What would happen if someone builds a device that can replicate anything, incl. itself? This could easily become an apocalypse. After months of widespread consumer satisfaction, some dolt would set his replicator to 'AUTO-REPLICATE." All the world's raw materials would be converted to billions and trillions of copies of the machine. Starving human survivors--wandering through dead landscapes consisting of quadrillions of pocket calculators, DVD players, pedometers, replicating machines, and other consumer electronics junk--would soon realize that you can cook a mouse pad...but you cannot eat a mouse pad. ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html