As far as the color pattern of the torcs of Shant go, I would guess that the activation signal in the torc would be based on the original color, so changing the color of the torc wouldn't stop a head from being removed. This assumes that the Anome knows who the person to be killed is and can look up the correct pattern. If he has to go by just the observed color of the torc, then sending the signal would have no effect, which leads us to a new and interesting crime.

If you have a grudge against a person, you could paint your torc to match his, commit an egregious offense and wait for the Anome to remove his head. The crime is so obvious, I'm rather surprised that it isn't common on Shant.

As for the killer chip goes, does the patent say where on the body the chip will be implanted? It is possible for a determined person to deactivate an implant on an arm or a leg by removing the offending limb. That's why the torc, worn around the neck works so well. I'm guessing that the chip would need to be implanted in a part of the body where removal would automatically be fatal. Take that together with chip automatically killing the person on any attempt to remove it from the body, and the chip becomes a life sentence, either way. And that doesn't address what happens if there is a failure of some kind in the chip. Are we willing to kill by default, I wonder?


Immanuel Kant: sapere aude