Game in the Brain

[Gurps traveller/ultra-tech]Complexity and Computers in TL10

So ive being doing the numbers, looking for a dominant strategy given the game rules and how i know technology is applied today. But first…

Moores law assumes unlimited resources, no market correction, a proportionally expanding infrastructure base. Its an assumption of a trend, like putting your money in housing/internet/emerging markets will 'always be' the best place to increase ones assets. All trends have an ending, basically in any point in the next forseeable future, the GM can slow things down.

The current Anti-science movement is a GREAT reason, if not depressing, why technology cant move past a certain point. If only 1% of the world is producing science there is a great loss of diversity in the problem solvong process, wisdom of crowds- diversity increases the amount of perspectives. As for some reason, maybe asimov figured out the anti science movement is inevitable, like his psychohistory, that when science is spread to the masses, part of its practice is to question things…

Sorry for getting distracted. Anyway, ill talk about the computer, its todays equivalent, how it will be used, who will use it, and ideas for your game.

Your computer at work or home (benchmark)
TL8, Complexity 3, 1000-9,999 pms (processes per micro-second). In the US and you bought it 2011, and spent less than $500, probably 1500-2000pm. If your a MAC or windows 8 user your Graphics user interface, those windows that allow your uber powerful visual processor interface with the computer eats up about ~300pm (because of many debugging tracking software), your antivirus 150-200pm, your browser left in the background with a dozen tabs ~30pm, and skyrim eating up the rest at about ~800.

Computers
Tiny, $10, 0.04lbs
Complexity 5, about 100,000-999,999 passmarks
Todays equivalent
the processing power of a multinational company's data center. This is the equivalent of getting 100 of your computer today. In todays world to make all those computers one single mainframe computer would take $100,000+ of networking appliances (cisco huawei), UPS 20kva, encryption, security, airconditioning, specially designed racks, heat sinks, and about 9 network certificated associates, plus a professional level, 10s of thousands in security updates, upgrades, and redundancies. The servers would make around $18m annualy assuming 60% market utilization.

You have all that can fit in your wrist watch, jewelry, eyeware, inside your skull. If people figure out cerebral signal mapping by perfecting an algorithm for it, then almost half of all that computing power will be used in translating all your thoughts to coded actions or script as quickly as you have thought of it. The other half may be projecting it back to meaningful signals into your visual, auditory, smell, and touch centers.

Every additional tiny computer working with the most intuitive interfaces or mental interface, can have a large array of programs. If you work with computers alot then immagine all the programs youve learned doing your every whim almost at will. You have one other computer or your 'familiar' learning and cataloging all your adjustments and making adjustments as quickly as having sensed there was something wrong.

These computers allow us to pay attention to things we could not afford to, taking care of our bodies in a way. Basically it allows us to measure every action, calorie, and energy level, and remind us in the way we like of what our better selves would want us to do; if need be instantly gratify us.

Of course now that thoughts are translated to data people can read and capture, security and appliances have evolved to protect, back up, encrypt and self destruct all such. So as busy as you are building up tools and databases, you build up security systems.

A person would have as many redundancies hidden around him as we do trinkets, both clearly visible others intentionally hidden from the best detection system available to the public. It will be as though parts of you have been fractured into shards allowing you to reconstitute in you unrecordable thoughts.

In TL10, middle class earns about $50,000 a year. Even if people can live on $7200 and $12,800 in housing, people will be investing ~25% in savings (assuming asian and european trends, and US does the same), and ~25% in augmentation (or maintainance of augmentation) in the form of training, cyber ware, familiars/assistance, certification, and professional equipment (a real growth of about 1-2% per year since everyone, in their class, is doing it).

These tiny computers make up their wardrobe, particularly elements they are allowed to constantly wear. The actions that get us to think creatively: walking, meditation, exercise, socialization become the primary activity of the day. Although, structure is good for the brain and for people, these will still be structured in a way.

As early as culturally ideal, people start getting mental cyberware. As parents are protective of their childrens future, sometimes wrecklessly too early and unable to allow them to appreciate a world which might not intuitively understand them, or allow them to learn the harder lessons in life without being threatened of cyber profiling/mentally raped.

its really better IMO when there is an appreciation of all the dangers, and a certain degree of paranoia, the healthy degree of paranoia a datacenter has against social engineering attacks.

Small $100, 0.4lbs
Complexity 6 (IQ10)
This is 10x more powerful than one tiny computer, BUT your character will be having about a dozen on him and a few inside him all working in gestalt. Small computers are primarily used as AI assistance or familiars.

These are your companions, from child hood imaginary friends, pets, and limited AI emulations long dead loved ones/or your guardian ancestor (great grand dad of TL8 watching over us). They can be mind emulations of our idealized selfs or one of our own personalities we wish to have around more often.

They lend assistance in a small robot body, without occupying the space a medium sized body would. They can go with you anywhere, and if they need help, they are not too heavy. They can be in a life-like animal or fantastic form, or a rugged or rustic robot form.

Some people crave alot of familiars, others are satisfied with one, some for every different aspects of their daily life, some make do with seemingly inert object that speaks or projects images only just to them. Some may want a swarm as a familair, who knows?

Anybody whose wanted to be pampered would definitly have a familiar who can pamper them. Anyone who deals with handiwork will need such that can help them, perfectly suited to their needs.

On ships, these become very very important in psychological stability in very long voyages and very closed conditions, and all sorts of unforeseeable risks.

Medium computers
$1000, 4lbs, thats complexity 7(IQ12) or 10,000,000pm.

A companion with much more intelligence. In a medium sized body, you can fit +10, such to gestalt to a C8 (IQ14).

Onboard navigation systems for 3d travel with special sensory tracking and identification thats happening around it (which needs powerful inference, a massive database, a lot of phsyics calculation for precision use of resources)

Engineering robots for ships. They track and identify every bolt, nut and cubic milimeter of the ship. They map trends of wear and tear and failures, after tracking these they formulate hundreds of options per second, constantly updating with every new piece of information. Its AGILE process like it was done by… A super computer.

The command station robot does the same but in a way. Its all about tracking, trending, AGILE laying out of all the options and assumptions for the officers, but in terms of navigation, managing the ships data systems, registry informtion, and coordination with other ships.

In traveller you need one medium robot for the command section and engineering, with one redundancy for both, plus one for every additional 100dtons of engineering. Since ships operate constantly, you will have 2 people on duty at any time (5 full time equivalen in command station, 5 in the rest of the ship), with a robot companion to help them. Some robots might have a tiny to small computer to give it personalty.

To be continued

Sorry for the crappy writing, did it all on the ipad with all thumns.

Sent from my iPad