MARK OF THE BEAST

History of the Mark of the Beast:

From the 1890 Census to EPC and RFID Digital Angel

     The Hollerith Machine, a tabulating machine used with punch cards was developed to tabulate information on cards. In addition to other creative inventions, Mr. Hollerith invented the first card-feed machine which was the prototype for the keypunch and card-hopper used in the 60's to early 80's, making the system viable for data analysis. In conjunction with these inventions, the statistician developed a method of combinatorial counting which allowed for descriptive data to be sifted and compared. The reason for the invention of the machine, was to reduce the time needed in analysis of data (such as census data), to increase the ease of sorting large amounts of data, and to save money by the process. Hollerith died in November of 1929, four years before Hitler took the Chancellorship and Presidency of Germany. The machine was developed for the use of a scientist or statistician but the next few years would see the American made machine used for sinister purposes. Hollerith believed his machine would produce inerrant results if the punches were correct.

The 1890 US Census & the Hollerith Machine

     The first great test of the Hollerith system and his machine was in 1890, for the US Census taken that year. At that time, there were approximately 62 million residents in the U.S. Previous censuses were tabulated by hand and were so time-consuming, that it took much if not most of the whole decade between censuses to compile the statistics. In 1890, the Hollerith Machine and cards were used to tabulate the data. The result? The statistics were finished two years early and over five million dollars was saved. The rudimentary machine proved to be an efficient means of keeping accurate data on large numbers of people. The success of the Hollerith Machine in efficiently providing clean data in the  1890 census was so great the future of the technology was secure.

The Hollerith Machine, invented by a man who's company would come to be known as International Business Machines (IBM), was a sort of  machine-computer-sorter, which was used extensively in the holocaust to categorize Jews in the final solution. It was a forerunner of today's computer along with other machines, and aided the Nazis in the selection of workers, deportations and censuses of concentration camps, trains, and death lists. The American-produced machine, by Herman Hollerith, the son of German parents, became a means of efficient genocide and persecution, saving money and time in the process of  "The Final Solution."

    The modern day history of the rise of the  Mark of the Beast begins in Nazi Germany. It is clear that the Genocide of the European Jews, 1933-45 was fundamentally indebted to the use of technology and that technology was not a peripheral or secondary medium. It was an absolutely essential medium for the execution of the so-called "Final Solution."

How the Machine Worked

     The Machine the Nazis would use to compile their data was only a slightly more sophisticated version of the machine perfected since 1890. Hollerith developed a punch press in which wires would pass through nail press points, punching the card at a data point.  Through the punched hole, connecting with mercury, there was produced a closed circuit, and an electrical impulse was sent to analog meters, clock-like in appearance (not unlike electric meters today). Readings could then be taken. By the 1940's, the machines had the advantage of automatic card feeds and sorters. Thus allowing the Nazis to sort, for example, persons in a ghetto for deportation for work, non-work, and type of work. The numbering of people (a number written on the forearm) in the concentration camps facilitated the collection of data, at least in some cases. The machine worked just as Hollerith had predicted for normal uses: great numbers were processed with efficiency, ease, and accuracy. It is very possible that the processing and deportation of Jewish and other victims would not have been possible, without the timesaving machine.

 IBM AND THE HOLOCAUST

     A book by Edwin Black reveals, the world IBM and the Third Reich occupied in the 1930's and 40's was a terrifyingly small place where corporate America not only tolerated Nazi policies, but may have profited from them. Black has assembled government files, IBM letters and correspondence, as well as newspaper headlines from the period to form his argument. He asserts that one of America's most powerful corporations willingly supplied the Nazis with technology that organized, tabulated, and analyzed population data --- making possible mass deportations and executions.

What Has Become Of The Hollerith Machine?

     The technology became the basis of our keypunch machines and card-readers which by the 50's and 60's led to computer programming and statistical analysis. That technology led to modern computer processing and what once took weeks or months now takes seconds. Even as late as 1981 graduate students still used large main frames (which took up a whole room) and keypunched data for research, a technology dating back to Hollerith. The most essential lesson from the use of the Hollerith Machine is not the machine itself, but the motive and means for which the machine is used. The evil associated with the machine, comes back in the end to a heart issue. Modern computers which track identification can still be used for good in reducing fraud or making life easier, or can be used to produce an even more "efficient slaughter."

THREE ELEMENTS THAT BRING TOGETHER THE MARK OF THE BEAST:

666

The Computer, the Code, and the Mark.

 The CODE: EAN-13

     The European Article Number (EAN-13) is based upon the Universal Product Code (UPC-A) standard. The code was implemented by the International Article Numbering Association in Europe. The EAN standard was considered mostly because the UPC-A standard was not well designed for international use, and partly because no other country likes the U.S. to be in charge of anything -- especially the Europeans. The only difference between the EAN-13  and the UPC-A symbol is the Number System code is 2-digits in EAN-13 as opposed to 1 digit in UPC-A. Also, visually speaking, the human-readable check digit is placed below the barcode instead of to the right of it, but this does not make any difference, technically speaking, regarding the encoding itself.

Mfg. Code: The Manufacturer Code is the next five digits on the left-hand side below the barcode. This number indicates the company which makes the product.

A typical EAN-13 barcode looks something like this.

The Guard Bars (666): The guard bars are the first two longer lines at the beginning, end, and dividing the Mfg. Code and the Product Code in the middle. This code lets the computer know when a code starts, divides information from manufacturer and its product, and when to stop reading a particular code.

Check Digit: The check digit is the last digit on the right-hand side below the barcode. This number is used to check that the reader has correctly read the code. The check number is derived from all the numbers in the code itself.

NOTE: In reality, a UPC-A symbol is an EAN-13 symbol with the Number System set with one digit instead of two. For example, the UPC-A code number 075678164125: this same code, expressed as an EAN-13 symbol, would be 0075678164125. As you can see an extra digit "0" is slapped in front of the code. In the EAN-13 symbol, there is no check digit visually written out to the right of the barcode (the check digit is placed as the sixth number on the right hand side, at bottom). The numbers below the barcode consist of two groups of 6 digits each. Compare the UPC-A symbol to the EAN-13 symbol:

An EAN-13 barcode has the following physical structure:

• Left-hand guard bars, or start sentinel, encoded as 101.

• A second digit for the Number System code.

• The five characters of the manufacturer code, encoded as described below.

• Center guard pattern, encoded as 01010.

• The five characters of the product code, encoded as right-hand characters, described below.

• Check digit, encoded as a right-hand character.

• Right-hand guard bars, or end sentinel, encoded as 101.

