Post-Traumatic Tech Disorder

It might need to wait for a little bit. I’m trying to finish up revisions for a screenplay to send off to the Nicholl Fellowship by their May 1st deadline, and I’m working on my next batch of pages for Task Force 1 (and other assorted writing/scripting pieces). My series on the science (at least, the scientific research) behind Task Force 1 will continue as soon as humanly possible.

Technology already exists for fairly efficient artificial joints (which continually improves over the years), so we’ll skip right over that (but if you really want to read up on the mechanics of artificial joins, try this University of Michigan article or pop into a nearby college library and ask if they have a copy of the Journal of Biomechanics).

On to the skeleton… first off, our artificial skeleton will need a material that can match the minimum the durability requirements of the strongest bone… the femur. A human femur can generally withstand 15,000+ pounds per square inch (psi) of pressure, and in some cases, it rates over 20,000 psi. It also needs to be lightweight (and for the purposes of our story, plastic). Not too much of a problem there… current carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastics can easily meet those those requirements. I started doing a little digging to find information comparing the weight and strength of bone to that of carbon fiber reinforced plastics, when I stumbled across an interesting article discussing a polymer combined with calcium phosphate particles to create a nanocomposite, which could be used to repair bone. Well if they could repair real bone with that type of composite, a carbon fiber based composite should easily be able to carry the load of a body (especially with a few decades to improve the processes and utilization of natural bone’s efficient design).

And just like that, we have a skeleton for our full-conversion ‘borg. If you want to read more on the subject, you can check out the Wikipedia article on carbon fiber reinforced plastic or the machinedesign.com articles on fibers and thermoplastic composites. Next, we’ll look into one of the more important (and thus, more complicated) parts of the design… the muscles.

Bone-tag: comics cyborg skeleton biomechanics carbon fiber thermoplastics cyberpunk android science fiction sci-fi

As mentioned in the press release (below), Task Force 1 has a soldier who was “transplanted into a prototype android body made of an indestructible alloy. It makes him stronger and possibly immortal, but it also makes him a living action figure who craves the sensual world but can no longer experience it.”

For the hardcore science fiction readers out there, you could actually think of the character as less of an android and more of a “full body cybernetic conversion” (often referred to as a “full-conversion ‘borg”). Or the term I was always fond of back in my RPGing days, “Spam-in-a-Can”. For those not as familiar with the term, think of a simple cyborg (a “cybernetic organism” or a being composed of organic and machine parts) except that the only organic part left is the brain (and possibly the spine as well).

In essence, we have a bionic man like good ol’ Col. Steve Austin (from the Six Million Dollar Man), but they had to replace all of his body parts except the brain. Without all those original body parts taking care of various voluntary and involuntary actions within the body, the mechanical/artificial body needs to be able to handle that as well. Heck, there are a lot of things we’ll need to be able to do with an artificial body, so when I started doing my research, I tried to look at current research/discoveries and see what kind of cyborg body could be developed a generation or two in the future.

I first developed a list of the what I thought were the more critical components for getting our artificial body up-and-running…

• Skeletal and joint structure.
• Musculature and movement.
• Brain-body interface.
• Power supply.
• Life support systems for organic components.
• Receiving sensory input.

Then we had some additional elements added in for our artificial body based on Jim’s original character concept…

• Made of plastic.
• Doesn’t need to eat or breathe.
• Longevity.
• Some other factors that are [classified] because they will probably be used as part of a future storyline.

With my list of targets in hand, I then let loose the dogs of research… which we’ll start on tomorow.

Tagoratory: comics cyborg cyberpunk android science fiction sci-fi

Created by Jim Valentino and written by yours truly. It hits stores in July (and is available for pre-order in the upcoming Diamond Previews guide). Please, spread the word.

Here are some preview pages from Task Force 1 #1 (including cover).

And here’s the press release…

BERKELEY, CA — This Summer, Image Comics takes you to the next theater in the war on terror — a near future where soldiers become the weapons of mass destruction. ShadowHawk creator Jim Valentino brings you TASK FORCE 1!

A generation after 9/11, the world is paralyzed by terrorist sects of every persuasion. In this bitterly divided, terror-struck United States, General Abigail Rhodes takes on the thankless job of heading up the Department of Homeland Security. She could only watch her country get its nose bloodied by these threats for so long before she decided to put a stop to the reign of terrorists once and for all. General Rhodes initiates “Operation: Damocles,” a top-secret project too risky for any of her predecessors to try. Now, Rhodes commands a covert unit of super soldiers, codenamed TASK FORCE 1, and she intends to take the terror to the terrorists.

