Well, he’s pretty well “tracked through space and time” so we have the location-awareness thing down. There are “inexpensive means of remotely and uniquely identifying [Sterling] over short ranges” (like binoculars; he’s pretty easy to spot). If he carries a cell phone we have a “mechanism to precisely locate [him] on Earth” (we could get Julian Bleeker to superglue the phone to Sterling for the purists, but afaic it makes no difference if the device is subdermal or stuck to his backside).

I suppose if you asked him a question his brain would “mine large amounts of data for things that match some given criteria, like internet search engines”. He might refuse though. Digital Sterling Rights Management.

Haxxor: “Bruce, we know you’re working on a book. Give it up. Now.”

Sterling: “No.”

Haxxor: “Bruce, we’re going to give you a little anti-DSRM shot. This won’t hurt a bit. You’ll just feel a small pinch.”

Sterling: “Noooooooooooooooo.”

I bet there are medical records and x-ray scans and maybe even 3D scans of his body so we have an idea of how he’s made. Whether or not he started off as a virtual 3D file is up for debate (God as a CAD app worshipped by the Church of the PLM).

“Cheap, effective recycling”? Soylent green works. Or maybe we could sell his organs on the black market. Imagine some old wealthy farts bidding to have Sterling’s heart implanted. Actually, don’t imagine that.

And now we know that It can be replicated because I got a good laugh out of an impression(?) of Bruce Sterling posted over on the Neoglam blog (Link). Go have a listen.

{Reference: Spime}