ENCODING THE SYMBOL

   The encoding of the barcode is accomplished by considering that the number "1" represents a "dark" or "bar" section of the barcode whereas a "0" represents a "light" or "space" section of the barcode. Thus the numbers 1101 represent a double-wide bar (11), followed by a single-wide space (0), followed by a single-wide bar (1). This would be printed in the barcode as:

 As you can see from the encoding observations and the character encoding table the guard bars at the beginning, middle, and end of the product code are represented by three 6's.

- Each Side Of The Code Uses The Exact Opposite Encoding As The Other Half -

     The characters that are encoded to the left of the center guard pattern are considered the "left hand side" of the symbol whereas all characters encoded to the right of the center guard pattern are considered the "right hand side" of the symbol. The first character of the EAN-13 number system code (i.e., the first digit of the EAN-13 value) is encoded in the parity of the characters of the left-hand side of the symbol. That is to say, the value of the first character of the EAN-13 value determines the parity with which each of the characters in the left-hand side of the barcode will be encoded (shown in the table below).

NOTE: For "left-hand encoding," odd and even parity is often referred to as "character set A" (odd) and "character set B" (even).

 EAN CHARACTER SET ENCODING TABLE

     The following table indicates how to encode each digit of an EAN-13 barcode depending on which half (left or right) of the barcode the digit is found in. In the case of a left-hand digit, the encoding (odd or even parity) is based on the value of the first digit of the number system code.

     OBSERVATIONS:

• An EAN-13 character is represented in 7 elements consisting of 2 bars and 2 spaces. No bar or space may be longer or shorter than 4 elements. The only exception to this rule is the left and right guard bars (3 elements each) and the center guard bar (5 elements long).

• All characters in the left-hand side of the barcode always start with a 0 (a space) while all characters in the right-hand side of the barcode always start with a 1 (a bar).

• The "right-hand" encoding pattern is exactly the same as the "left-hand odd" encoding pattern, but with 1's changed to 0's, and 0's changed to 1's.  The encoding pattern is the opposite of each other depending on which side of the center guard bar the code is on.

• The "left-hand even" encoding pattern is based on the "left-hand odd" encoding pattern. To arrive at the even encoding, work from the left encoding and do the following: 1) Change all the 1's to 0's and 0's to 1.   2) Read the resulting encoding in reverse order (from right to left). The result is the "left-hand even" encoding pattern. To determine which left-hand code is used look at the Number System digits (use the first digit of the very first two numbers of the code).

• If you pick up any product  with the Bar Code you will notice the number 6 is not always represented by two thin lines within the manufacturer's code on the left side or the product code on the right side. This is because the odd/even code parity on the left side will change the character code, and the right side of the code is the opposite of the left hand code. That means spaces will be used instead of lines. However, the guard bars are always two thin lines which always represent the number six. Hence six, six, six. You will occasionally get two thin lines within the manufacturer's or the product's code which represent the number six because of the encoding parity, but not all the time. It all depends on which parity code is being used because of the oddness or evenness of the first digit of the Number System at the beginning of the code. However, all the guard bars are always two thin lines representative of the number six, six, six. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast.

UPC – to EAN – to GTIN –

to EPC, RFID, and Verichip

The Next Step:

     There are dozens of bar codes on the market, from vehicle identification number bar codes, military contractor bar codes, post office mailing bar codes, ISBN bar codes for book publishing, etc. We are interested in the bar code that is being placed on food and consumer items because that is where total control comes from. The Bible says no one will be able to buy or sell without the mark. The new, global product code is going to be the code used to control people in order to accept the anti-Christ and his global kingdom via the mark of the beast. No one will be able to buy items that will be essential for life. No mark--no food--no water--then it will only be a  matter of time before one dies.  If a person misses the rapture and refuses to take the mark of the beast during the tribulation and they are caught, they will have their head cut off. EAN International administers product codes for Europe and Asia, much as the Uniform Code Council (UCC) does in the United States. These two administrations have joined hands to form a global product code. EAN.UCC is the global product identification system managed by both EAN (Europe and Asia) and UCC (North America). What has transpired is Europe and the United States have taken control of the Product Code Bars and are making it into a worldwide system with the same standards and encoding as the EAN code which is very similar to the UPC symbology everyone is already use to. The new global product code is based on the old UPC/EAN and will still use the guard bars encoded as six, six, six.

Here Is What The New Global Product Codes Can Do

     EAN.UCC, through its subsidiary UCCnet, provides a single, standards-based platform for data synchronization among retailers, suppliers, distributors, and other parties worldwide. The GLOBALregistry, a central global data repository, allows suppliers and retailers to publish and subscribe to item identification and attribute data. The GLOBALregistry stores global trade identification numbers (GTIN) as well as Global Location Numbers (GLNs). A GTIN describes what an item is; a GLN describes who and where. The GLN describes locations within a company, such as distribution centers or individual loading docks, opening the door to synchronization that identifies sending and receiving parties and location codes. The GLN also can reference additional information, such as a vendor’s address and hours of operation. The Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN) connects participating manufacturers’ and retailers’ data pools using a centralized global registry, called the GS1 Global Registry, which allows trading partners to exchange information on a near-real-time basis. When fully implemented, GDSN will improve data integrity and help companies reduce the costs of inaccurate supply chain information. In other words when the global system is fully standardized and operational worldwide a computer can track any item, its history, its destination, where it is NOW, its sending and receiving parties names and addresses, all on a real-time basis. There are billions of more products that can be tracked this way than there are people living on the planet. It will only be a few more steps before total, global human tracking is implemented.

The Next Step:

GTIN Combined With EPC

     Since the inception of bar codes with the UPC more than 29 years ago, hundreds of thousands of possible number combinations have been issued as manufacturer or UCC prefixes. The UCC has continually changed the standards of the issuing numbers, but the fact remains that at a point in the very near future they will exhaust the available UCC company prefixes. The Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) is a globally unique 14-digit number used to identify trade items, products, or services. GTIN is also an umbrella term that refers to the entire family of UCC.EAN data structures. The entire family of data structures within the GTIN is:

-UCC-12 (UPC)
-EAN/UCC-13 (EAN-13)
-EAN/UCC-14 (EAN/UCC-128 or ITF-14)
-EAN/UCC-8 (EAN-8)

The full 14-digit GTIN is achieved on a data carrier (another bar code) of shorter length by ‘padding’ the number with left-justified zeros out to 14 digits. See the examples below.

