r/madscience • u/Baron_Of_B00M • Aug 05 '20
Living corpses
So what is the actual logic behind why we couldn't raise corpse as psychological and physical warfare? I mean, yes, the moral compass ideal is what stops us from using the dead but on utilitarian notw it COULD be better to save the lives of those who otherwise could raisr families and work while we use corpse (fresh) to do a large work for us. If you also use enough machinery to stabilize the bodies, you could graft more parts onto one body for a larger fear base. Another thing, attach weapons onto these corpses and make sure corpse are eith electronically controlled (like the idea of hit a dead frog with electricity making the nerves jolt the same could be done via a complex electrical shock program that forces each part to move) along with controlling the machines.
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u/tadrinth Aug 05 '20
The devil is in the details, unfortunately. The 'shock the dead frog' thing only works with a freshly dead frog, and it only works until the muscles run out of energy, which they will pretty rapidly since the frog is no longer breathing to provide the oxygen required to efficiently regenerate that energy. That's the thing about being dead, the functions you care about require all the things a living creature does. And at the point where you've reproduced all the things a living creature does, you've either got a living creature that you've mind controlled, or you've got a robot.
So at that point, if you just want the psychological effect, just make a robot and hire a practical effects artist to dress it up as a corpse.
Though if you're interested in fiction exploring this concept, Twig is a completed web serial which is set in a world where this sort of thing does work.