In 1974 your granny beheld the sight of President Nixon resigning in disgrace over Watergate. If your grandmother's life had been written up in the 1800s, it could have been thought to be pure fantasy (the term "science fiction" hadn't but been coined, I imagine.) Relating your Granny Athena's life to world events was meant to shock you. However it unexpectedly stunned me too, to appreciate that a lot of what we take without any consideration these days did not exist earlier than your granny was born! In effect, the child is born with the head of its useless twin hooked up to its physique. The pertinent questions are, how many individuals could be removed from the population by this, and who will they be? The free market and human weakness being what they are, the 'wire' is probably inevitable. Hopefully, solely the same tough percentage of the inhabitants that in the present day makes use of heroin frequently will be killed off by the wire.
