Barcodes in Human Bodies: A Reality?
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 8028 |
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July 20, 2008 |
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 Most products distributed and purchased in our world nowadays are regulated by barcodes. When a product is scanned on a reader, the information of that particular product is read instantaneously and registered in the computer. According to the length and the width of each bar, 2 bars create a pair and represent a digit. The combination of these digits is translated into the information regarding the production and the price of the product.
Among these bars are 3 pairs of bars that are longer than the rest. When a computer identifies each set of barcodes, these 3 pairs of bars denote the beginning, the middle, and the end of a set and they are thus placed at the beginning, at the middle, and at the end of each barcode. Each of these 3 pairs of bars represents the number "6." When a computer processes each barcode, it is said that the number "6 "is the most ideal digit that produces the least amount of errors. Therefore, in every barcode, the 3 pairs of bars, each of which represents the number "6," form "666."
As the employment of barcodes has become commonplace and its accessibility widely recognized, some people have posed a question: How much easier would life become if barcodes were engraved in human bodies?
One such solution is a "biochip," a capsule-shaped microchip whose length is less than 1 centimeter (about 4 inches) long, which would be implanted into a human body by way of injection. This miniscule chip contains a device that stores and saves information, antennas, and a battery. That storage device contains the information of the host and the antennas are used to transmit the stored information to the equipment outside the body. The battery is charged on its own within the living being.
 The VeriChip, the first human-implantable microchip approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in October 2004, contains an individual's medical records, among others, and each VeriChip is composed of 16-digit numbers. The VeriChip is a human barcode that was initially devised to regulate the sales and the inventory of different products. Controversy has been brewing, however, as the barcode is set to be applied to humans.
The use of barcodes in humans is so far limited to tracing and regulating patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease or sex offenders but the expansion of the scope of its use has become a trend as of late. This is foretelling the impending violation of human rights that will stem from "barcoded humans."
Starting last year, the City of Seoul has made it mandatory for all pet dogs to be implanted with identification microchips composed of 15-digit codes. This measure took effect in response to the severity of the nuisance caused by dogs. There is also a possibility to use human-implantable microchips as a means to conduct surveillance on criminals. Whatever the motive or incentive, however, as the use of human-implantable microchips becomes more generalized, mankind no longer appears to be free from the restriction of being labeled "barcoded products."
Along with criticisms and concerns regarding the violation of human rights, people are generally opposed to having foreign substances inserted into their bodies. Yet, a time will come when people will accept its use without feeling too uncomfortable especially after they have repeatedly heard about the usefulness and the comfort offered by such devices. Powerful forces of which we are not fully aware have already made their advances deep into our everyday life.
"And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. Here is wisdom Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six" (Revelation 13:16-18).
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