Gamer

GNanex and Game X

By Aya Danika M. Ancheta

The future has it all. Computer games and mind control – two different concepts which are joined together in the 2009 movie Gamer.

The movie follows a convict named Kable (played by Gerard Butler) who plays a first-person-shooter computer game called Slayers. He does not only play the game but he is part of the game killing other convicts in each level of the game. Controlling him is a teenage gaming superstar, Simon (played by Logan Lerman). He leads Kable in straight wins in Slayer’s 30 battles to freedom.

Computer game Slayers developer Ken Castle (Michael C. Hall) paved the way for gamers to utilize real human beings in these interactive games. Other computer games that were created by Castle, such as Society, have attracted numerous gamers to play real live human characters. In addition to this, many people have also gained interest to act as the characters in the game for the money they can gain from it. As the words of Ken Castle go, “You can get paid to be controlled or you can pay to control.”

The film used the idea of nanocells whose DNA gets replication in the brain. It shall be discussed in this article.

Nanocell

As seen in the movie, the nanocell was used by Ken Castle and the developers of the game to control the minds of the people. It works by planting the nanocell inside the motor cortex of the brain. This is allowed to replicate and integrate in the DNA of the cell. As the gene of the nanocell replicates, it replaces the normal cell with perfect copies. These copies allow the remote access of the gamer to the control of his character in the game.

Although this technology benefits the gamers in the society, acting as the character in the game is the downside. Even though these characters are paid, it does not erase the fact that nanocells proliferate in the brain allowing control of the person’s mind and body. However, in real life this is not possible.

In the point of view of biochemists, the nucleic acids, which are key biomolecules in the storage, transport and expression of the genetic code, will not agree in the mechanism of replication by nanocells displayed in the movie. Thus, one may ask, what are nucleic acids?

Nucleic acids, which are made up of monomers called nucleotides, can exist in nature as deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) or ribonucleic acid (RNA). Deoxyribonucleic acid contains the genetic information, which is passed on for generations. It is composed of nitrogenous bases, such as adenine, guanine, cytosine and thymine, which are attached to deoxyribose through N-glycosidic bond.

On the other hand, ribonucleic acids are single stranded molecules that assist in the transfer of information in DNA. It is made up of nitrogenous bases the same in DNA, however thymine is absent and is replaced by uracil. Therefore, these small biomolecules play an important role in the success of gene expression in the cell.

As seen in the movie, the nanocell integrated into the motor cortex of the brain replicates normal cells into perfect copies of the nanocell gene. This is in fact erroneous. The replication of the DNA, which involves the initiation of chain, elongation of chain and termination of chain, is semiconservative. This means that the DNA strands produced by replication contain the parent strand and the new strand of DNA as seen in the figure at the right.

Mind Control and Cell Replacements

In the movie, the control of the character’s mind by the gamer is through the utilization of nanocells that replicate and replace normal cells in the body. This allows remote access to the control of the person’s body and mind. Today, there are studies, which allow mind control and cell replacements in our society. These are coercive persuasion and neural stem cells and cell replacement therapy.

Coercive persuasion is the influence in the social behavior and attitude of the person using persuasion, coercive tactics and manipulation. It is sometimes called “brainwashing” by the media. These tactics are usually used to impose control of the person’s behavior and attitude. There have been numerous thought-reform programs that apply these tactics in individuals, groups of people or the entire population. These programs usually utilize physical assault or confinement.

Neural stem cells and cell replacement therapy have been a hot topic for a couple of years. Ethical concerns in the procurement of these stem cells have caught the attention of people in different groups. However, studies have shown that neural stem cells are able to replace cells in patients with neurological disorders. Neural stem cells are able to renew cells on their own, to produce other neural cells and to repopulate cells in the damaged region of the brain.

The future might have it all, however it depends on the people how to use their intelligence in developing technologies and gadgets. As one of the characters in the movie said, “This [situation] is not something you can control.” Events and circumstances cannot be controlled by controlling other people.

To influence others, we must control ourselves in doing the right things for others in our community.