you were up to. They would also check the chip was still inside your body, by checking your DNA.
Chipped office workers
Now I find that similar chips – minus the DNA, so far – are being used to allow staff in Sweden to use the photocopier: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-31042477. No more painful than an injection, reports the BBC’s Rory Cellan-Jones.
Better get ready, guys. They started with cats and dogs. Indeed, I have just read a story about the BBC about a new plan to ensure every cat in the United Kingdom is chipped by 2022.
Soon, they’ll be coming for you.
