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"I realized there was a heavy-duty change coming in biology, and I could write a really compelling novel about catastrophic evolution, punctuated equilibrium."
- Greg Bear
 |
| Bugged Money | ||
| American cash with embedded listening devices. |
It's fun to turn around the prevailing standards; imagine American money unusable outside the U.S. However, I note with some dismay that the familiar "greenback" is apparently going to change whether we like it or not.
| They always played poker with European cash. There was American cash around, flimsy plastic stuff, but most people wouldn't take American cash anymore. It was hard to take American cash seriously when it was no longer convertible outside U.S. borders. Besides, all the bigger bills were bugged. |
| Technovelgy from Distraction,
by Bruce Sterling. Published by Bantam Spectra in 1998 Additional resources -
|
Sure, money talks - to Uncle Sam. We'll sneak right up on all those bad guys who use large bills! They won't suspect a thing! This is exactly the sort of "behind the curve" thinking that we would expect from the big bureaucracies of our national government.
American currency is not yet bugged, but it does have a special plastic security thread implanted in the bill. Hold a $20 bill up to the light and look for the plastic strip embedded in the paper; it runs vertically up one side of the note. The words "USA TWENTY" and a small flag are visible along the thread from both sides of the note; the security thread glows green under ultraviolet light.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority prints bills with a metallic thread; it might be easier to detect a large quantity of these threads at a security station.
Take a look at a kind of money that cannot be counterfeited - truffle skins - genetically unique money from The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldrytch by Philip K. Dick.
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Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Distraction
More Ideas
and Technology by Bruce Sterling
Tech news articles related to Distraction
Tech news articles related to works by Bruce Sterling
Bugged Money-related
news articles:
- Shuffle Master Bets On RFID Poker Chips
- Canadian Coins Are Bugged Money
- RFID 'Powder' - World's Smallest RFID Tag
| Huawei Pura X Folding Phattie Phone |
| Positioned Cybertrucks With Free Starlinks WiFi In LA |
| Will Whales Be Our First Contact? |
| NYC/Dublin Portal Fails To Meet 'Guardian Of Forever' Standards |
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'...there's a narrow belt where the climate is moderate.'
'He wore spectacles with thick wavy lenses. The spectacles were intended to make him not only half blind, but to give him whanging headaches besides.'
'... with the Master-operator all you have to do is push one! A remarkable achievement!'
'Not like me. A T-1000, advanced prototype. A mimetic poly-alloy. Liquid metal.'
'It was riddled with holes that were the mouths of tunnels.'
'The massive feet working the pedals, arms and hands flashing and glinting...'
