Reader dye
It occurred to the Professor a while back, as he was working his way through yet another plan for the betterment of SCIENCE! that the sorts of people who liked handwavium, and the sorts of people who liked books were often the same sorts of people - and that perhaps he could encourage people to like boos, as a way to convince them to like handwavium. He wasn't quite sure how to go about it, though, so he stuck it in the back of his mind to percolate.
Then he overheard someone talking about a girl... someone who loved books so much that they loved her right back, and it somehow made her a fearsome combatant (As well as a fearsome reader and bookbuyer). This thought appealed to him, and suggested a way in which one *could* encourage reading, so he grabbed and mercilessly interrogated the hapless speaker. He heard about paper (and, particularly, books) that obeyed her will and desires, and somethign about... reader dye? Good enough! There were ideas to be had!
The results were... well...
First, a whole bunch of books with extra-thick covers and spines, containing a rudimentary antigrav (enough to flit around in areas of .8G and below), some mobility, an extremely basic AI and radio receiver, and a power supply... we'll get to that.
Second, a dye. It's part handwavium, part ink. It can only be used in one specific way, but you can culture it, just like handwavium, with a combination of a lot of ink, a bit of blood, some sugars and some metal dust. That was part of the point, after all. People have to be able to make it for themselves. When applied to skin, drunk, tattooed on or whatever, it is absorbed into the body. (Don't drink it, folks. It'll still work, but drinking ink isn't healthy.) By itself it just hits the user with a ferocious, perhaps fanatical, love of books and reading. In concert with the Books, well... First, it plugs into the brain, and sends out just the right kind of radio waves, letting the books know that it's there and that they should be friendly, and perhaps bits of what the user wants them to do. Second, it permeates the hands, drawing off the chemical reserves of the user to recharge the Books while they're being read. They'll need to eat more, if they don't want to start losing weight, but that's not too much of a problem, is it? They'll love the books, the books will love them, and everything will be perfect! No side effects, other than the fact that they'll want to spend much of their spare time reading, and need a bit mroe food. Well, not many. It *is* a bit addictive... and the more you read while under the effects, the more addictive it is. Reading's just not the *same* without it, after all - and thus the ease of culturing, because it would be awful and wrong to let someone experience that without giving them the means to continue it. Still, it's only a psychological addiction. You can quit any time, if you really want to.
Reader Dye: not so much a title as a way of life.
EDIT: just to make it clear, the effect wears off after a while - generally anywhere from an hour or two to a day or two, depending on how much of the stuff you absorb. It is entirely possible to remain constantly "inked", given a decent culture setup and adequate raw materials. There's no need to let it wear off before you take your next hit.
It occurred to the Professor a while back, as he was working his way through yet another plan for the betterment of SCIENCE! that the sorts of people who liked handwavium, and the sorts of people who liked books were often the same sorts of people - and that perhaps he could encourage people to like boos, as a way to convince them to like handwavium. He wasn't quite sure how to go about it, though, so he stuck it in the back of his mind to percolate.
Then he overheard someone talking about a girl... someone who loved books so much that they loved her right back, and it somehow made her a fearsome combatant (As well as a fearsome reader and bookbuyer). This thought appealed to him, and suggested a way in which one *could* encourage reading, so he grabbed and mercilessly interrogated the hapless speaker. He heard about paper (and, particularly, books) that obeyed her will and desires, and somethign about... reader dye? Good enough! There were ideas to be had!
The results were... well...
First, a whole bunch of books with extra-thick covers and spines, containing a rudimentary antigrav (enough to flit around in areas of .8G and below), some mobility, an extremely basic AI and radio receiver, and a power supply... we'll get to that.
Second, a dye. It's part handwavium, part ink. It can only be used in one specific way, but you can culture it, just like handwavium, with a combination of a lot of ink, a bit of blood, some sugars and some metal dust. That was part of the point, after all. People have to be able to make it for themselves. When applied to skin, drunk, tattooed on or whatever, it is absorbed into the body. (Don't drink it, folks. It'll still work, but drinking ink isn't healthy.) By itself it just hits the user with a ferocious, perhaps fanatical, love of books and reading. In concert with the Books, well... First, it plugs into the brain, and sends out just the right kind of radio waves, letting the books know that it's there and that they should be friendly, and perhaps bits of what the user wants them to do. Second, it permeates the hands, drawing off the chemical reserves of the user to recharge the Books while they're being read. They'll need to eat more, if they don't want to start losing weight, but that's not too much of a problem, is it? They'll love the books, the books will love them, and everything will be perfect! No side effects, other than the fact that they'll want to spend much of their spare time reading, and need a bit mroe food. Well, not many. It *is* a bit addictive... and the more you read while under the effects, the more addictive it is. Reading's just not the *same* without it, after all - and thus the ease of culturing, because it would be awful and wrong to let someone experience that without giving them the means to continue it. Still, it's only a psychological addiction. You can quit any time, if you really want to.
Reader Dye: not so much a title as a way of life.
EDIT: just to make it clear, the effect wears off after a while - generally anywhere from an hour or two to a day or two, depending on how much of the stuff you absorb. It is entirely possible to remain constantly "inked", given a decent culture setup and adequate raw materials. There's no need to let it wear off before you take your next hit.