As discussed in the previous chapter, genetic altering is one way to help, fix, or enhance our bodies. But what about less organic methods?
In today’s day and age, prosthetics are very advanced. Often, they’re indistinguishable from real body parts to a casual observer. You may know someone who lost their hand in a horrible accident and got a robotic replacement, and you’d be none the wiser if you never touched their hand more than a casual handshake or inspected the seam between their real skin and their fake skin.
Like the rules for genetics, prosthetics are usually reserved for fixing something that’s broken. Maybe you were blind, and the doctors didn’t catch it before you were born to alter your genetics. You can just have your useless natural eyes removed and replaced with artificial eyes that work better than normal eyes.
And yes, prosthetics ubiquitously work better than natural limbs. But then the question is raised: Why do I have to wait to get in some accident to get my arm replaced with a stronger robot one? Why not just chop it off and replace it with one whenever I feel like it?
Of course, like all things in this vein of thinking, this practice is illegal within the UPMW. Intentionally removing a body part so it can be replaced will slap you with a heavy fine, but you will still be allowed to replace it, with the logic being that a dumb mistake shouldn’t disable you for life. Even though this fine scales with income, some rich people just accept the fine and do it anyway. Free money for the government!
Philosophers have generated much discussion on this topic. If we’re going to start chopping off body parts and replacing them with robot ones, why not just get to the point and put our brains inside robots? Hell, if someone wants to, put them inside a ship and let them replace a ship AI.
There are plenty of activists that posit that, at minimum, humans should be allowed to replace their eyes. Even if one already has perfect 20/20 vision, an advanced eye prosthetic can zoom, adjust focus, and even utilize night vision, thermal, and infrared. A bit much for the average person, sure, but the utility would be great.
Hypocritically, there have been many insider reports that UPMW gives its elite soldiers prosthetic replacements. Most commonly the previously mentioned eye prosthetics, but also limbs to enhance strength or speed. There’s been no solid proof of this and officials deny all allegations, but if someone were able to prove it it would make a much better case for the activists who want to modify their bodies legally.