| Great story by Larry Niven. - It's not military as much as detective. sorry 'bout the OT, this is closest board there is on SP.
The hero has lost an arm in a mining accident in the astroid belt. he discovers he has a weak psychic arm; it has the same reach as his real arm, but drastically weaker. he get's to the point where he can lift shot glasses of liquor to his lips with it - great pick up stunt!
he comes back to earth to get a free arm transplant, since arms and legs are in excess. he finds that his arm came from an unwilling donor - a person was kidnapped and murdered for his organs by an 'organ-legger'. "organ legging" is now a highly profitable form of crime, as a single liver, kidney, or heart can cost millions on the black market.
Capitol punishment results in criminals being put to sleep to be taken apart for their useable parts. So, as selfish human nature takes it normal course in creating more laws "for the common good", lesser and lesser crimes (like jaywalking!) become capitol offenses.
It's a great read, good detective stories. (it's actually several short stories.)
This might have some relevance to the cloning issue, on the offshoot topic of organ harvesting.
Whether it's relevant or not, I highly recommend this book!
E. |
