[Gadget_151]

So…I’m writing a piece of fiction for a friend and I’ve hit a little wall. The story takes place more than a thousand years from now, so there’s space travel, colonies on other planets, advanced medical technology, your usual sci-fi universe. There’s a character (not human) who loses his arm from the shoulder down in some sort of accident or explosion or something along those lines and then has his arm replaced with a mechanical prosthetic. For whatever reason, cloning tissue and trying to “grow” this character a new arm didn’t prove fruitful, think of how organ transplants sometimes just don’t take even though everything is a match the body still rejects the “foreign” tissue. Which is what happens here and is why this character gets a mechanical arm instead. My goal is that all feeling and sensation are restored to the arm even though it’s fake.

Now that you’ve got the background, my question is this:

Would the mechanical arm have to be “wired” into the nervous system in the brain? Or just the nerves in the arm itself? This is just theoretical and isn’t something I’ll go into detail on in the story other than to mention it but I’d still like to know for myself.

[ScottGem]

Issac Asimov had a series of stories about a detective in the future who had a prosthetic arm. You might check how he did it.

[Gadget_151]

Issac Asimov has written a few series (Foundation, Robots, Norby Chronicles and Galactic Empire). Could you direct me to which series?

[Curlyben]

I think Scott is referring to the I, Robot film with Will Smith.
To guide your question, if you require the artificial arm to have feeling than it would need to interface with the nervous system in some way.

[Gadget_151]

Maybe and I've seen that, but the book was mostly different.
And I know the arm would have to interface (lovely word) with the nervous system, I just don't know how. Directly into the brain? Or through a nerve cluster in, say, the shoulder?

[Curlyben]

It's your story so your choice.
Do you need to go into detail or simply gloss over as I did above...

[Gadget_151]

Yeah I could definitely be vague about the process, I'm just curious as to what would be the most likely if it were possible.

[Cat1864]

You can read how other authors have handled the subject or you can look at human anatomy and how it works. Also look at the state of current prosthetics and computer/mechanical interfaces. Yes, it is a lot of homework but if you are interested in the subject then it could be very fascinating.

Imagine your mechanical arm taking the place of a flesh one. Break it down into movement, touch, sensation, etc. How would mechanical devices replace the organic?

Or, even if the arm couldn't be replaced/regrown with an organic part, would the mechanical have organic components? Real skin over a mechanical structure?

[tickle]

The mechanical arm would have to be wired into the nervous system, spinal column, into the brain to react to commands.

[Gadget_151]

I think I will be taking the time to do the research Cat1864, I enjoy learning and it my inspire me to branch further out in my writing. And now I really like the idea of organic skin over a mechanical limb.

Tickle, thank you, that's pretty much the answer I was looking for.

[ScottGem]

Actually I am referring to the Robot Series (which doesn't include I, Robot) and Elijah Baley the detective central character. Caves of Steel was the first book and one of Mr Asimov's first.

By the way, I had the great pleasure of meeting Mr Asimov in person and actually having a conversation with him. There is very good reason he is, arguably, the greatest sci fi writer in history. There is Heinlein and Asimov at the top of the genre and everyone else a step or more down.

[Gadget_151]

Ok, I'll see if I can't get my hands on that then, thank you. And Scott, have you watched the documentary "The Prophets of Science Fiction"? It's hosted by Ridley Scott and covers the works and lives of eight of the most known and inspired sci-fi writers.
Mary Shelley, Phillip K , HG Wells, Arthus C Clarke, Jules Verne, Robert Heinlein, George Lucas and Issac Asmov of course. It's amazing how those authors shaped a lot of the actual science we have today. Seriously, I don't even like documentaries and I've watched it multiple times.

[talaniman]

Everybody knows they use neural nano bots to connect the brain to artificial limbs. Jut snort a few and start juggling apples, or what ever they eat a thousand years from now. And if you can get a clone, what do you need and artificial arm for?

[ScottGem]

And Scott, have you watched the documentary "The Prophets of Science Fiction"? It's hosted by Ridley Scott and covers the works and lives of eight of the most known and inspired sci-fi writers.

I'll have to look for that, though I'm not sure I would lump Mary Shelley in that group.

[Cat1864]

Scott, if you have Netflix, they have it available. Even the one on Mary Shelly is interesting.