Virtual Light by William Gibson:
Science Fiction Inventions, Technology and Ideas

Set in California (well, NoCal and SoCal) in 2005, there is a lot of social upheaval (homeless people seize the San Francisco bay bridge for living space, television worship). A bicycle messenger turned pickpocket steals a set of high-tech sunglasses that can see into a special dataset; DatAmerica corporate types pursue. Select an invention:

Canola Oil - a cob in your tank
Vegetable oil refined for use as fuel

Chunker - non-violent weapon
A device that fires small cubes of rubber; a non-lethal form of riot control.

Fractal Knife - more cutting surface
The blade uses a fractal geometry to increase its cutting surface.

Hood Hologram
A hologrammatic display on the outside surface of a car.

Separated At Birth Database
Missing persons database uses similarity to famous people.

Stealth House - toxic dwellings
A home that is entirely sealed, leading to toxic buildup.

 

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Science Fiction
in the News

Meta's Horizon Studio's Unique Avatars From Text Prompts
re: Neal Stephenson
(6/22/2026)

VaMEx Biomimetic Mars Robot Inspired By Skink
re: Philip K. Dick
(6/21/2026)

NEO Brain Computer Interface (BCI)
re: Iain M. Banks
(6/19/2026)

Did Frank Herbert Predict E-Ink Displays?
re: Frank Herbert
(6/17/2026)

Monolith One Giant Industrial Metal 3D-printer
re: Philip K. Dick
(6/15/2026)

'Mooncrete' Lunar Regolith Concrete (LRC)
re: William Gibson
(6/13/2026)

China's 'Magpie Drone' Ornithopter
re: Greg Bear
(6/11/2026)

MAI-Voice-2 Microsoft Text-To-Speech
re: Nat Schachner
(6/9/2026)

Tumblin' Tumbleweed Rovers To Eplore Mars
re: Clifford Simak
(6/5/2026)

Tentacled Robot Captures Space Debris
re: Makoto Yukimura
(6/3/2026)

Prufrock-MB2 Ready In Nashville
re: Paul Ernst
(6/1/2026)

DIY Robotic Content Farming
re: Schachner and Zagat
(5/29/2026)

Reflect Orbital Sunlight On Demand
re: Theodore Sturgeon
(5/27/2026)

The Amazing Lightfoot Electric Scooter With Solar Assist
re: Robert Heinlein
(5/25/2026)

More SF in the News

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