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"I do think there is a link in that in both cases, writing fiction or writing a computer program, at any given moment you're focusing on a very specific and particular thing—one word, one line of code, whatever."
- Neal Stephenson
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| Gravity Train | ||
| An underground railway system that utilizes gravity for acceleration. |
This same idea is a major plot 'device' in the 2012 version of the Total Recall movie.
| They joined the line for the gravity train to Archimedes. The four of them boarded, the car was sealed, and Lilo's weight dropped away as the car fell down the inclined tunnel for almost four hundred kilometers. Somewhere under the Appenines the tunnel begain to slope up again, gradually slowing their speed to a crawl as the car nosed into the elevator which took them up to inhabited levels. |
| Technovelgy from The Ophiuchi Hotline,
by John Varley. Published by Quantum Science Fiction in 1977 Additional resources -
|
This idea was also used in Hugo Gernsback's 1911 novel Ralph 124c 41 + - see the entry for Sub-Atlantic Tube.
And what is the best shape or curve for this tunnel to follow? See the discussion in the article for gravity-assisted subway from Larry Niven's 1976 story A World Out of Time.
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Tech news articles related to works by John Varley
| CORLEO Robotic Horse Concept Looks Ready To Ride |
| Futuristic Transit Elevated Bus Never Really Worked |
| Japan Automated Cargo Transport |
| Tesla Electric 'Giga Train' Operational In Germany |
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'...Anything was possible in my imaginary environment.'
'Somewhere in space, a chrome and blue automobile raced the green light of Earth.'
'That explains how it was so easy for me to remain motionless in midair...'
'We had discovered that metal was relatively impervious to the telepathic effect.'
'Detailed plans for the construction of the Gundstetter-Halone warp drive were flowing.'
'Do not waste your priceless company on the unappreciative folds of a sleep pod...'
'...so we've promised him a generous pension from the royalties.'
'Hocus-pocus religions and archaic weapons are no substitute for a good blaster at your side.'
