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."