A Short Time Ago, In a Company Not Far from Here

Episode IV

A New Hand

The Federation will in centuries know, or should that be already know, darn it is so hard to decide when Linlithgow's most famous future son managed to help invent transparent 'aluminum' [sic]*. All of course in order to transfer a humpback whale from 1986 to the 23rd Century to save mankind.

Heck even in Bathgate we had a company that made more slimline and similar in manufacture communications devices to those used on the Enterprise NCC1701. Indeed the phones that came out of the Motorola factory in the 1990s and early 21st century were probably more reliable than some of the communicators that Kirk and his crew ended up using.

Little did we know that the Rebel Alliance would also benefit from the know how of West Lothians elite scientific minds. Yes indeed! None other than Jedi Master Luke Skywalker himself may well have benefited from the inventiveness of the people around here. To be precise Touch Bionics who have just released unto the market the first bionic fingers. The myoelectic bespoke prosthesis can pick up electrical signals from the nerve endings of severed fingers or hands to enable the user to handle a fork, glass or light saber.



Of course the pedants amongst you will no doubt want to point out that the Rebel Alliance took on the Empire a long time ago, in a Galaxy far, far away. So maybe that just means that some descendant of Tatooine's most famous son is now living and working in Livingston.

* Why Montgomery Scott has the American way of pronouncing aluminium I dinnae ken.