Total Personal Security

No dream last night, but I woke up with a new slogan and idea in my head: "Total Personal Security."

This comes down to an improvement on the "One card to rule all" idea.

One card to rule all:
Many people carry multiple cards in their wallet: several credit cards, one or more debit cards, health insurance, business i.d. card, travel card, social welfare card, store card, driving licence etc., as well as carrying a separate passport. The "one card to rule all" idea is that all of these can be replaced by a single card to carry out all those functions. Bring your collection of cards to the Single Card Company, and we can issue you a single card that will mimic all of these separate cards. A card contains data that enables you to communicate with data held on computer somewhere. The single card mimics each of the other cards in turn (you may have to "Select Card" when using it).

Total Personal Security:
The "Total Personal Security" device goes further. It links with the unique bio-identity of the owner, so that it will refuse to function for any person other than the genuine owner. So, if your TPS card is stolen, and you are fooled or forced into disclosing your PIN, it doesn't matter. When borne by someone else, the only message transmitted by the TPS card is "Warning: the present yielder of this card is a fraud." Besides existing card functions, it also monitors the carrier's heart-beat, temperature, blood pressure, blood-sugar, wakefulness and so on. It knows when it is being carried by a false claimant because of its ability to verify the carrier's bio-identity.

Of course, the TPS does not need to be a card. It operates by WIFI and Bluetooth. When you approach a card-reading device such as an ATM machine or border control point, the contact is made automatically. It can be a small device attached to a finger-nail (for example), or surgically inserted under the skin. Fancifully, it can be inserted under the skin in the centre of the forehead, where the "all-seeing eye" of yoga is situate. Then when you look at an ATM machine, it can take your introduction from your All Seeing Eye and confirm your identity by looking (via a camera) at your Irises.

This is not a next-generation device. There are a few steps first to be taken, including the Single Card, and it has to overcome the virulent opposition of Luddites.

Hypnogogic Phaze
Having woken up to this conundrum, I allowed my mind to wander over the subject in a hypnogogic dream - i.e., a half-awake dream. In this I saw a professional person approach a barman for a gin and tonic. The barman said: "Your TPS card tells me that you are diabetic and have not eaten for six hours. So, I must  offer you a meal before serving you alcohol. Would you like a hard-boiled egg with salad and guacamole, or would you like a protein bar?"