High Tech, Under the Skin

The New York Times

February 2, 2006

By ANNA BAHNEY

WILLIAM DONELSON'S left hand gripped the paper-covered arm of an antique barber chair at a tattoo and piercing shop in Cambridge, Ontario. His feet bounced gently on the chrome footrest as he waited for his implant.

The piercer — whose day is usually spent inserting rings into the eyebrows and navels of teenage girls — snapped on purple latex gloves and lifted a four-millimeter-wide sterilized needle to Mr. Donelson's hand.

"I'm set," Mr. Donelson said with a deep breath. He watched as the needle pierced the fleshy webbing between his thumb and forefinger and a microchip was slid under his skin. At last he would be able to do what he had long imagined: enhance his body's powers through technology.

By inserting the chip, a radio frequency identification device, Mr. Donelson would literally have at his fingertips the same magic that makes security gates swing open with a swipe of a card, and bridge and tunnel traffic flow smoothly with an E-ZPass. With a wave of his hand he planned to log on to his computer, open doors and unlock his car.

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