[HoE] hoe technology level

["Erik Kjerland (S&T Onsite)" <a-erikkj@microsoft.com>]

I was a little disappointed at the near lack of information on pre-holocaust
tech levels.  The gear and weapons list don't give you any idea what kind of
tech was available before the nukecaust.  Technology had advanced much
faster than our real history, from 1863 onward.  Hoe's 2081 technological
advancement should be nearly unrecognizable to us.  Think about it.  What
would a person from 1915 think if he got transported to 1998?  Now, what
would we think if we got transported to 2081?  And remember that deadlands
tech moved forward faster.

Examples:

Weapons: I'd expect laser, plasma, and ecto weapons to predominate in the
military (gun-grabbing liberals would probably outlaw thier use by civvies
;-p)
Communication: Wristphones would be common.  Heck, you could probably get
earring phones, or implanted satellite uplinks.  Computer technology?
Sheesh.  Unrecognizable!
Medicine: Nanotechnology, duh!  Gash started it in Salt Lake.  There'd have
to be hypos that instantly heal damage, disease and virus hunting nanobots,
vat-grown organs and limbs for transplant surgery, animal/human
experimentation, genetic augmentation, the works.  Immortality?  Brains in
glass cylinders.  Sykotropic drugs.
Agriculture: hydroponics.  Cities would be self-sufficient.  Food would not
be an issue in the slightest, around the world.  Instead of microwave tv
dinners, you'd have InstaMeal(tm): a full meal in a plastic container that
cooks itself without emanating harmful levels of heat.
Transportation: hovercraft, FTL, anti-gravity.  What seems plausible.
Pretty much anything.  Underground tubetrains connecting cities.
Teleporters?
Manufacturing: Fully automated factories would degrade the economy.  But
that also means that they could keep producing after the nukecaust.
Power: Ghost rock power plants still powering everything.  But advances in
energy would create tiny batteries with near unlimited power supply.


Thanks!

Erik Kjerland

Today in History

August 31st

1903: A Packard automobile completed a 52-day journey from San Francisco to
New York, becoming the first car to cross the nation under its own power.