Human Horn

Yup, that's right, this involves a little tinkering with the human genome (catches fishbone, 'thank you madam'), but bear with me.

Many of science fiction's cyberpunk ideas involve fusing computers (hardware) with the human body (wetware). While many of these devices are self contained (artificial joints, muscles, eyes), some require a connection to the outside world. This is often in the form of a jack plug located on the forearm, back of neck, base of spine, whatever. The trouble is, getting the skin to heal around the socket. Whatever happens, it's going to be prone to infection.

Now, we already generate material that grows through the skin without (too much) infection -- nails and hair. Many animals grow horns, which are more of less the same thing, but a little thicker and harder.

The human horn would be a set of genetically engineered cells that would be grafted onto bone and would grow through the skin forming a small horn. For cyberpunk requirements this horn, once decently sized would be filed down and have the connections put into its surface, making the connection between interior and exterior electronics safer. Every couple of years, the sockets would be removed, the horn filed down, and the sockets replaced.

(can also be used for growing horns)

[Jan 29 2003: Deleted some off topic rambling (including my own)]

[Nov 4 2003] There is another, less frivolous, less futuristic, application for this virtual and maybe impossible technology: prosthetic limb attachments.

As I am still in possession of the same quantity of articulated limbs that I had when I was born, I haven't had much occasion to see the full spectrum of prosthetics currently available. From what I *have* seen, they generally attach to a cup which is, not to put too fine a point on it, shoved hard onto the end of the remaining stump.

The cup makes a firm, but not rigid point to which the prosthetic attaches. I imagine that there are problems with the cup shifting during exercise, along with bedsores from having a plastic device against the skin for extended periods.

Extending the bone through the skin by using a grafted section of human horn could solve both of these problems. It would add the some niggles of its own. Not least that the whole idea might be impossible.