     Nothing has really changed in terms of the bar codes that will be used. The UPC is not going away. GTIN is a term referring to how the data is stored, i.e., padding the item number with zeroes to a uniform length. Most scanners in use will already scan any bar code within the GTIN family. The storage of the numbers is the issue being addressed. The GTIN is a 14-digit all-numeric scheme for uniquely identifying a product or service and describing up to 151 attributes. The GTIN numbering structure allows manufacturers and suppliers to include information such as packaging information, container identification, and identification of non-retail products, along with optional batch and lot numbers within the GTIN number. Suppliers, distributors, and retailers who use the GTIN in conjunction with Reduced Space Symbology (RSS)—an emerging method for tagging small items—are able to provide detailed product information for the produce and variable measure categories, and offer improved capabilities for coupons.

     The GTIN is fundamental to the electronic product code (EPC) contained in RFID tags. The EPC consists of the GTIN for a product plus a unique serial code. A significant contribution to the deployment of RFID was the development of the EPC and a supporting EPC network by the Auto ID labs at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Like the UPC, EAN, and GTIN codes, the EPC tag is capable of identifying individual product items. In contrast to the other codes, however, the EPC tag can identify individual instances of an item at a specific location and at a specific point in time. The EPC tag includes specific pallet and case locations. The EPC tag acts as a “license plate” for the product, allowing a product to be tracked as it moves through the supply chain. In other words the EPC tag (or mark) contains the electronic version of the product bar code with improved capabilities of being able to track any item at its precise location and in real time. The EPC will use the GTIN since that is the standard already in place. The EPC will contain the old bar guard six, six, six code in its electronic code format because that is the established, standardized code in use already set up in the product code system.

How The New Electronic Product Code (EPC) System Works

EPC, RFID, and Verichip

     The Electronic Product Code, (EPC), is a code electronically recorded on a Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) tag. It is intended to be an improvement on the UPC barcode system. The EPC is a 64-bit or 96-bit code, which is based on current numbering schemes (Global Trade Item Number), and is divided into numbers that differentiate the product and manufacturer of a given item. The difference between EPC and previous numbering systems lies in the usage of an extra set of digits to uniquely identify one object. In other words the EPC can be used to identify not only a case of soda pop cans but also each individual can on a pallet and where the can is presently located.

An EPC number contains:

• A Header, identifying the length, type, structure, version and generation of EPC
• The Manager Number, which identifies the company or company entity
• Object Class, similar to a Stock Keeping Unit or SKU
• Serial Number, which is the specific instance of the Object Class being tagged 

     The Electronic Product Code promises to become the standard for global RFID usage. The EPC was the creation of the MIT Auto-ID Center, a consortium of over 120 global corporations and university labs. The EPC system is currently managed by EPCglobal, Inc., a subsidiary of GS1, creators of the UPC barcode.  Since the bar code is a visual code it needs to be translated into electronic bit information in order for the EPC to read and translate the code. In the translation there is a chance to confuse the public and put up a smokescreen concerning the use of the numbers 666 for the bar guards. The first step in this confusion is the visual barcode itself. Each bar guard is the number six, yet each half of the bar code uses the opposite representation of bars and spaces to indicate the number six.

     Only by reading the encoding chart can one see the sleight of hand. The right hand side of the code for six is 1010000. In bar code language it means a skinny line (1 = a single line), a skinny space (0 = a single space) a skinny line (1 = a single line). The the four zeros equal four skinny spaces (which are two fat spaces) placed side by side. The left hand encoding for the number six is written backwards from the right hand side. Looking at the even parity you see the code is written exactly opposite of the right hand encoding side. The left hand encoding odd parity confuses the understanding of the code even more. The actual numbers are the exact opposite of the numbers from the right hand side. Yet they are all the representation of the number six. If you place the left hand encoding - odd parity (A) above the right hand encoding you will see a zero represents a one and vice versa.

     Now compare the visual code of bars. See that an encoded bar and space number is represented by three different number codes of 1's or 0's depending on which half of the bar code the number is in. When the first number of the bar code is odd or even that will change the appearance of the visual bars and spaces yet they represent the same number. This is how the anti-Christ's system hides the bar guard numbering of six, six, six. When the visual bar guard code is converted to 0's and 1's (representing spaces or lines) and then translated into the electronic bit code, the three different numberings of 0101111, 0000101, and 1010000 (which all represent the number six in different places and conditions in the bar code) can further be obfuscated. That is accomplished  through electronic bits. The binary system of numbers using boolean logic is the operating number system of computers. Binary numbers are either 0's or 1's which open or close a circuit for information flow.

     In other words, the 0's and 1's of the bar code and the 0's and 1's of electronic bits of information have different meanings. Both numbering systems are used with only the same two digits but they are completely different languages meaning different things. One is a visual language of skinny bars, fat bars, skinny spaces, and fat spaces. The other is a language of open and closed circuits meaning yes or no using boolean logic. Take for example Morse Code. It uses only two symbols -- a dot or a dash. Yet, a whole alphabet can be made out of just dots and dashes placed in specific order. Thus words are formed from the alphabet and languages are presented. This is comparable to the 0's and 1's of the two number codes of UPC and EPC. Just two digits are used to form any number imaginable. The formed numbers are the alphabet from which the coded language speaks. Here is the difference: both codes are speaking two different languages.

     The example again is Morse Code. Morse Code can have different meanings in different languages. In English, different groups use different letters to mean different words. In English, the military, a short wave radio operator, and emergency personal, depending on their country, have different definitions to words being sent from Morse Code. The problem multiplies when the code is sent from one language to another. An example is the Phillips abbreviated Morse Code used on news wires to send news reports:  -·-- ·- means "yesterday." A novice Spanish speaking operator could take that to mean "right now."

     If a person did not realize which language was being used they would only look on the surface of the code and not see its true meaning. The same goes for the bar code and the EPC. Both use the same 0's and 1's but they are different codes with a different language. The EPC takes the visual UPC and translates it into its own computer language. If one did not realize the difference then one would not know the number six is still being used as bar guards before, in the middle, and at the end of the code to represents breaks in information. This revelation can be hidden because it is used in two different languages (UPC and EPC) with the numbers of one language (UPC) using two different encodings (opposite parity) to mean the same thing. The number is still is six, six, six, just packaged differently and hidden so the system can be put into place without causing alarm as it has successfully been done. Once the EPC RFID tag system is up and running the old UPC is not needed. The EPC is read by radio waves and is not seen visually as the UPC. However, the meanings of the UPC will be kept in the EPC because that is the numbers system developed over years, it works well, it has permeated the product world, the change would be costly, and there is no real justification to change the number meanings.

