A Visitor to the Future - 5 - Perpetually Good Hair Day
"So, what are the limits of what you can do with this Biodevelopment?" I asked after we'd tidied up the plates and cooking tools - I was grateful of the familiarity of it - at least something hadn't changed too much. Sarkona was meticulous in their cleaning, and I tried to follow their example.
"We're very good at most of this," they waved a hand over their entire torso, and then over their face. "We're not fantastic with the subtleties of the brain. We can read memories - though it's a destructive process, so that technology is very rarely used. As for thoughts and feelings, free will and intelligence, no, no. Even after so much work on it, the human brain is still one of the most complex things in the known universe. Not to mention the ethical issues."
I nodded as we took a seat again. The bio-gel was as comfortable as ever.
They continued. "We can modify almost anything about a person's biology. Biological gender is an obvious talking point for me, as I choose to present myself in an androgynous manner. Eye colour, hair colour, nail colour - those are all superficial and basic. The more interesting stuff is more involved - aging I mentioned earlier. For example, take a look at this."
They leaned forward slightly and flared their nose, breathing in and out through it obviously and noisily.
"You can breathe?"
"Yes!" they nodded, "But it's about how I breathe. As a Biodeveloper I love exploring slightly different ways of doing things. What nose shape is the most comfortable? Which is the noisiest? Which itches the least at the worst times? What is the nosiest nose possible? This must be my hundredth nose attempt, and living my changes really keeps me grounded in my work."
"Doesn't having the ability to change things lead to people changing how they look all the time? Doesn't that get confusing?"
They chuckled a bit. "There was a period of time approximately four hundred years ago that we call the Biodev Breakthrough. You might want to talk to a historian on Earth about it when we get there. Compressed, yes, when the technology became available there was super demand - after we sorted out aging and most disease, people began changing their faces, hair, bodies on a whim. Eventually, though, things settled down and people mostly started using the form they were most comfortable with. Or like myself, we use one form most the time and modify for special occasions."
"Like putting on a nice dress or suit?"
"Exactly! Or if you're doing an activity that is made a lot less complex by having a certain modification - there are some no-gravity habitats where they change things up a lot. But the limit to those more exotic changes is the brain. Our brain likes having two arms, two legs, two eyes - and all that nonsense. We have to get inventive if we want anything extra."
"How so?"
"A lot of it is based on inventive impulse re-rooting - imagine moving your little toe, and instead of your little toe moving, your sense of smell sharpens. You can also retrain the brain over time but then you'd be in an awkward body for ages before your brain adapted, and it makes further Biodev work more time consuming. Most people stick to traditional human forms as a result - humanoid, male, female, or some variant thereof with some minor practical changes for efficiency, or to taste."
"Like...?"
Sarkona ran a hand through their hair. "My born hair used to become very greasy after a night's sleep. This hair is practically zero-maintenance. I get out of bed, fix it up, good to go. One of my first projects in fact!"
"Sorry if it's too personal to ask - have you had any other changes of note?"
They grimaced, contemplating their response. "Understand that you're under no obligation to do the same - but I do a lot of space travel, and if there's one potentially big issue with space travel, it's that the human body is not designed for it. My skeleton and organs are reinforced, so I'm tougher than a baseline human. I also have a re-worked blood pressure system to eliminate the discomfort from long periods in zero-gravity - that's a common modification. But every change comes with costs and benefits - I'm heavier as a result, which means I need stronger muscles, and a higher caloric intake."
I looked at them. There were no signs that they were anything more than a regular human being, "You said you're tougher - just how much tougher?"
"I've been in automobile crashes and have walked away without issue! I really do have to stress this is just me indulging my Biodev traits for the most part though - the whole point of the Consortium is that if something went wrong there are people and systems around to help - I don't need such augmentations! Here, I'll show you what I mean."
We walked over to the window that I'd been so carefully avoiding. Instead of the void of space, this window had a view of the rest of the ship - which appeared to be spinning above us. It was then that I reminded myself that we were the ones that were spinning - having gravity and all. It resembled nothing more than a large tower made of metal - like a giant extended axle of the wheel on which we were spinning. I thought briefly of someone spinning a plate on stick.
"See over there? That small protrusion? Below the engine nozzles? That's where the rescue drones are located should something go wrong. They're super good to have around and very good at what they do. There are plenty of projections of them in action."