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"Another reason why privacy could be just a passing fad, terrorism is going to get too good. [1997]"
- Larry Niven
 |
| Space Tugs | ||
| Early use of familiar ocean vehicle in space. |
How to move more cargo space-ward? Space tugs. This is not the earliest use of this term. See space tug from Murder on the Asteroid (1933) by Eando Binder.
| Martiacast VXV calling Vanguard. Can now observe the Starider. You've permission to enter the sphere of Mars to make contact with vessel. Are ordering out space tugs. |
| Technovelgy from Describe a Circle,
by Eric Frank Russell. Published by Astounding Science Fiction in 1942 Additional resources -
|
Murray Leinster, in his 1953 story Space Tug, made great use of this idea:
He grinned at them. The Chief raised his eyebrows. Haney turned his head to stare. Joe said exuberantly: "They've been talking about arming ships with guided missiles to fight with. Too heavy, of course. But—if we could handle guided missiles, why couldn't we handle drones?"[Pg 97]
The three of them gaped at him. Sally said, startled, "But—but, Joe, I didn't——"
"We've got plenty of hulls!" said Joe. Somehow he still looked astonished at what he'd made of Sally's perfectly obvious comment. "Mike's arranged for that! Make—say—six of 'em into drones—space barges. Remote-controlled ships. Control them from one manned ship—the tug! We'll ride that! Take 'em up to the Platform exactly like a tug tows barges. The tow-line will be radio beams. We'll have a space-tow up, and not bother to bring the barges back! There won't be any landing rockets! They'll carry double cargo! That's the answer! A space tug hauling a tow to the Platform!"
See also the tug Marcus Garvey from Neuromancer by William Gibson.
Sally's just gotten the real answer! The answer is for ships to go up to the Platform and not come back!"
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'...great rectangular slabs of muscle, slung into a rectangular frame.'
'If the biological robots were not living creatures, they were certainly very good imitations.'
"Everybody and his dog, it seemed, wanted to live out in the country; transportation and communication were no longer isolating factors."
'... the new typewriter that could be talked to, and which transposed the spoken sound into typed words.'
'... underneath they consisted of networks of cooling tubes against the skin.'
