Further Thoughts on Nanotechnology and Government

Neal Stephenson describes a form of torture based on nanotechnology in The Diamond Age where they attach nanites to the nerves in the spine. The idea is that they trigger these nerves, causing, among other sensations, incredible pain. This idea has sunk into my mind finally, and so I am terrified. Those who have read Heinlein’s Methuselah’s Children remember that the government suspends their constitution so that they can imprison the Howard Families, and obtain the secret of long life from them; no one believed the Howard Family explanation that their long lives were the result of a breeding experiment funded by the Howard Foundation. The motivations and thinking that Heinlein gives to those who are at the forefront of the insanity are plausible enough to make it clear that this could happen in America, at any time. This, taken with the possibility of nanotechnological torture, makes it very clear to me that we must begin minimizing the powers of governments around the world before such technology becomes possible.