@ ufogio: I think the medikit shouldn't only have nanobots, so the inclusion of this other technology would make a good addition.
@ eleazar: Nanotech is a staple of CyberPunk fiction, right next to implants. If cybertech is seen as reasonable, then so should nanobots be seen.
@ nemchenk: Today's first responder medical kits already have WAY more than drugs. Glue for wound closure, splints for broken bones, breathing assistance, perhaps a defibrillator. It really becomes a question of what to leave out to bring the kit down to a reasonable size and weight. Nanotech simplifies packing the kit by substituting a vial of 'bots for, i.e., a bulky bandage.
Then again, common uses of nanotech in cyberpunk involve things like:
1) increase muscle mass/strength
2) thicker skin/built in armor
3) toxin binders to make the user poison resistant - but aliens don't use gas weapons, do they?
4) enhanced antibodies to make the user disease resistant - would it be useful against XVI?
So most of this would already be taken up in the category of implants. The point is, it doesn't matter in game mechanics whether this stuff is chrome or 'bots, the result is the same. As far as nano-based weapons, i don't see a point unless they can be targeted so as to attack aliens only. I don't recall reading about such in novels. Perhaps it could be a result of researching live aliens, though any such weapon would have to be implemented carefully so as to not break game balance. Then again, the frightening thought would aliens employing such weapons against us. Perhaps it wouldn't be too different from their virus, though. Nanotech also wouldn't be different in application from bio-engineered tools, most of which would not be helpful at the level of abstraction of UFO:AI.
@ Zorlen: In a happy world, the common uses of nanotech that i envision [oil spill cleanup, soil conditioning] would not be useful to PHALANX. It could be worth a mention in a background article. I'm going to try to quote from memory [might not be exact] the seminal science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke: "sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic". However, i think we can all agree that humanity in the world of UFO isn't there yet. Nonetheless, lazy writers can and do use nanotechnology as an easy way out - same as they do with every other buzzword.
