From:	Justin Fang <justinf@****.CALTECH.EDU>
Subject:	SR prisons (was Re: It's not Cheese :()
Date:	Sat, 7 Mar 1998 10:13:49 -0800

Avenger wrote:
>Although the technology for such devices, whether they be collars,
>anklets or implants exists within Shadowrun. The counter technology to
>jam, decode and remove the implant also exists. It's a difficult
>situation when trying to justify to inventive players exactly what's
>happened and why.

Take it a step farther: behavioral modification cyberware. Install implants
in criminals that, for instance, suppress violent impulses. The extreme
version would turn a criminal into a "productive member of society", and
would also avoid the problem of it being removed illegally--the affected
person wouldn't *want* to have it removed.

I'd say the earlier versions of these things are under development and
testing in the SR world. Whether (and how well) they'd actually work is an
interesting question, and there's probably a plot or two in that. (Hmm...)

>Law Enforcement and maintaining security around prisoners would, in my
>opinion be a living nightmare for the Police and Prison guards - whether
>private or government. That's part of the reason I figure a space type
>penal colony, based either on the moon, Mars, or one of the moons around
>Saturn or Jupiter (depending on how far out SR have got into the system)
>as a viable alternative.

I think they're more likely to go the mind-controlling route; transporting
and feeding the prisoners in a space prison would be a pain. Another
possibility is the "virtual prison": hook the prisoners up to simsense feeds
and keep their meat bodies paralyzed. the simsense envrioment could be
designed to either "rehabilitate" them or offer them a "harmless
outlet" for
their "antisocial tendancies", depending.

Finally, the UCAS/CAS/etc. most likely use capital punishment a lot more
than the real-life USA.

--
Justin Fang (justinf@****.caltech.edu)
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