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"The whole problem of energy sources is going to be solved by little solutions, not by some big new piece of technology that does everything. We got into this crisis by believing that we had one big piece of technology that would do everything (oil)."
- Gregory Benford
 |
| Robot Snake | ||
| A mechanical reptile, with no legs. |
As far as I know, the first use of this phrase in science fiction. There are earlier descriptions, however: see below.
| "There’s Cobber. He’s a mechanical device, but he’s part of my
act and easily explained. They
might not think to look for a second reason for my wanting him
near me...
After a long moment she dropped her hands from the wheel, took the robot snake from his box and draped his topaz and emerald length over her shoulders and the mechanism, triggered by the warmth of her body, set the jeweled evil head to weaving nervously. Then she reached out mentally for Artemus Chester. Chester scanned her mind and his face gradually lightened. "Excellent! I’m sure Mr. Kilgore's electronic wizards can build some sort of amplifying circuit into your robot snake by the time I’m ready for you to leave. I do have to find a crime for you..." |
| Technovelgy from Bait for the Tiger,
by Lee Chaytor. Published by Fantastic Universe in 1958 Additional resources -
|
Here's another brief excerpt:
Compare to the mining worm robot from Love Among the Robots (1946) by Emmett McDowell, the robot earthworm from War with the Robots (1962) by Harry Harrison, the mechanical cobra from Lord of Light (1967) by Roger Zelazny, the digger worm from With Friends Like These (1985) by Connie Willis and the robot snake spy from Mariposa (2009) by Greg Bear.
"The agent from Los Angeles arrived with Cobber in a padded box. He was followed within a few minutes by the electronics expert of the Bureau, who purred over the complicated insides of the big silvery-green reptile. He put it through its paces. The six-foot robot slithered and reared and struck in a sensuously-writhing series of movements. Steve stood frowning at it, divided between revulsion and admiration. "It’ll never do,” he said."
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Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Bait for the Tiger
More Ideas
and Technology by Lee Chaytor
Tech news articles related to Bait for the Tiger
Tech news articles related to works by Lee Chaytor
Robot Snake-related
news articles:
- Robot Snakes No Longer Stopped By Stairs
| Robots For Hire En Masse |
| Robot Clerks Become A Reality In China |
| Atlas Robot Makes Uncomfortable Movements |
| Humanoid Robots Tickle The Ivories |
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'...each of them is a neural mapping of the mind of a Tibetan monk who actually lived.'
'...there's a narrow belt where the climate is moderate.'
'The leg was to function, in a way, as a servo-mechanism operated by Larry’s brain, through the mediation of the electronic brain in the leg.'
'... every veephone on the continent would display, over and over, two propositions.'
'Completely silent, accurate up to about twenty meters. No recoil...'
'He wore spectacles with thick wavy lenses. The spectacles were intended to make him not only half blind, but to give him whanging headaches besides.'
