Aaargh. Now I have a cool idea for a gritty cyberpunk setting exploring wealth inequality, transhumanism, and all that, and I know I'll never have the time to take it anywhere. :/
@Angle If you're not going to take it anywhere yourself how about telling it to the world so someone would? 😃
@polychrome Sure! Though ideas are pretty cheap, so I'm not sure anyone will be interested. But the idea is pretty straightforward - Its about cyborgs mainly, and the whole societal conflict surrounding them. Which is, of course, super messy. Essentially, most cyborgs are relatively wealthy - You need to be, to afford it. Some aren't, of course, and get theirs from medical insurance paying to have limbs replaced after car accidents, or whatever, but that's comparatively rare. Anyway, the story is about all the messy conflict that happens around this.
@polychrome For example, there's lots of opposition on religious grounds, and much of the rhetoric is grounded in such - but you also have lots of conflict from a wealth inequality and class struggle perspective. And of course, though people treat them as one group, cyborgs are of course several different overlapping groups. There are low budget hacker hobbyists, rich people aiming (and succeeding) to become superhuman, trans people and otherkin trying to feel comfortable in their own skin, people who need them for medical reasons, etc.
@polychrome The essential message here is "Everything is complicated and difficult, and I'm not sure there are any good answers, but we should try anyway."
@Angle The good news are that post-modern cyberpunk is pretty much this. The recent Deus Ex revival tried to and let this topic but kind of missed the mark, unfortunately. Still this means this concept is more wide spread than you think and that there's a good chance you will see this sort of story happening! 🤖
@Angle What I would like to see is this very story frame used in a prequel set in the Ghost in the Shell universe (the anime), as that one is usually set long after cybernetics are common fact. There's very little focus on the early days when cyberbrain interfaces and prosthetics were new and I'd love to see more of that cultural conflict.
@polychrome And of course the opposition is equally divided. Some people oppose it for religious reasons, or for cultural reasons, or because they fear (quite possibly righly) for the power it gives those who can get the full package, etc. And of course, the solutions proposed range from "BAN IT ALL" to "CYBERNETICS FOR EVERYONE". And thats before you get overlap with other political issues, or with culture, or whatever.