Written by talented newcomer and 8-year military veteran Jeffery Stevenson with art by former ShadowHawk penciller Carlos Rodriguez, TF1 introduces a joint service unit of special operations soldiers who are enhanced as government weapons. Each of them is infused with deadly abilities for combating terror, but plagued by a fact that the government neglected to tell them: if the terrorists don’t kill them, their new bodies will.

“TF1, for me, is what would happen if the Avengers met Delta Force. I wanted each soldier to be a three-dimensional character with superhuman abilities, but with the conscience and tactical know-how of a frontline combat soldier,” says Valentino.

Stevenson added, “Sure, this story will be a science fiction thrill ride with action and suspense, but Jim also wanted to explore the already stressful life of military soldiers amped up with experimental (aka “buggy”) hardware wired into their bodies and only taking on covert missions where they’ll never (ever) get the hero’s welcome.”

The TASK FORCE 1 roster includes the team leader, Marine Captain Kieran Roberts (callsign: MASS). He can increase his molecular density, giving him great size, strength, and near invulnerability, but the density of his internal organs increases at a faster rate than his strength threatening to kill him from heart and lung problems if he pushes too far. Second in command is Air Force 1st Lieutenant Leslie South (callsign: ALPHA) who has a device wired into her skull giving her heightened intelligence and allowing her to remotely access and manipulate the short term memory of others. Unfortunately, the strain of utilizing the hardware causes her brain to swell giving her progressive migraines that could eventually lead to a brain aneurism. After being crippled from a chemical attack, Marine Gunnery Sergeant Jon Nguyen (callsign: KLONE) volunteered to have his brain and spinal cord transplanted into a prototype android body made of a nearly indestructible material. It makes him stronger and possibly immortal, but problems with the body’s sensory input devices leaves this living action figure craving the sensual world he can no longer fully experience. Army Staff Sergeant and EOD specialist Njanu Saunders (callsign: BLAST) wears huge gauntlets capable of creating blasts that can hyper-accelerate matter with explosive results, but they’ve fused themselves to his hands, making this devout family man a hostage in a world where he can’t touch anyone or anything without destroying it. Sergeant Danielle “Danni” Rothmann (callsign: RUSH) can run at subsonic speeds and wire her acceleration technology into her rifles and guns to give her increased range, but the same technology in her armored suit that reduces the stress on her body at high speeds also caused problems trapping her in order to hold her molecular structure together — if she takes off the armored suit, she dies.

Valentino adds, “These are career soldiers, prepared to die if need be to protect our country. With the abilities they’ve gotten from Operation: Damocles, the test is whether they are willing to live so they can do their patriotic duty.”

TASK FORCE 1 will be available for preordering from the May PREVIEWS guide and the first issue of this full-color ongoing series is set to hit stores in July 2006. Preorders can be made through shops listed in the Comic Shop Locator Service (1-888-COMIC BOOK).

Image Comics is a comics and graphic novels publisher formed in 1992 by a collective of best-selling artists. Since that time, Image has gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States. There are currently four partners in Image Comics (Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri and Jim Valentino), and Image is currently divided into four major houses (Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline and Image Central). Image comics and graphic novels cover nearly every genre, sub-genre and style imaginable, offering science fiction, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. Visit www.imagecomics.com for more information. Image Comics – Putting the NEW back in to New Comic Book Day!(tm)

Tag-at-arms: comics military science fiction Army Marines Air Force Navy defense sci-fi

Jelly beans, that is. Researchers are taking a look at how different supplements designed to help replenish glucose levels in the body actually affect workout performance… including jelly beans. I foresee crazy controversies…

“I’m sorry, but you’ve been disqualified from competing in this Olympic event.”
“Why am I being disqualified?”
“In the earlier heats, we caught you popping… jelly beans.”

But they’ll never catch me dropping a few beans to keep up. Never! ‘Cause I’d rather get my glucose fix through gummy bears. ^_^

DefenseTech points out the urban combat skateboard. All they need now is to slap some rockets and a retractable blade onto it, and they’ll be ready for superhero-style urban combat. ^_^

Scientists develop telepathic typewriter, and I’m not sure what to make of it. On one hand, it would be damn cool to type with my brain. On the other hand, I’m not really sure people are ready to actually read what’s really on my mind. Heck, I don’t even want to know what I’m actually thinking half the time. ^_^

Okay, things are finally settling down from a whirlwind beginning to the year. It’s a good beginning, but it’s been hectic. The new day job is going well… I’m really enjoying it (getting to play around with a lot of different technologies that I just didn’t have access to in my last job). It’s also nice that I was sent to work on a project in DC and Baltimore while the cherry blossoms were in bloom (it’s a pretty sight to see).

