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"My father was a master mechanic; I grew up with a screwdriver in one hand and a pair of pliers in the other."
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This three-part serial was originally published in 1943. In the story, the device is presented as being a small rod, like a flashlight, which projects an energy beam.
Sure, go ahead and compare it to the lightsaber from Star Wars and the rod from Fritz Leiber's 1943 novel Gather, Darkness!. See also the entry for flashlight laser, which is essentially an indefinitely long light saber, from Ringworld, by Larry Niven. Niven mentions "light swords" in the book. See also the entry for Force-Field Penknife, from Foundation by Isaac Asimov.
Thanks to Stephen Jones for pointing this out in Dr. Hermes Retro-Scans. Thanks also to Secret Master of Fandom for the illustration and discussion. Comment/Join this discussion ( 2 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This | Additional
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Science Fiction
Timeline
Brin's 1990 Novel Earth Still Full Of Predictions
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Gaia - Why Stop With Just The Earth?
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'The area affected was five hundred kilometres across, and perfectly circular.'
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'And he had been sent with troops, supplies and bombs to command Russia's most trusted post, the Moonbase.'
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'What is your population', I asked. 'About eighty millions.'
NASA Wants Self-Driving Or Remote-Controlled Vehicles For Lunar Astronauts
'THE autobus turned silently down the wide street of Hydropole. Robot-guided, insulated from noise and cold...'
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