The History of RFID Technology

First RFID Devices

     The roots of radio frequency identification technology can be traced back to World War II. The Germans, Japanese, Americans, and British were all using radar — which had been discovered in 1935 by Scottish physicist Sir Robert Alexander Watson-Watt — to warn of approaching planes while they were still miles away. The problem was there was no way to identify which planes belonged to the enemy and which were a country’s own pilots returning from a mission.  The Germans discovered that if pilots rolled their planes as they returned to base, it would change the radio signal reflected back. This crude method alerted the radar crew on the ground that these were German planes and not Allied aircraft (this is, essentially, the first passive RFID system).  Under Watson-Watt, who headed a secret project, the British developed the first active identify friend or foe (IFF) system. They put a transmitter on each British plane. When it received signals from radar stations on the ground, it began broadcasting a signal back that identified the aircraft as friendly. RFID works on this same basic concept. A signal is sent to a transponder, which wakes up and either reflects back a signal (passive system) or broadcasts a signal (active system).

    Léon Theremin  was a Russian inventor, most famous for his invention of the theremin, one of the first electronic musical instruments. Some have suggested that he designed the first "bug" or covert listening device but this is not exactly the case. Theremin's bug was the first to use inducted energy from radio waves of one frequency to transmit an audio signal on another. This made the device difficult to detect since it did not radiate any signal unless it was actively being powered and listened to remotely (a KGB agent in a van, across the street, focusing a radio signal). This feature also endowed it with (potentially) unlimited operational life. "The Thing," as it was called, was very simple by today's standards, having only a capacitive membrane (a condenser microphone) connected to an antenna. Thus the impedance seen by the quarter-wavelength antenna was altered by sound, and the reflections of the 330 MHz signal impinging on the device were modulated, allowing the audio to be detected. A bug of this nature was embedded in a wooden plaque and presented to the American ambassador in Moscow by Russian schoolchildren where it hung in his office until detected by a professional bug sweeper. Even though the device was a passive covert listening device, not an identification tag, it has been attributed as the first known device and a predecessor to RFID technology. 

The First RFID Patents

     Mario Cardullo claims that his U.S. Patent 3,713,148 on January 23, 1973 was the first true ancestor of modern RFID; a passive radio transponder with memory. That same year, Charles Walton, a California entrepreneur, received a patent for a passive transponder used to unlock a door without a key. A card with an embedded transponder communicated a signal to a reader near the door. When the reader detected a valid identity number stored within the RFID tag, the reader unlocked the door. Walton licensed the technology to Schlage, a lock maker, and other companies.

     The U.S. government was also working on RFID systems. In the 1970s, Los Alamos National Laboratory was asked by the Energy Department to develop a system for tracking nuclear materials. A group of scientists came up with the concept of putting a transponder in a truck and readers at the gates of secure facilities. The gate antenna would wake up the transponder in the truck, which would respond with an ID and potentially other data, such as the driver's ID. This system was commercialized in the mid-1980s when the Los Alamos scientists who worked on the project left to form a company to develop automated toll payment systems. These systems have become widely used on roads, bridges and tunnels around the world. Los Alamos also developed a passive RFID tag to track cows at the request of the US Department of Agricultural. The problem being cows were given hormones and medicines when they were ill but the difficulty was to make sure each cow received the correct dosage and not given an extra dose accidentally. Los Alamos invented a passive RFID system that used 125 kHz radio waves. A transponder encapsulated in glass could be injected under the cows skin. It drew energy from the reader and reflected back a modulated signal to the reader using a technique known as backscatter. The system is still used with bovines around the world today.

     UHF RFID received a boost in 1999, when the Uniform Code Council, EAN International, Procter & Gamble, and Gillette placed funding to establish the Auto-ID Center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Two professors there, David Brock and Sanjay Sarma, were researching the possibility of putting low-cost RFID tags on all products to track them through the supply chain. Their idea was to place only a serial number on the tag to keep the price down because a simple microchip storing very little information would be less expensive to produce than a more complex chip containing more memory. Data associated with the serial number on the tag would be stored in a database accessible over the Internet. The new technology will replace the old barcode system with a very tiny tag containing a digital memory chip, using a numbering system called Electronic Product Code (EPC). The main difference between UPC and EPC systems is  knowledge of the exact location of an individual product along with the ability to gather information independently with EPC. The limitations of UPC offer only inventory and pricing data stored in a central location. If an RFID tag is placed in clothing without people's knowledge, or consumers become apathetic, then people can be tracked whenever they put on their clothes. An Italian clothes maker has already tried this in peoples' undergarments.

Verichip/Digital Angel

     DELRAY BEACH, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 30, 2006--Applied Digital (NASDAQ: ADSX). A leading provider of identification and security technology, Applied Digital announced that Scott R. Silverman, its Chairman and CEO, was scheduled to appear on CNBC's Squawk Box. The Executive is set to Discuss the Potential Role of VeriChip in Immigrant Identification. An in-studio appearance will feature a discussion of the potential role that VeriChip and RFID technology could play in addressing security issues through providing identification for immigrants.

     About Applied Digital - "The Power of Identification Technology" - Applied Digital develops innovative identification and security products for consumer, commercial, and government sectors worldwide. The Company's unique and often proprietary products provide identification and security systems for people, animals, the food supply, government/military arena, and commercial assets. Included in this diversified product line are RFID applications, end-to-end food safety systems, GPS/Satellite communications, and telecomm and security infrastructure, positioning Applied Digital as the leader in identification technology. Applied Digital is the owner of a majority position in Digital Angel Corporation (AMEX: DOC).

     The FDA previously cleared VeriChip(TM), the world's first implantable radio frequency identification (RFID) microchip for human use, for medical uses in the United States. Since the FDA granted clearance of VeriChip, 232 doctors have elected to provide the VeriMed Patient Identification System for patient identification and 80 hospitals and medical facilities nationwide have agreed to adopt the System for patient identification. Digital Angel Corporation develops advanced RFID and GPS technologies that enable rapid and accurate identification, location tracking, and condition monitoring of high-value assets. Applications for our products include identification and monitoring of pets, humans, fish and livestock through our patented implantable microchips as well as message monitoring of aircraft in remote locations through integrated GPS and geosynchronous satellite communications systems.

