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If they manage this and manage to make it seem convenient, they will possibly start adding features. SS#, Medical History, Money amount, all your identity. This will remove identity theft, since the area with the chip being removed will obviously be gone. However, when that chip, bar code, or whatever it will be is your entire life, you'll be forced to realize one thing. The government won't NEED to watch you. It'll be laughable if you try to act against them. After all, the only thing needed to remove you from this world at that point, is to remove that code or chip.

Of course, this is hypothetical. Unless a new order is started up, people will vote against it, fearing it can track them. Those that think far enough into the future will realize just what will possibly happen to them or their children, their children's children, so on and so forth. However, it will likely be mainly for fear of the government watching you. So what if it's a promise that you won't be watched twenty-four seven? If they make it a law to not do so? At some point, with how they will slowly make 'breakthroughs' to make life more simple, you will realize just how far they tricked you.

Of course, why would the government bother with this? Evaporating money into a chip won't help anyone at all, evaporating all of that into one won't help anyone. After all, then we'll have nothing to trade with. Even if it did work, why would a man who's there for maximum of eight years do that? There would be no point other than to either leave his mark, or see if he could. Why would congress do that? The one who first suggests it and manages it to be sent through a vote would never be voted for again. No, it's not likely to happen to Americans, unless we manage to let something happen to our paranoia about the government.

As for the religious area of it? If it were going to happen with our modern day technology, then it really is just a coincidence. Or maybe something inspired by the bible. If it were going to happen in the religious method, it would likely be done with Lucipher's own power. After all, if he can find the one speck of darkness in a good person's heart and expand it, then he can at least mark anyone willing to accept it. Doesn't need tech for that.

My point? I do think it's a bad idea, but it's probably not gonna be passed if even just one conspiracy freak still lives. It would only take one sentence to spread uncertainty in humans. Mind you, it would have to have an ounce of possibility, an ounce of what could be. But then, Spacer's got a point. They let us all be turned into numbers, eventually, this may happen. If we continue to let stupid slip-ups occur, it will be inevitable.

Did you get this idea from the Barcode Revolution books?

Oh, well they are almost exactly the future you describe.

Yeah, you should find the books, they're pretty interesting.

Yeah, I've read about that idea in a book, too. There's several books that use it. I believe the book I read was from the Barcode Revolution series. Basically, they can decide your fate through the barcode. It can give you money, take away your money, and, if I remember correctly, give you an illness or cure. So if the government doesn't like you, you're screwed.

It's kind of a silly idea for real life. I mean, c'mon, ink costs too damn much. It'd probably be cheaper to implant little cards in everyone. Little microchips for computers and whatnot cost less than ink for a printer. If the government is trying to control us, then they'd probably think of the cheapest way to do it.

They're already thinking about doing that sort of thing. With the chip and all that. Or just one card that you carry around. It'll be your identity card, credit card, health insurance card---an all-around card that can only be read by some specific scanner. Of course, that scanner is selectively given out, but it's not as if it could be stolen, or the specs could be figured out be a clever little thief. That's the disadvantage; wouldn't it be a little disconcerting if someone could read everything about you at the supermarket?

Also, I agree with what Orchid said. Plus, there's the whole identity theft thing. You steal a chip from some rich doctor, you may have access to their bank account, or something. Maybe, if the government would be stupid enough to make the chip something more than just a way to identify you with.

Anyway, I don't think anything like that would happen. And if it did, I don't think most the population would be eager to have it done to them, much unlike the "sheep" of sci-fi novels.