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"did I had an extremely expensive wife - she would see a new car that she liked and just buy it... under California law I was bound to buy her debts. I think I turned out 16 novels in five years."
- Philip K. Dick
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| Week Trees | ||
| Specially engineered bonsai that could grow in a week, instead of decades. |
This is sort of a great idea. Only "sort of" because most people would argue that part of the charm and appeal of a real bonsai (a stunted, ornamental tree) is that it takes decades of constant expert help for a plant to become a work of art.
| Della's second present was a little seed-packet labeled WEEK TREES. "Have you heard of these?" asked Mom. "They're bioengineered. You know the miniature bonsai trees that the Japanese used to grow? These are the same, except their whole life cycle only takes a week... They're amazing." |
| Technovelgy from Wetware,
by Rudy Rucker. Published by Avon Books in 1988 Additional resources -
|
In the novel, genetic engineering takes the place of the gardener's efforts. You could imagine these sold almost as "Chia Pets" that grow to whatever shape you want.
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Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
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'Nemourlon armor of reasonable weight resists penetration by most fragments and any bullet that is not both reasonably heavy and fairly high-velocity.'
'Several thousand of them formed the positioning grid on the rubble pile.'
'Its slack walls tightened, bulged, were crossed by ripples and waves of movement.'
'Norman... had never ridden any motorized device that lacked onboard steering and balance systems.'
You will note that HG Wells also figured out the aspect ratio of the future!
'As though a switch had been turned off, the pain stopped...'
'At the ringside opposite them a table had been removed to make room for a large transparent plastic capsule on wheels.'
'... he realized that the moving thing inside was - of course - a robot.'