      In an interview with Digital Angel's  chief scientist  Zhou, told WorldNetDaily he believes the implant will be as popular as cell phones and vaccines. Digital Angel "will be a connection from yourself to the electronic world. It will be your guardian, protector. It will bring good things to you," said Zhou.  "We will be a hybrid of electronic intelligence and our own soul," he added. The chip, usually made of silicon, contains information about the item to which it is attached. Chips used by retailers and manufacturers to identify consumer goods may contain an Electronic Product Code (EPC). The EPC is the RFID equivalent of the familiar universal product code (UPC), or bar code, currently imprinted on many products. Bar codes must be optically scanned, and contain only generic product information. By contrast, EPC chips are encrypted with a product code that identifies the individual product to which it is attached, and can be read using radio frequency. These codes contain the type of data that product manufacturers and retailers will use to track the authenticity and location of goods throughout the supply chain. An RFID chip may also contain information other than an EPC, such as biometric data (a digitized image of a fingerprint or photograph, for example).

     There is a technical difference between the human and pet chips one cannot see with the naked eye. The pet chip contains a 10-digit number while the human chip contains a 16-digit number.  VeriChip spokesman John Procter says the reason why the human version contained 16-digits. His reply: "flexibility." He said the company wanted to ensure there would be enough unique numbers available for all the people it envisions chipping. VeriChip can be removed only surgically.

People Now "Chipped" with

 the Mark of the Beast

Implanted microchips currently track more than 86,000 pets in Florida, as well as livestock and zoo animals. Experts predict that if trackable chip implants become widely available, there will be a long line of military personnel, diplomats, corporate executives, foreign correspondents and celebrities waiting to ``get chipped.''

MEXICO

November 29, 2004. VeriChip RFID Implants in Mexican Attorney General's Office. There are only 18 employees who were chipped, read a transcript of a Televisa Mexican television interview with an IT executive from the Attorney General's office. Applied Digital Solutions, the creator of the VeriChip, cites an incorrect figure on their website. Here are a few salient excerpts:

TELEVISA: In the case at hand, how many PGR officials are we talking about who have this implanted or are going to get it implanted?

JUSTICE OFFICIAL: The Access Control System, the identification to access restricted areas, is only for government officials, there are a total of 18 chips that we have for that purpose.

TELEVISA: Sir, then only 18 officials of the PGR have this chip and they are the only ones who can access the Information Center?

JUSTICE OFFICIAL: This chip is for access control, it is only used by 18 government employees... The system consists of sensors to read the chips, the 18 chips that are implanted in the government employees, and a control system that allows them to be enabled or disabled.

About 1,000 people in Mexico have had the VeriChip implanted, said Antonio Aceves, president of Solusat, the chip's Mexican distributor. He said most customers have had medical problems.

© Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company. 
Mexico hopes chip signals gain vs. crime
By Kevin Sullivan, Washington Post | July 16, 2004

BRAZIL

     This month March of 2002, Applied Digital Solutions signed a deal to distribute VeriChips in Brazil, where kidnapping has become epidemic, especially among the rich and powerful. Government officials hope that VeriChips implanted in people considered at high risk could be used to track victims via satellite. "Here [in the U.S.] we're still dealing with FDA, privacy, and civil-liberties issues," says Keith Bolton, vice president of Applied Digital Solutions, the company behind VeriChip.  We're going into South America right now!" Technology has a way of moving faster than legislation, and if it comes down to a race between cyborgs and Senators, guess who will win? Resistance is futile, Brazilian government official Antonio de Cunha Lima, the first distributor of the VeriChip in Brazil, will be implanted with the chip. Brazilian politician Antonio de Cunha Lima has been trying to become the first South American to use the implant chip, according to published reports. Brazil has the fourth highest kidnap rate in the world, after Colombia, Mexico and Indonesia

UNITED STATES

     U.S. News & World Report, Sunday, July 24, 2005. Tommy Thompson Gets Chip Implant. Implanted microchips are getting a plug from a heavy hitter - former Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson. Thompson plans to promote a product made by his new company - a medical info chip - by having one implanted in his arm. "It doesn't cause any pain," Thompson told Paul Bedard, who writes the Washington Whispers column in U.S. News & World Report. The chip is made by Florida-based VeriChip, which recently added Thompson to its board of directors. The rice-size chip contains a 16-digit identification code that can be scanned at hospitals and then linked to a database containing the chip wearer's medical data. So far about 2,000 medical chips have been implanted worldwide, and two hospitals in the U.S. are already equipped to scan them. "People are dying all the time," Thompson told Washington Whispers, "because they can't access their medical information."

     March 22, 2006, VeriChip says about 70 people in the United States have been implanted with its chips, which cost about $200, including doctors' fees. In addition, an estimated 80 people have had unauthorized ‘hobbyist’ chips implanted. They buy them over the Internet to experiment with the technology, which has been used for years to track lost pets. The technology enthusiasts describe themselves as the "do-it-yourself tagged community."

     Richard Sullivan, chief executive officer of Applied Digital Solutions, also suggests another application: helping to track undocumented immigrants. The problem could be solved, he said, if ``people were required to be chipped or had some combination of a device requiring them to be scanned and monitored at all times.'' ''I think it's not unreasonable to ask people who want to come to work in the country that they respect the rights of people who are citizens in the United States,'' Sullivan said. A third group readying themselves for the simple outpatient procedure today are officials of Applied Digital, a publicly traded company based in Palm Beach, Fla. Even their publicist is doing it. About 2,500 people have contacted Applied Digital to ''get chipped.'' As part of a pilot study, 50 volunteers -- including Nathan Isaacson -- will be injected with the VeriChip, measuring nearly half an inch long and less than one-tenth of an inch in diameter. A doctor will apply a local anesthetic, insert the needle containing the chip, and put on an adhesive bandage.

     BOCA RATON, Fla., May 10, 2002 (CBS) A procedure that takes only seconds to carry out has turned the Jacobs family into medical pioneers, reports CBS News Correspondent Bobbi Harley.  They are the first people to get "chipped" -- implanted with a tiny device called a VeriChip that emits radio frequencies. The chip is a personal ID that also contains vital medical information.  Jeff and Leslie Jacobs had the tiny chips implanted in their arms. "It's been really easy and I feel a lot better that I have it," he said after the implant.  The chips were designed by Palm Beach-based Applied Digital Solutions Inc. They are similar to chips implanted in pets to identify them if they are lost. A hand-held scanner reads the VeriChip. Theoretically, police, paramedics and hospital workers would use the information during an emergency.  Keith Bolton of Applied Digital Solutions said that, "In the event that they are in an accident or for some reason unconscious and they can't speak, then the microchip or VeriChip will speak for them."  At a cost of $200 a chip, thousands of Americans are already lining up to get them. And, Applied Digital Solutions says this might only be the beginning.

