Spiders do it, and salamanders, too...

[metalikhan]

What specifically do they do?

Regenerate body parts. Salamanders can regrow tails (limbs, too, I think). Spiders can regenerate legs as well as internal organs given enough time and care.

Then, I came across a fairly recent veterinary journal with an article about a young dog that had most of its lower jaw removed due to bone cancer. With a breakthrough surgery involving metal framework and cutting edge stemcell techniques, the dog regrew bone, connective tissue, complex parts of the mouth -- everything needed for the remainder of its life.

For the purposes of a story, what might be the implications and complications if this were a human? Say, an amputee who's already been cybernetically repaired (thinking in terms of the 6 million dollar man or bionic woman).

And, yeah, I'm trying to thrash my way through a story like this. Hitting the proverbial brick wall, not only in research but also in working out the character's emotional as well as physical processes as he regrows what he's lost.

So, any suggestions about resources I might check out? Thoughts on this kind of character arc?

[Bethany J.]

Interestingly, one of my science-fiction WIPs actually has a character with a bionic limb, and in the second book some medical advances are being made with cell regeneration, and I have a scene where she talks about how she could regenerate her lost limb someday if the technology gets more sophisticated. Neat stuff!

The complicated part about writing science-fiction is that real science is always catching up to us...grrrr....

[metalikhan]

Mar 27, 2014 12:55:46 GMT -5 Bethany J. said:

Interestingly, one of my science-fiction WIPs actually has a character with a bionic limb, and in the second book some medical advances are being made with cell regeneration, and I have a scene where she talks about how she could regenerate her lost limb someday if the technology gets more sophisticated. Neat stuff!

The complicated part about writing science-fiction is that real science is always catching up to us...grrrr....

LOL A huge part of SF is extrapolating from current sciences. When the gap narrows, we can feel terribly smug that we thought of it 20/10/2 years before it becomes reality.

Curious, though. Does the bionic limb of your character serve functions other than for the character's benefit?

The prosthetic enhancements for my characters have a separate purpose -- the characters' amputations were deliberate modifications (even though many felt the procedure was an abomination). Restoring/regrowing the limbs impacts more than the individuals.

[metalikhan]

**snicker**

Smart aleck hubby comments from another room:
Just make sure the character's insurance covers the cost.

[shieldbearer]

"Deliberate modifications" you say? Sounds like your character feels the need to constantly improve. Is the character athletic, or a thrill seeker? An over achiever seeking the ultimate trophy? If so, how far in the future are we talking? Currently we're in the early days of people wanting to compete in major competitions who have modifications such as artificial limbs. Would a grown limb, perhaps one that's been genetically modified, be considered a banned substance? Remember, cyclists can get in trouble just for using their own blood. These are all thought ideas to help you along.

[metalikhan]

Mar 30, 2014 15:54:28 GMT -5 shieldbearer said:

"Deliberate modifications" you say? Sounds like your character feels the need to constantly improve. Is the character athletic, or a thrill seeker? An over achiever seeking the ultimate trophy? If so, how far in the future are we talking? Currently we're in the early days of people wanting to compete in major competitions who have modifications such as artificial limbs. Would a grown limb, perhaps one that's been genetically modified, be considered a banned substance? Remember, cyclists can get in trouble just for using their own blood. These are all thought ideas to help you along.

Not like that, shieldbearer, although your concept sounds like a really cool one to explore.

The deliberate modifications are made to give certain humanoid characters direct, analog contact with space ships for control and monitoring purposes. (Because of the kind of routes they take through space, digital waves are subject to interference.) The characters have few rights -- why should they? they aren't human, after all -- but agree to the procedure in order to give their own kind a chance at a new beginning, a new life elsewhere. Many of the humanoids (as well as a good number of humans) feel it's an abomination, but there are no easy alternatives.

Nevertheless, those humanoids who've agreed to the procedure (specifically, replacing hands and lower legs with computerized contact prosthetics) yearn for what they've lost, what they've sacrificed. But the kicker: if they do, indeed, figure out a way to regrow the lost extremities, they lose the ability to control the ships.

Bit of a dilemma, eh?

[Bethany J.]

Interesting dilemma!

No, my character's bionic limb doesn't do much else aside from replacing her former natural limb. At one time she could shoot lasers with it and it had a built-in fire extinguisher, but by this draft that all seemed a little silly so it's more simple now. She can store digital data in it, and now that I think about it it would be cool if she could also access that data using a hologram.

[metalikhan]

Mar 31, 2014 15:01:09 GMT -5 Bethany J. said:

Interesting dilemma!

No, my character's bionic limb doesn't do much else aside from replacing her former natural limb. At one time she could shoot lasers with it and it had a built-in fire extinguisher, but by this draft that all seemed a little silly so it's more simple now. She can store digital data in it, and now that I think about it it would be cool if she could also access that data using a hologram.

Well, the laser aspect could prove pretty useful. Possibly life-saving in ways other than defense if she can control the strength of the laser, such as cauterizing wounds.
But the data and hologram applications sound pretty intriguing on their own.

[shieldbearer]

To your story, metalikhan, sounds like an awesome concept. I wonder: how does family life work in such a modified existence? Do you take "normals" from the general population and modify them, or do you cultivate a subgroup of the population (breeding servants, as it were)?

[metalikhan]

They are "normals" willing to undergo the selection screening and are the ones who undergo modifications and rigorous training. The humans call them elves, due to their pointed ears and longevity.

Family life -- because they have no rights, little effort was made to keep families together in the initial decades/centuries. This was later revised because, essentially, their very small populations included in the evacuation/colony ships are hostages (in cryostasis, as are the human evacuees). This was to ensure the modified navigators did what they're supposed to do. The first ship ended in a major catastrophe -- the lone navigator became delusional and his body started rejecting the modifications. Subsequent ships had a pair of navigators who were lifemates, but the females were sterilized so there'd be no births en route.

One story of this milieu ("If Thine Eye Offends Thee) will be in the upcoming anthology The Book of Sylvari from Port Yonder Press. Two other stories ("Fate's Door" and "Inspiratum") are in the submission process with different SF&F magazines. Others are in various stages of in-work (or completion ) -- looking toward a collection set aboard the colony ships.

Currently working on two of the stories. The one that prompted the question here is about a navigator who's lost a prosthetic in an aboard-ship accident.
LOL The other is a bit mystery and a bit romance, but I had to get a copy of Romance for Dummies at the library because (romantically clueless me) I wrote the story into a corner and can't get out.