clifford_a-_pickover_surfing_through_hyperspacebookfi-org
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THE GODS OF HYPERSPACE 153<br />
You take a breath. "But sir, even if we could build a working spherical<br />
retina, our minds would be unable to interpret the information. It would<br />
be like giving sight to a man blind from birth."<br />
"You are right. But if we raise our children from birth with these retinas,<br />
their minds will adapt. With the aid of the Omegamorphs, the children<br />
will experience the fourth dimension."<br />
Narcinko simply listens, folds his arms, inscrutable, except for the<br />
slight tremor of his eyebrows.<br />
Sally shakes her head. "Sir, you're not suggesting we take out children's<br />
eyes and replace them with these?"<br />
"Possibly, although we may be able to attach the new eyes to the optic<br />
nerves while leaving their original eyes in place. Possibly we could place 3-D<br />
retinas inside their current eyes, but that may limit the children. If they<br />
kept both old and new eyes, the children could flip switches to determine<br />
which eyes they want, but I doubt they would choose their more limited<br />
<strong>org</strong>ans. They might want to remove their original eyes forever."<br />
"That's sick," Sally says. "It would be morally indefensible. There are<br />
parallels in the cases of deaf children who can be fitted with artificial hearing<br />
<strong>org</strong>ans, but such things are opposed by many in the deaf community."<br />
"The beings will pull the children upsilon into their world and eventually<br />
teach the children how they can best use their new eyes. It would<br />
be unethical not to give children the new retinas." The president pauses.<br />
"If a child were born with eyes that saw no colors, wouldn't it be cruel to<br />
withhold treatment that allowed them to see color?"<br />
Sally puts her hands on her hips. "That's not the same."<br />
The president shakes his head. "We've no right to deny our species<br />
access to higher universes. This is the next step in humanity's evolution.<br />
Think of the new philosophies and ideas we would develop. This would<br />
be a boon to humankind. The procedure of implanting 3-D retinas will<br />
not cause the children pain. The children will still be human: they will<br />
still love their parents. They will play with friends. They'll just see more<br />
of reality."<br />
Narcinko grins. "We could use them as all-seeing superspies."<br />
Sally shakes her head and looks at the president. "I hope you're not<br />
thinking of this from a national security standpoint and using these kids<br />
as superspies."<br />
The president takes a deep breath. "There may be the temptation, but<br />
I'll make sure laws are passed to respect the children's privacy, to make