     RFID and the homeless. WASHINGTON (UPI) The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said Thursday [April 1, 2004] that it was about to begin testing a new technology designed to help more closely monitor and assist the nation’s homeless population. Under the pilot program.... homeless people in participating cities will be implanted with mandatory Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags that social workers and police can track their movements..."This is a rare opportunity to use advanced technology to meet society’s dual objectives of better serving our homeless population while making our cities safer," HRSA Administrator Betty James Duke said. This has not been confirmed. It could just be an April Fool's joke posted on the Internet.

      The Enquirer, Cincinnati.Com. Business Section, Tuesday, February 14, 2006. Firm implants ID chips. By Cliff  Peale. Company's workers can pass security checkpoints.  A small Walnut Hills operator of security cameras has re-ignited the international debate over microchips and privacy by implanting the chips into at least two employees. Chief executive officer Sean Darks of CityWatcher.com said a doctor implanted the chips - about the size of a grain of rice - in his forearm several months ago and in the arm of another employee. Darks said the implantation was voluntary and allows the employee to pass through security readers at the company's data center without holding up a key chain or ID card. A radio frequency from the reader activates the VeriChip, which then emits a signal transmitting an ID number. Darks said it also could prove useful to access medical information if the employee were unable to provide it. "There's a few uses for them, but none of them are 'Big Brother,' " Darks said Monday. "It's just an added level of security."

     "This is the first time an employer has actually linked taking a VeriChip with a paycheck," said Katherine Albrecht, a privacy advocate who founded a group called Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering. "You have the potential for a surveillance society," she said. Founded by Darks four years ago, CityWatcher.com provides cameras used to spot crimes in about a half-dozen cities, including Cincinnati. It allows those municipalities to view the cameras online, Darks said. That makes security of the company's product critical, he said. He said a doctor implanted the chip, which took only a few seconds and was not painful. "It was just like getting a flu shot," he said. 

Canada

     Gillian Shaw, Vancouver Sun, Published: Saturday, January 07, 2006 Implants turn humans into cyborgs, RFID chips replace house keys. Amal Graafstra uses a chip implanted into his hand that allows him to log into his computer without a password. Cyborgs have stepped out of science fiction and into real life with a small but growing group of tech aficionados who are getting tiny computer chips implanted into their bodies to do everything from opening doors to unlocking computer programs. Amal Graafstra and his girlfriend Jennifer Tomblin never have to worry about forgetting the keys to her Vancouver home or locking themselves out of Graafstra's Volkswagen GT. They can simply walk up to the door and, with a wave of a hand, the lock will open. Ditto for the computer. No more struggling to remember complicated passwords and no more lost keys. "I did it for the very real function of replacing keys. It saves me having to walk around with a huge chain of keys in my pocket," said Graafstra, 29, who spends a lot of time in Vancouver, although he calls Bellingham, Wash. -- where he operates several businesses -- home.

Spain/Netherlands

     The Baja Beach Club, a night club in Barcelona Spain and in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, uses an implantable VeriChip to identify their VIP customers, who in turn use it to pay for drinks.

England

Met Police officers to be 'microchipped' by top brass in Big Brother style tracking scheme

10th April 2008

Met Chief Sir Ian Blair could be among 31,000 officers to receive the new electronic tracking device

Every single Metropolitan police officer will be 'microchipped' so top brass can monitor their movements on a Big Brother style tracking scheme, it can be revealed today.

According to respected industry magazine Police Review, the plan - which affects all 31,000 serving officers in the Met, including Sir Ian Blair - is set to replace the unreliable Airwave radio system currently used to help monitor officer's movements.

The new electronic tracking device - called the Automated Personal Location System (APLS) - means that officers will never be out of range of supervising officers.

But many serving officers fear being turned into "Robocops" - controlled by bosses who have not been out on the beat in years.

According to service providers Telent, the new technology 'will enable operators in the Service's operations centres to identify the location of each police officer' at any time they are on duty - whether overground or underground.

Although police chiefs say the new technology is about 'improving officer safety' and reacting to incidents more quickly, many rank and file believe it is just a Big Brother style system to keep tabs on them and make sure they don't 'doze off on duty'.

Some officers are concerned that the system - which will be able to pinpoint any of the 31,000 officers in the Met to within a few feet of their location - will put a complete end to community policing and leave officers purely at the beck and call of control room staff rather than reacting to members of the public on the ground.

Pete Smyth, chairman of the Met Police Federation, said: "This could be very good for officers' safety but it could also involve an element of Big Brother.

"We need to look at it very carefully."

Other officers, however, were more scathing, saying the new system - set to be implemented within the next few weeks - will turn them into 'Robocops' simply obeying instructions from above rather than using their own judgement.

One officer, working in Peckham, south London, said: "They are keeping the exact workings of the system very hush-hush at the moment - although it will be similar to the way criminals are electronically tagged. There will not be any choice about wearing one.

"We depend on our own ability and local knowledge to react to situations accordingly.

"Obviously we need the back up and information from control, but a lot of us feel that we will simply be used as machines, or robots, to do what we are told with little or no chance to put in anything ourselves."

He added: "Most of us joined up so we could apply the law and think for ourselves, but if Sarge knows where we are every second of the day it just makes it difficult."

Another officer, who did not want to be named, said: "A lot of my time is spent speaking to people in cafes, parks or just wherever I'm approached. If I feel I've got my chief breathing down my neck to make another arrest I won't feel I'm doing my job properly."

The system is one of the largest of its kind in the world, according to Telent, the company behind the technology, although neither the Met nor Telent would provide Police Review with any more information about exactly how the system will work or what sort of devices officers will wear.

Nigel Lee, a workstream manager at the Met, said: "Safety is a primary concern for all police forces.

"The area served by our force covers 620 miles and knowing the location of our officers means that not only can we provision resource more quickly, but should an officer need assistance, we can get to them even more quickly."

Forces currently have the facility to track all their officers through GPS devices on their Airwave radio headsets, but this is subject to headsets being up to date and forces buying the back office systems to accompany them, according to Airwave.

Steve Rands, health and safety head for the Met Police Federation, told Police Review: "This is so that we know where officers are. Let us say that when voice distortion or sound quality over the radio is lost, if you cannot hear where that officer telling you where he is, you can still pinpoint his exact position by global positioning system.

"If he needs help but you cannot hear him for whatever reason, APLS will say where he is."

1970's & 80's: The Decades Everything Came Together

GPS

Internet

UPC/EAN

Globalization

Digital Data Banks

Compact Computers

USDA Mandatory Marking:

 To work out the kinks in the system.

