Culturally speaking, Rossi's eCat (eKittin) technology reminds me of a very popular science fiction genre known as "Steam Punk." Steam Punk has its origins that can be traced back many decades. Curiously, within recent history, the genre has become a thriving sub-culture within the science fiction community. Steam Punk has spawned many popular novels and films in recent history.
Basically speaking, Steam Punk exists as an alternate universe, one that seems to revolve around what might be called old world technology, technology based more on the rules of alchemy rather than Quantum Mechanics. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_punk This comparison/revelation hit me like a ton of bricks last night while my wife read out-loud a brief passage from a Steam Punk novel she is currently reading. I found myself thinking about the recent PDF report which includes photos of several eCats in various stages of having been dismantled. The visual flavor looking at all of those dirty copper pipes couldn't have been any closer to what steam punk "technology" is all about. This is speculation on my part, but it would seem as if many gifted Steam Punk writers, without realizing it, have tapped into an alternate universe - as if some part of their psyche unconsciously sensed the distinct possibility that this other world must actually exist somewhere for real. They longed to pull that reality into our universe where we could explore it in more detail. Perhaps their novels helped sparked unconscious speculation on the matter, eventually resulting in bringing Steam Punk "technology" to fruition in our universe. FWIW, a sub-culture such as Steam Punk doesn't thrive as well as it does unless there is something substantial underneath it. Regards Steven Vincent Johnson www.OrionWorks.com www.zazzle.com/orionworks
