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"I long ago realized that I could reach far more people by writing something, than by walking down the street with a banner."
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A terrifying realization of the horror of mechanized warfare, from the generation before WWI. Also, this is an interesting use of a natural reference, that the robot used appendages like tentacles, as opposed to clumsy mechanical actuators.
In 1895, scientist Giovanni Schiaparelli reported seeing channels or grooves in the surface of Mars. Translations of the word he used - canali - made people think that there were canals on Mars. Schiaparelli himself published theories about life on Mars.
In thinking about what sort of image that this would conjure in the minds of turn-of-the-century people, take a look at this illustration from a 1906 edition:
Click to see a description of the Martian heat ray. See more tripod illustrations here. Thanks to Simon for the quote for this one! Comment/Join this discussion ( 3 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This | Additional
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Science Fiction
Timeline
Brin's 1990 Novel Earth Still Full Of Predictions
'... making the point that their likenesses, every move they made, were being transmitted.'
Gaia - Why Stop With Just The Earth?
'But the stars are only atoms in larger space, and in that larger space the star-atoms could combine to form living matter, thinking matter, couldn't they?'
Microsoft VASA-1 Creates Personal Video From A Photo
'...to build up a video picture would require, say, ten million decisions every second. Mike, you're so fast I can't even think about it. But you aren't that fast.'
Splendid View Of Eclipse From Orbit Visualized And Repurposed By Arthur C. Clarke
'The area affected was five hundred kilometres across, and perfectly circular.'
Goldene - A Two-Dimensional Sheet Of Gold One Atom Thick
'Hasan always pitched a Gauzy - a one-molecule-layer tent, opaque, feather-light, and very tough.'
SpaceX Wants A Moonbase Alpha
'And he had been sent with troops, supplies and bombs to command Russia's most trusted post, the Moonbase.'
Vast Apartment Living Will Get Even More Vast
'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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