Not such a distant future.
And ubiquitous computing is closer at hand than ever before. Because today it will be decided whether humans could become integrated with machines on a completely new level. If we only manage to silence all concerns about the ethical nature of this step, tomorrow the humanity may become blessed with a brand new sense.
Initial experiments in establishing a direct connection between the vestibulocochlear nerve and a radio receiver proved the link might work better than anticipated. Although no functional hack into human’s neural system has yet been made, a viable example was provided on a chimpanzee. Tesla, the first chimp to receive an integrated radio-neural implant, was also the first to sense the electromagnetic field and radio transmissions.
Because everything about the direct radio-neural implants is still very new, people are filled with anxiety. Implanting first mechanical devices into human body raised similar concernes in the 20th Century. Then came the third stage of human-machine integration in the Murphy scale—electronic devices became linked to human senses and through them indirectly to the brain. This had been achieved not long ago and already it has made all external communication devices obsolete. Implanting a transciever alongside a set of speakers inside the middle ear and a microphone next to vocal cords enabled us to even more directly and effortlessly explore the wireless infosphere. Some have decided to even seal their ears off and rely exclusively on electroacoustic input...
Today however, we face a great opportunity to extend the set of human senses. Some say it will be telepathy and to some extent thay are right. It is yet another ethical dillema that humankind faces in consequence to our technological development.
And this is when my story begins...
