Image: Gimcrack/YouTube
Weâll never know what, exactly, people a century ago thought 2018 was going to look like. Portable telephones? Sure. The downfall of American democracy? Who knows! It seems safe to assume, however, that they never thought it would involve an Australian man who goes by Meow-Ludo Disco Gamma Meow-Meow, a defenseless transportation card, and a cyborg hand.On Friday, Mr. Meow-Meowâapparently his legal nameâwas ordered to pay AUD 220 in fines and AUD 1,000 in legal fees, the ABC reported. According to authorities, he ran afoul of Sydneyâs public transportation rules because he tried to travel without the transportation card used to pay for trains and buses, and failed to produce said card when asked.Although he pled guilty to both charges, he tried to argue his case: In April 2017, he apparently had a chip used in Sydneyâs Opal card implanted in his hand by a âpiercing expert,â ostensibly enabling him to tap in without a card. He claimed he had used this hand when he was stopped for a ticket inspection in August 2017."There was an intention to comply at least with the payment component of a train fare," his lawyer said in court, according to BuzzFeed. He said he had enough money on the chip to tap in.Inspectors were not convinced. "Whatever was in the defendantâs hand, it certainly wasnât a card," the prosecutor said.His lawyer argued that because contactless payment already existsâcredit cards and phones can be used to tap throughâhuman hands should also count. Alas, the judge wasnât having it, and ruled that the current law stands, despite what might happen in the future.Unfortunately for cyborg wannabes everywhere, his chip was allegedly cancelled in February. âThis is only a bloody story because they cancelled my card," Mr. Meow-Meow told the Sydney Morning Herald at the time . "How often do you see the words 'innovation' and 'public transport' in the same sentence in Sydney?" A valid question, actually.This isnât the first time heâs made news, either. In 2016, he ran for public office on the Science Party ticket, campaigning on a pro-technology platform. (His lawyer says heâs a âself-identified bio-hackerâ and âdescribes himself occasionally as a cyborg,â so this should come as no surprise.)While heâs likely let down by the ruling, weâve got to hand it to him: Heâs got a better story than most alleged fare evaders.
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