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USA - Monty Reed is becoming a man of science, but he has long been a man of faith.The Seattle native, now 40, has used mostly his own money over many of the past 19 years developing a robotic device he devoutly believes will allow even quadriplegics to walk, climb stairs and, someday, perhaps to dance.

With a learning disability and barely two years of college behind him, Reed plans to show off his 12th prototype of the device by walking in it Sunday in the St. Patrick's Day Dash, a 3.1-mile race between Seattle Center and Safeco Field.

A lanky, 75-pound contraption evoking scenes from "Robocop" and "Aliens," the robotic exoskeleton looks like a combined backpack and rocket pack, topped with scuba tanks.

Struggling into the device for a demonstration, he refers to it as the Lifesuit. However, it's nowhere near ready to change someone's life. In fact, it has never been clinically tested on patients. A grand total of $2,500, plus donated parts and labor, have funded its development.

But Reed, a devout Christian who comes across as a revved-up, bearded cherub, is a true believer.

He joined the U.S. Army Airborne Rangers right out of high school, planning a career in the service. At age 21, a nighttime parachute jump "somewhere in Europe" went awry 100 feet from completion, and he plunged full speed to the ground.

He broke his ankle and back, sustaining injuries that Army doctors at Fort Ord, Calif., said would have paralyzed most people.

Told he would never walk again or be able to stand or sit for more than 15 minutes, he was advised to consider working as an editor, lying in bed with his hands strapped to a keyboard.

During his nine-month convalescence, Reed got the idea for the Lifesuit while reading Robert Heinlein's "Starship Troopers.".

"Heinlein described a suit all the soldiers wore that could carry their weapons and armor, and if they were unconscious, the suit could walk them back and get them medical attention," he said yesterday. "I thought, 'Maybe I can build one of those.' ".

He had no training in robotics, only in "shooting things and blowing things up. But I started to learn," he said. "I felt like God had given me a gift, a vision for this idea. It was so real to me, how could I not build it?".

Despite some despondent moments, Reed pursued his interest in robotics and the Lifesuit, applying to study at North Seattle. But, lacking funding, he dropped out and held a variety of jobs, re-enrolling at the school in late 2001..

His informal collaborator, University of Washington rehab physician Steven Stiens, said a model suitable for testing on patients is probably two prototypes away. But in the longer term, "it could become a practical assistant for ambulation over short distances -- even for walking stairs and, with very sophisticated software, for dancing.".

He said he can imagine amputees using the device to walk, since the function of legs is fulfilled by metal frames.

Dr. Valerie Cwik, medical director of the Muscular Dystrophy Association, said she finds the contraption intriguing.

"It certainly sounds like it has the potential at some point to be a useful technology, with the potential to augment strength and movement," she said.

Reed said he's gotten a lot of volunteer help and encouragement along the way from the Seattle Robotics Society and the school's robotics club. Underwater Sports, a scuba store, donated the cylinders of air used to power the device's pistons.

No one can be sure what will come of Reed's efforts. But his pastor, Philadelphia Church's David Ogren, is -- like Reed himself -- optimistic.

"I think it's going somewhere. I think 15, 20 years from now, we're going to say, 'Hey, I knew that guy.' "

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