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"We [science fiction writers] always wanted to believe in "private sector" space -- hucksters make better characters than a government does."
- Larry Niven
 |
| 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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Tech news articles related to The Twonky
Tech news articles related to works by Lewis Padgett
| Ridiculous 'Ghost Murmur' Tech Still Science Fiction |
| Infrared Contact Lenses To See In The Dark |
| Can 'Tactical Umbrellas' Shield One From Drones |
| Chinese Aircar Light And Airy, Not For Blade Runners |
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'Clothes are no longer made from dead fibers of fixed color and texture that can approximate only crudely to the vagrant human figure...'
'Books were just a commodity that had to be produced, like jam or bootlaces.'
'...it rears and spreads its fan. It can pick one man out of a crowd.'
'...a new plastic with the characteristics of an avian eggshell.'
'It was a pushpot, which could not possibly be called a jet plane because it could not possibly fly. Only it did.'
'She wouldn't stop until Antar had told her everything he knew about whatever it was that she was playing with on her screen.'
'Does thinking you're the last sane man on the face of the Earth make you crazy?'
