Grimmund wrote (of mind-controlled toys):
 > Depends on the price.

Yep, for several values of "price".
How capable are the toys?
Who is getting implanted?
How invasive are the implants? How are they placed?
How reliable are they?
What failure modes do they have?

The human brain grows, on average, as follows:
Age       Size as proportion of adult (=100%)
Birth     25%
6 months  50%
2.5 yrs   75%
5 yrs     90%
10 yrs    95%

The 95% size threshold can be reached as early as 7 years or as late as
11 (95% confidence intervals from paediatric and anthro literature).

Implants in otherwise healthy children aren't going to happen before the
90% threshold unless magic nanotechnology is assumed where the hardware
grows with the child.

Below this age, hardware based treatments for seizures, movement
disorders, etc. are very plausible at typical Traveller tech levels
given the gradual advances being made today.

 > Cat ears.

With augmented directionality, threshold sensitivity, emotional state
links and frequency spectral range in the deluxe models.

Jeffrey Schwartz wrote:
 > Article I'd been working on for Freelance Traveller... but got
 > creeped out by and never really finished.

Yes, following the brain implant/broad spectrum interface concept to its
(physio-, psycho-)logical conclusions can get more than mildly disturbing.

Thanks Bruce for the reminder about Delaney's "Nova".

Bruce wrote:
 > This is also similar to some cyberpunk tropes about people
 > getting addicted to cyber enhancements and ‘cyber psychosis’.

"...You have to watch these street docs and the modding community
pushing the technology - and some of the safety overrides - to their
limits. For example, the dopaminergic feedback circuitry is disabled or
absent in most of our products. Sadly that hasn't stopped the growth of
the wirehead or joybuzzer subculture. Then there's the psychonauts..."

- Excerpt from an interview with Eneri Haarshau, CTO of the Naasirka
Neuroweave Products Division appearing on "Capital Tonight:" 'Brain
Interfaces - Users and Abusers' 353:1097

Rob O'Connor
hopefully not killing the threading with this post