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"The permanent government now is the anchorpeople. They don't get elected, and year after year they're responding emotionally to this or that."
- Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
 |
| Sobriety Ray | ||
| A ray of a particular wavelength and intensity, that conferred instant sobriety on those it shone upon. |
| Two hours later a taxi let Kerry out at his door. He was remarkably drunk...
The radio came forward to meet him. Tentacles, thin, but strong as metal, coiled gently around his body, holding him motionless... From the radio panel a beam of yellow light shot out, blinding the man. It swung down, aimed at his chest. Abruptly a queer taste was perceptible under Kerry's tongue. He was sober. |
| Technovelgy from The Twonky,
by Lewis Padgett. Published by Street and Smith in 1942 Additional resources -
|
Padgett offers an interesting bit of pseudoscience for how it works, based on a false analogy to the manner in which the body manufactures vitamin D.
"The vibrationary equivalent of thiamin chloride... There's vitamin content in sunlight, you know."
Patients with chronic alcoholism or experiencing alcohol withdrawal are at risk of thiamin deficiency and its associated complications, and are given thiamin prior to rehydrating them.
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'What would you do,' Eric asked the robot cabdriver, 'if your wife had turned to stone, your best friend were a toad, and you had lost your job?'
'those suits they wear -- call them 'stillsuits' -- that reclaim the body's own water...'
'Now, except for weight and heat, the same conditions prevail in this chamber as in space.'
'there were so many worms and counterworms loose in the data-net...'
'Now, look, let's start with the three fundamental Rules of Robotics...'
'..the synthetic intellects at the Place of Knowledge had far outstripped the minds of men.'
'But after washing and drying clothes had to be smooth - free from fine lines and wrinkles ...'
