Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site decwrl.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!mgnetp!ihnp4!zehntel!dual!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-dragon!spert From: spert@dragon.DEC Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers Subject: Re: Matter Transmission Message-ID: <3098@decwrl.UUCP> Date: Fri, 3-Aug-84 08:44:32 EDT Article-I.D.: decwrl.3098 Posted: Fri Aug 3 08:44:32 1984 Date-Received: Sun, 5-Aug-84 05:22:37 EDT Sender: daemon@decwrl.UUCP Organization: DEC Engineering Network Lines: 21 George O. Smith's later Venus Equilateral stories dealt with the economic consequences of matter duplication. As I recall, "goods" weren't worth anything and "services" were highly valued. Also interesting was the idea of "uniques". These were items like heirlooms that were certified to have never been duplicated. (I don't remember how this was guaranteed or if there was a way.) Smith had some things to say about how one pays for services when money is as easy to duplicate as anything else. A particular wacky incident involved using matter duplication to win a snowball fight (in a space station!!). How does the duplicator violate entropy? Presumably, the duplication machines require energy to operate. I imagine that there'd be a net increase in entropy. John Spert UUCP: ...decvax!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-dragon!spert ARPA: spert%dragon.DEC@decwrl.ARPA "Any sufficiently complex program is indistinguishable from magic."