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Eclipse
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Technology
« Thread Started on May 30, 2006, 4:10pm »

It is the year 2021, and over the years technology has made several small leaps. The world has not changed too much though.

General Technology

Outwardly, not much has changed. Houses still look the same as they do today, and we are still partially dependent on oil. I say partially because only older cars and heating systems use gasoline nowadays. The streets are lined with solar power boards, and most houses have them on their roof. Wind power is used as well. For vehicles, hydrogen fuel cells are the primary source of energy.

Automobiles:
While older vehicles still run mostly on fuel and a little electric power (like today's hybrids), most cars now are run on hydrogen gas. This pressurized gas is held in large tanks beneath the car. The cars get about 80 highway miles per gallon of hydrogen, which adds up to a total of around 1600 travelling miles before refueling is necessary. Motorcycles can't travel as far because of the necessarily smaller tanks, but get better MPG. They get about 90 highway miles per gallon, and can go for about 900 miles before needing a refill.
The only downside to using this power is that if the tanks are ever punctured, the hydrogen will explode with more than twice the force of a gasoline explosion. The tanks could withstand a bullet at point blank range, and are all tested in crash tests to make sure that they are safe. Only a truly horrible accident could make one of these tanks blow up.
As an added bonus, these new cars often (about half of them) look like a sleeker version of today's sportscars, only you'll never find one that rides low to the ground.
Some cars are run by electricity instead. These get about 600 highway miles before they need to be recharged, which takes about six hours with a basic battery. More advanced batteries are available, which take anywhere from three to five hours to recharge and can give 700 to 900 miles worth of use. These cars generally need a little more upkeep, but they are considerably cheaper.

Computers
On average, a house will have two or three computers. The first is a kind of pod. The user sits in a usually egg-shaped chair (like this) and pulls down a visor, almost like an upside-down windshield. On this visor is displayed the user's settings, account information, and background or set of tunes that they may have picked out. Keyboards are housed in a compartment to the side of the chair. Most of these computers also have a camera so that you can talk to your friends in a chat room rather than writing to them. Another, similar type of computer can be installed on a wall or even ceiling if so desired and operated similarly.

Another kind of computer works in an almost identical way, but is more portable. This is a small, flat screen about four inches square which comes with a keyboard that can be easily typed on with the thumbs. This doesn't have much memory, and so is not often used for anything beyond picture taking/storing, personal music, or as a GPS.

Laptops are the most popular kind of computers to use now. They have maintained basically the same shape, but are capable of just as much if not more than most household computers. Almost everyone has one of these lightweight devices.

In the Household: The insides of today's homes vary a bit more than they did in years previous. Now, the poorer folk generally have used appliances, for there are very few reliable, cheap appliances available on the market. The middle class is where the most variety is seen. Some houses have different versions and brands of basically what we have today. Some, however, are a bit more advanced. Showers with programmable temperatures (commanding the shower to either cool off or heat up after a certain time), roll-up television screens, microwaves and ovens that sense when things are done just the way you like it and will never burn your food... All these things and more may be found in the homes of the upper-middle class. For the upper class - the rich and/or famous - the technology is even more advanced, with most everything done for you if that is what is desired.

Shifter Control
With these new pets and servants, technology has been developed to prevent their attacking their owners or another human, and also to keep them from running away. Here is some of what is available on the market.

Pellet Tazers (PTs) and Pellet Tazer Pistols(PTPs):
These pellets (which resemble paintballs) are about the size of a small marble, and are normally made of a thin, rubbery layer of plastic or some other easily breakable, relatively nondamaging material - you will never find a metal one. These tiny projectiles are fired from a pistol designed for their use. They are fired forcefully, and can travel up to 300 yards if fired correctly. The tiny electric systems inside are surprisingly powerful, able to knock out a horse with a single shot. Despite this, the electric currents are nondamaging in the long run if not felt too often. Shoot someone too much though, and they might suffer permanent nerve damage. Lingering effects after a single exposure include slurred speech, blurred vision, and twitching, aching, or weak muscles. A notice on the packaging of the pellets warns against using them on a shifter with any kind of heart problem or with conductive metal in their system (such as a plate to cover a broken joint or something similar).

Trackers:
For owners who wish to keep particularly close tabs on their shifters. This is a tiny device, not bigger than the nail on your middle finger, which can be planted on a shifters clothing, collar, etc. There is also another version that can be surgically implanted beneath the skin, usually in a hard to reach area like the shoulderblade. This is tuned in to a transmitter, which is normally held in the owner's home. It shows where the shifter is at the moment, and can be combined with a GPS to show exactly where they are, street address and all.

Shock Collars:
These accessories don't always take the shape of a collar or necklace. They can be bracelets, anklets, even earrings too. These are generally attached to a small handheld device that the owner keeps on his or her person. When the collar is activated, it produces a shock that hurts and distracts the shifter. While it may not actually prevent a shifter from transforming, it can make him or her stop if it remains on, for the effect intensifies the longer it stays active. This can also be used for discipline.
There is a much more expensive object available that holds to generally the same principle, except that it is only used to stop a shifter from transforming. This time, instead of a handheld device and collar, it is a simple microchip, surgically implanted near the top of the spinal chord where it meets the brain. This chip monitors brainwaves, and when a certain kind of activity is detected - that is, the one that indicates that the shifter is trying to transform - the chip releases powerful hormones that make the shifter violently ill for about five minutes. It may not seem like very long, but when you feel so sick you are unable to stand, it seems like an eternity. The chemical within this chip does run out eventually, and must be replaced about every two years, depending on how often it is activated. The owner can turn this chip off if he or she so desires by adding another chemical to the blood (either via injection or injestion). It can be turned back on again the same way, but with a different chemical. Generally, it takes about two hours for the chip to deactivate if the chemical is injested, or about five minutes if injected.

~ Thanks to Mak for letting me get ideas from his site. ~

« Last Edit: Mar 2, 2007, 9:00pm by Eclipse »

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