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"Science fiction is the very literature of change. In fact, it is the only such literature we have."
- Frederik Pohl

Inert Resin  
  A special coating that eliminates maintenance on marine structures.  

This novel has a number of very well-realized technologies for taking care of problems related to daily wear-and-tear.

[Maintenance] is not a problem, with the modern polymers," Andrei said smoothly. "Inert resins… we paint them on … reduce corrosion almost to nothing…"

Laura could see the thick painted sheen of polymer on the great load-bearing pipes and struts. There were no barnacles at the water line. No seaweed, no slime. Nothing grew on this structure. It was slick as ice.

Technovelgy from Islands in the Net, by Bruce Sterling.
Published by William Morrow in 1988
Additional resources -

What strikes me as interesting is the swing from a squeaky, ultra-clean future to a grimy, grainy future where everything is worn down. This kind of technovelgy will let us move back from worn and grimy back to perfect.

See also smart material, from All Tomorrow's Parties by William Gibson.

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Additional resources:
  More Ideas and Technology from Islands in the Net
  More Ideas and Technology by Bruce Sterling
  Tech news articles related to Islands in the Net
  Tech news articles related to works by Bruce Sterling

Inert Resin-related news articles:
  - Escapin: Anti-Bacterial Sea Slug Protein Prevents Biofilm Build-Up

Articles related to Manufacturing
DARPA Wants 'Large Bio-Mechanical Space Structures'
Robot Bricklayer Or Passer-By Bricklayer?
Organic Non-Planar 3D Printing
Laser-Beam Welding In Orbital Factories

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Science Fiction in the News

AI Operates An Excavator
'So far as I could see, the thing was without a directing Martian at all.'

US Army IBEX Exoskeleton Walks Troops Out Of Danger
'The suit stands up and starts walking, gripping me round the calves and waist, taking the bulk of my weight off my throbbing feet.'

Boy Makes Biomimetic Turtle Robot
't came out into plain view. Darkington glimpsed a slim body and six short legs of articulated dull metal.'

Elon Musk Wants Data Centers In Space
'Internally it’s made up of millions of components, but the most important ones are the thinking and memory parts of the Mind proper.'

Origin F1 Humanoid Robot's Facial Skin
'I could look down at that face of carefully molded synthetic rubber, tinted the exact shade of the doctor's living flesh.'

Grok And The City Fathers From 'Cities In Flight' By James Blish
'Chris, the City Fathers are not interested in your welfare; I suppose you know that. They're interested in only one thing: the survival of the city.'

Why Not Move A Warehouse District?
'Did you never see a moving house before?'

Will An AI Found A New Religion?
'You must decide how you will worship Me.'

Terraformer Industries Make Methane
'Drake was the young spatial engineer he employed to terraform the little rock...'

I Need An Outdoor Spherical Display
'Usually a spherical display hovered in the centre...'

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