     Below is the USDA’s schedule as outlined in the Draft Strategic Plan and Draft Program Standards on April 25, 2005. Currently the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) is voluntary in most states although Texas and Wisconsin have already made the Premise ID portion mandatory with huge fines for non-compliance. NAIS is being put in place, as we speak, without our votes. The USDA’s plan is that NAIS will be mandatory for all farms and homes with any of the designated livestock. Note that the USDA and states can advance the plan faster than this timetable at their whim. Once livestock and pets are "in the system" the kinks in the system can be worked out. The next step is the human population.

Timeline:

April 2005 - USDA issued Draft Strategic Plan and Draft Program Standards for public comment. The public comment period for those documents ended.

July 2005 - Virtually nobody in the “public” knew about the comment period or NAIS at this point. The USDA and its big stakeholders (Big Agri-Biz) have kept it all very hush-hush so that people would not resist this usurpation of private property and rights.

January 2006 - NAIS based rules implemented in Texas and Wisconsin: no exceptions.

July 2006 - USDA to issue rules setting forth the requirements for NAIS premises registration, animal identification, and animal tracking. This is a crucial time for consumers, homesteaders, pet owners and small farmers who will be harmed by NAIS. There will be a limited public comment period after publication of the rules, and objections expressed in the public comments may persuade the USDA to modify, or abandon, some requirements.

July 1, 2006 - Premises registration will be compulsory in Texas

Fall 2007 - USDA to publish final rules of mandatory NAIS.

January 2008 - Premise ID and Animal ID become mandatory nationwide. It is already mandatory in some states, including Wisconsin and Texas starting January 2006.

January 1st, 2009 - Animal tracking, logging and reporting components of NAIS become mandatory. Strict enforcement, fines, inspections of properties and confiscation of livestock can be done by the USDA or state government without trial or legal hearings.

Attitudinal Change of Public Opinion

In Effect for the Mark of the Beast.

     The first step will be acceptance of a national or global ID card with a chip. Britain: The legislation already states that if you lose your ID card you will have to immediately report it to the government or face a £1000 fine. But the ID card will still be voluntary! You just won't be able to leave the country, own a house or a car, have a doctor, a bank account, a mobile phone, get an education, own a business, rent a room in a hotel, or have a job. You won't officially be authorized to live or die. But it's still voluntary!  Your iris scan will still be in the national database anyway.

     When ID cards were introduced in the UK during World War II, they had three functions. By the time they were abolished in 1952 they had 39 administrative uses. What else can be be added? Political persuasion. Day to day activities. Likes and dislikes. Thoughts. The Nazis used the earliest ID card technology, the IBM punch card model, to catalogue and compile a database of subversives, homosexuals, gypsies and Jews before the round-ups began.

     Considering the words of Senator Joseph Biden to Judge John Roberts during his Supreme Court Confirmation hearings on September 12, 2005, mass chipping plans could really be in the works. He said: Can a microscopic tag be implanted in a person's body to track his every movement? There's actual discussion about that. You will rule on that -- mark my words -- before your tenure is over.

The Government is going to “Git ‘er done.”

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
Washington, DC 20405
December 6, 2004

GSA BULLETIN FMR B-7:  RADIO FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION (RFID)

TO: Heads of Federal agencies

SUBJECT: Procedures for the use of radio frequency technology within Federal agencies.

     Radio frequency identification (RFID) is a generic term for technologies that use radio waves to automatically identify assets. The most common method is to store a unique number identifying the asset on a microchip that is attached to an antenna. The tracking and identification of personal property has become a challenge for Federal agencies and the employment of RFID technology permits us to implement rules that allow us to reapportion critical human resources and streamline our business processes.

     Each Federal agency should review its processes and consider strategies for the future use of standardized RFID technology in those applications where benefits can be achieved or efficiency can be improved. Agencies are encouraged to consider action that can be taken to advance the industry by demonstrating the long-term intent of the agency to adopt RFID technological solutions. Agencies should also consider the status of efforts to standardize RFID technological solutions, the readiness of the agency to adopt and utilize the available RFID models, and the availability of funding resources allocated to the effort. Selection of a RFID system, if appropriate, should be made on the basis of a solution that best meets the criteria, and the circumstances unique to each agency.

     Finally, agencies need to determine how to best implement RFID technology on current or proposed contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements along with the impact on small and disadvantaged businesses. RFID systems should support one or more of the following functions: A receipt function to automatically update inventory and valuation.  A storage and issuing function to include inventory management. A transportation function to include the movement and consolidation for trans-shipment.

     Office of Government wide Policy, General Services Administration (GSA), Washington, DC 20405;  This office also conducts quarterly interagency meetings to discuss topics of interest to the federal property community. The implementation of RFID technology will continue to be a topic discussed frequently. G. MARTIN WAGNER, Associate Administrator Office of Government wide Policy.

The Auto-ID Center

     The Auto-ID Center is the organization entrusted with developing a global Internet infrastructure for radio frequency identification (RFID). Their plans are to tag all the objects manufactured on the planet with RFID chips and track them via the Internet. Privacy advocates are alarmed about the Center's plans because RFID technology could enable businesses to collect an unprecedented amount of information about consumers' possessions and physical movements. The Center points out that consumers might not even know they're under surveillance since tiny RFID chips can be embedded in plastic, sewn into the seams of garments, or otherwise hidden. Documents available on the Internet are slide shows discussing the need to "pacify" citizens who might question the wisdom of the Center's stated goal to tag and track every item on the planet.

(http://www.autoidcenter.com/media/communications.pdf [removed]) mirrored at: http://cryptome.org/rfid/communications.pdf

    PR firm Fleischman-Hillard's confidential "Managing External Communications" suggests a variety of strategies to help the Auto-ID Center "drive adoption" and "neutralize opposition," including the possibility of renaming the tracking devices "green tags." It also lists by name several key lawmakers, privacy advocates, and others whom it hopes to "bring into the Center's 'inner circle."

(http://www.autoidcenter.com/media/external_comm.pdf [removed]) mirrored at: http://cryptome.org/rfid/external_comm.pdf

     Findings reveal that 78% of surveyed consumers feel RFID is negative for privacy and 61% fear its health consequences. Despite the overwhelming evidence of negative consumer attitudes toward RFID technology revealed in its internal documents, the Auto-ID Center hopes that consumers will be "apathetic" and "resign themselves" to the inevitability of it "instead of acting on their concerns." 

