Science Fiction Dictionary
A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

Latest By
Category:


Armor
Artificial Intelligence
Biology
Clothing
Communication
Computers
Culture
Data Storage
Displays
Engineering
Entertainment
Food
Input Devices
Lifestyle
Living Space
Manufacturing
Material
Media
Medical
Miscellaneous
Robotics
Security
Space Tech
Spacecraft
Surveillance
Transportation
Travel
Vehicle
Virtual Person
Warfare
Weapon
Work

"Self-education is, I firmly believe, the only kind of education there is."
- Isaac Asimov

Spacegram  
  Telegrams of the space lanes.  

I don't know of an earlier use of this word.

When the railroads opened the American West, telegraph lines went right along. So, when opening the space lanes...

In his hand he clutched a small square of blue paper which I instantly recognized as a spacegram...

...he interrupted me, took my trembling hands from his arms and pushed forward the blue square of crinkled paper. I stared at it, swiftly perused it for some explanation to the horror.

DEC 2012
INTERPLANETARY EARTHPORT
IMPORTANT STOP DETAIN ALL
SPACECRAFT LEAVING EARTH
WITHIN TWENTY-FOUR HOURS STOP
CLOUD OF STRANGE ELEC-
TRO METEORITES BRUSHED
PAST EROS CAUSING VIOLENT
ELECTRICAL DISPLAY STOP
SPACE CRUISER VALONDINE RE-
FUELING AT EROS WITHIN THE
HOUR AND LEAVING FOR EARTH
COMMANDER MARSPORT

Technovelgy from An Adventure on Eros, by J. Harvey Haggard.
Published by Wonder Stories in 1931
Additional resources -

Take a look at this instance of the word, from Pirates of Space (1931) by B.X. Barry:

Spacegrams were being flashed to Mars, Venus and other planets of the civilized explored universe.
Here's another example from Jurisdiction (1941) by Nat Schachner:

Simeon Kenton, of Kenton Space Enterprises, Unlimited, was in a terrible temper... His mildly whiskered saint's visage was screwed up into unutterable knots. In his tight-clutched fingers was a blue spacegram which he shook violently at his daughter at each choking pause in his peroration...


('Jurisdiction' by Nat Schachner)

Old Simeon glared at her and waved the offending spacegram so violently it ripped in his fingers.

Here's another use, from Off the Beam (1944) by George O. Smith:

A steward found Channing in the salon and handed him a ’gram. Channing smiled, and the steward returned the smile and added : “You’ll fix these ships to talk back one day. Wait until you read that one — you’ll burn from here to Terra !”

"Reading my mail?" asked Channing cheerfully. The average spacegram was about as secret as a postcard, so Channing didn't mind...

Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |

Additional resources:
  More Ideas and Technology from An Adventure on Eros
  More Ideas and Technology by J. Harvey Haggard
  Tech news articles related to An Adventure on Eros
  Tech news articles related to works by J. Harvey Haggard

Articles related to Communication
Will Whales Be Our First Contact?
NYC/Dublin Portal Fails To Meet 'Guardian Of Forever' Standards
Holobox? Who Doesn't Want A Home Hologram?
EBS-260 Handjet Free Hand Dot Matrix Printer

Want to Contribute an Item? It's easy:
Get the name of the item, a quote, the book's name and the author's name, and Add it here.

<Previous
Next>

Google
  Web TechNovelgy.com   

 

 

Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Science Fiction Invention Timeline, or see what's New.

 

 

 

 

Science Fiction Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's   1950's
1960's   1970's
1980's   1990's
2000's   2010's

Science Fiction in the News

Nevada Will Use AI To Decide Worker Benefits
'They had screwed up and been blacklisted by Manna.'

Tether Cryptocurrency Flow Rate US$190Bn Per Day
'Alex did not find it surprising that people... were electronically minting their own cash.'

First Trips To Mars Announced By Elon Musk
'I had determined that my first attempt should be a visit to Mars.'

WaPOCHI Micro-Mobility Robot Follows Like A Pet With Your Bags
To follow the user like a pet while carrying their cargo!

Ultra-Realistic Robotic Arowana Robo-Fish
'Deveet unhooked his catch and laid it on the bank beside him. It was a metal fish.'

GITAI R1 Lunar Rover Like NASA Robonaut Centaur
'...waldoes in the screen followed in exact, simultaneous parallelism.'

Meshworm Soft Robot, With Peristaltic Crawling, Is Getting Better
'Seen close it was not completely flexible, but made instead of pivoted and smoothly finished segments.'

Mushroom 'Robot' Is Just A Start
'Some unknown race ... decided to help them out.'

Tesla Electric 'Giga Train' Operational In Germany
'...the cars are wedge-shaped at both ends.'

DOTPad Braille Device Offers Live Access
Amazing tactile display.

More SF in the News

More Beyond Technovelgy

Home | Glossary | Science Fiction Timeline | Category | New | Contact Us | FAQ | Advertise |
Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction™

Copyright© Technovelgy LLC; all rights reserved.