Travel is a bit of a two-edged sword though. I’ve been catching up on movies and TV shows (via travel packs of DVDs), and now that I’m getting a handle on all the travel and requirements of the job, I’m starting to get a little extra spare time for writing. On the flip side, I miss the family when I’m out (and they miss me) but having the entire weekend with them really makes a difference. And it gets lonely on the road, but I’m finding some of the characters I write make for “interesting” company. ^_^

Now, on to other stuff…

• Scryptic Studios (a website I co-founded with a few other writers) made the Writer’s Digest list of 101 Best Websites for Writers. It was a little odd flipping through my copy of Writer’s Digest and seeing Scryptic listed there. It was also a little odd finding out about this just after I made the decision to get my “The Art of Words” column rolling again (since I have a little extra spare time now).

• Also, some of you out there know this already, but for those that don’t, I’ve been doing the writing chores on a new comic created and co-plotted my Jim Valentino. A comic called, “Task Force 1” being published through Jim’s Shadowline imprint at Image Comics. The press release on it should start circulating next week, and it’ll be listed in the next Previews guide (at the end of this month for a July ship date). I’ll provide more details and sneak peeks when I can… and for those in the Austin, TX area, I’ll be doing some signings around here.

• For those asking about getting more of Steampunk Faeries, here’s the plan… Seth and I discussed it, and we felt the response from the one-shot was good enough that we want to finish up the entire first story arc as a full-color trade paperback. We just want to make sure that when the rest of it comes out, everyone’s guaranteed to get the complete story (and nobody has to worry about any current storyline possibly not getting finished if we get busy with other projects).

• I’ve been slowing picking away at mine and Seth’s updated website. It’s still in progress, but if you’d like to take a peek, you can do so here. As soon as I finish recoding all the different pieces, we might see some momentary downtime when I switch the site over to the new code. Just a little head’s up for ya.

Well, I’m at a new day job now and getting past the spinup period… so it’s time to get blogging again. The new job requires a lot of travel, and since I spend a decent chunk of time just hanging around airports each week, I figured I’d test out some apps for blogging from my Treo (which is what I’m posting from now).

Travel… is actually a lot of fun. I get to meet a lot of people (I get a lot more interaction with others in this job), and I get to visit exotic locales like Cleveland (aside from the weather, it was nicer than expected) and… Omaha (it was flat, dusty and the speed limits felt really slow to me). I also made it to the very scenic Colorado Springs, and the view of the mountains was invigorating and inspiring (and surprisingly, the 24-hour drive-thru taco shack wasn’t that bad).

Look for more chronicles from various parts of the country (working on adding some pictures to posts in the future), and if anyone has any recommendations for good comic shops and places to eat in their areas, pop on over to the contact page and let know.

Next week… Atlanta.

… and there’s a reason for it. Actually, there are about four reasons, but I can’t reveal any of those just yet. Maybe soon, but for now, I’ll do my best to sneak in some comments here on the blog. Let’s start with New Year’s.

Yep, the end of the year is right around the corner, and I always do a quick evaluation in my personal journal of what I’ve accomplished over the year. It’s always weird because I don’t ever feel like I’m getting much done, but when I sit down to do a tally, it always surprises me (especially considering I usually only have an hour a day for most of this)…

Comic pages written: 296
Prose/article pages written: 168
Screenplay pages written: 172
Journal entries written: 517
Blog entries written: 262
Pages lettered: 160

Not too shabby for a year’s part-time work/fun. And I have a feeling I’m gonna surpass all those marks next year.

Speaking of New Year’s, I hope everyone’s ready to adjust their clocks for this year’s leap second. ^_^ And if anyone’s interested in a breakdown of 2005 notable scientific news items, New Scientist is running a series of articles recapping the year in various scientific areas (environment, technology, biology/medicine, etc). It’s an interesting little look back at what’s been happening this year… from cell phone viruses to mystery mammals in Borneo. Definitely an “interesting” year for watching scientific headlines.

And for those interested, the listing for mine and Seth’s Steampunk Faeries book finally went up over at comiXpress. Response to the book was fairly good, so we’ve already started working on the next chapter. Seth’s working on the design for some really crazy monster concepts I came up with (and I know he’s having fun with them) while I’m picking away at the script in my spare-spare time. We’re debating on whether to do colors on this next one (at the least, we’ll get some nice grayscales to help with the darker atmosphere of the book).

Okay, that’s all the rambling I can spare for now. If I don’t get a chance to post before the 1st, I hope everyone has a great New Year!