(http://www.autoidcenter.com/publishedresearch/cam-autoid-eb002.pdf [removed]) mirrored at: http://cryptome.org/rfid/cam-autoid-eb002.pd

Opinion Formers Across Europe, Asia, and the US

     Study on RFID. Published February 1, 2003. The Auto-ID Centre’s EPC™ network has been created as a supply chain innovation with applications focused within manufacturing and retail supply chains up to the point of sale. Although applications beyond point of sale have not been part of the Centre’s charter, this technology will have an impact on consumers, as the products they buy will contain EPC™ tags. As the Centre prepares to launch its EPC™ network it is therefore important to anticipate how the public will perceive this new technology, to anticipate any concerns and to explore ways in which the network can be improved, in order to ensure consumer’s confidence. A research study was commissioned with consumers and opinion formers across Europe, Asia and the US.

Public Policy: Understanding Public Opinion

     The lack of clear benefits to consumers could present a problem in the ‘real world’. If consumers are made aware of any negatives (in the real world this could happen through negative press coverage) they have no benefits to balance their feelings against. Concerning the use of EPC™ network there are currently no clear benefits by which to balance even the mildest negative, so any negative press coverage, no matter how mild would shift the neutral to a negative.

– “The store will benefit more than the consumer” AMERICA

–  “Once we leave the store it should be deactivated” FRANCE

– “What’s in it for me?” JAPAN

     The biggest inflamer surrounding the EPC™ network is that Consumers feel that they have no personal choice and this leads to a strong negative reaction. The EPC™ network is quite different from other well received technology such as mobile phones or the Internet because it is an always on, ‘silent’ technology. Virtually all groups spontaneously said that they wanted a choice and that the ‘chip should be able to be killed’.

The Biggest Concern is Abuse

     Generally, the fears that consumers have around this technology are emotional and of the unknown, ‘what could happen in the future?’  They have little problem with what is actually being developed – but they have a big problem in how it may be abused. Quelling these fears is extremely difficult because they are based on an ‘unknown future,’ are purely emotional, and appear to be quite deep rooted. In this case discussing any benefits or using rational argument is largely ineffective and is perceived as ‘spin.’ Once consumers are concerned, they remain concerned, no matter what we tell them.

– “I don’t think it will be restricted to products... it will be linked to personal information” JAPAN

     They don’t see the benefits for them. While the possible benefits were explored in each group at length, nothing seemed to really motivate or inspire. In fact the presentation of benefits seemed to automatically lead consumers to think of negatives.

      "This immediately led to concern, suspicion and fear. The benefits also made consumers feel we were trying to sell the technology or to ‘spin’ it, and this also led to a negative reaction. On balance they are negative but apathetic."

     At the end of the groups once all the negatives and benefits have been discussed the response was slightly negative. Whilst consumers expressed concern they seemed to resign themselves to the inevitability of it. They seemed apathetic and it appeared that emotion did not run high enough to motivate them to do anything about their concerns. This does not mean that they could not be fired up, but it did appear that it would take considerable prompting.

     Overall response was neutral to negative. The number one concern was privacy in relation to violation of anonymity (knowing who I am), of knowledge (knowing what I buy), and consent (gathering and using information about me without me knowing). Generally they saw little personal benefit to themselves. Negative concerns were around their belief that it would be abused and a general feeling of ‘how far will this go?’ There was a request for the technology to be regulated but at the same time a distrust of the ability for those regulations to be upheld.

In the US the experts believed that the key determination of how the technology would be received would be the Media treatment.

– “...the single most critical success factor to the roll out of this technology is the media.” Second to this was how the technology would be perceived by: Financial analysts, special interest groups, politicians and journalists.

OTHER ADVICE INCLUDED

– Consumers and the Press are unlikely to believe that the network will not be abused and will look for regulations and controls for reassurance.

– It was felt that all references to ‘smart homes’ should be avoided as this would perpetuate consumer’s concerns.

– They felt strongly that moving forward without communicating ‘killing the chip’ could result in a backlash.

– It was suggested that the Centre should at least formally document the issues related to health and ideally that the Centre should conduct or commission it’s own research into this area..

Recommendations Concerning Communication Included:

– It should be clearly communicated that we are developing a Business focused innovation ONLY.

– Smart Homes should not be referenced as they are seen as ludicrous or invasive by consumers and they raise more negatives than positives.

– Talking about the technology as an improved barcode helps consumers understand what it will be used for and helps alleviate concerns.

– Any attempt to ‘sell’ the technology, the vision or the consumer benefits exacerbates consumer’s concerns about the network.

– The Centre should clearly communicate that consumers will have a choice. The details of exactly how a choice will be offered need to be resolved, but they should include methods of how the public will know when and where the network is being used and how the option to kill the tag will be executed.

– It is imperative that the Centre’s messages be communicated positively and proactively. Once consumers become negative they remain so, therefore it is vital that we control the dialogue from an early stage.

The Very Near Future

     As computing dissolves into the environment it will become as pervasive as the electricity flowing through society. In a controversial prediction, some scientists suggest the earth will be wrapped in a "digital skin," transmitting signals over the Internet almost as a living creature relays impulses through its nervous system. Millions of sensors will probe and monitor highways, cities, factories, forests, oceans, people, and the atmosphere. Some will be linked to orbiting satellites -- extending the reach of this digital infrastructure into outer space.  ''The network itself becomes a huge digital creature,'' says Toshitada Doi, chairman of Sony Corp.'s Digital Creatures Lab. ''We will carefully design it so that it will help human beings, not harm them.''

     That may not be easy, however. Emergent behavior could be mischievous, even sinister. At Sandia Laboratories, simulations with software agents acting as communications nodes in network, the nodes have assembled themselves into clans. ''In a real network, the clans might have distinct points of view,'' Yonas says, ''and one might be antithetical to another.''

     Scientists refer to this scenario as ubiquitous or pervasive computing. Either way, the bottom line is the same: an unprecedented level of connectivity. The international consulting firm Ernst & Young predicts that by 2010 there will be nearly 10,000 telemetric devices (meaning devices that transmit or receive data) for every person on earth.

     In the next century, planet earth will don an electronic skin. It will use the Internet as a scaffold to support and transmit its sensations. This skin is already being stitched together. It consists of millions of embedded electronic measuring devices: thermostats, pressure gauges, pollution detectors, cameras, microphones, glucose sensors, EKGs, electroencephalographs, etc. These will probe and monitor cities and endangered species, the atmosphere, our ships, highways and fleets of trucks, our bank accounts, our conversations, our bodies--even our dreams.

last generation ~ www.lastgeneration.us