China For Life

RFID, or radio frequency identification, has been around for some time. The basic technology of this high-end tracking device involves a group of pretty metal wires, usually yellow or silver, aligned in a rectangular (sometimes circular) pattern engraved onto a small chip or a piece of paper. You might have seen this on books, video games (especially the new XBox 360 games), and generally expensive products. Information is stored in these wires, which are accessed by radio waves, which then are fed into a computer with the object's precise location.

The classic versions of these are mostly chips found in animals, passports, mastercards, hardcore clubbers, etc. The new version is tattoos from Somark. Yes, tattoos! Now it is more flexible and safe, so you can have one too. The new RFID comes in color or invisible passive ink that writes a barcode on your body. This new chemical is also completely inert and bio-compatible with bodily contents. Of course, they are first going to tattoo all the cows, so in a few months, the beef you eat might contain some nutritious RFID ink. Well, at least if you fall ill from mad cow, they can track back to which cow you ate.

This is no longer science fiction. It is only a matter of time before all of us are tagged. If you join the army, uncle Sam would like to give you a tattoo of "solidarity". Yes, you know what that means. A mere 10 seconds is all it takes; you can even be tagged in your sleep.