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

"For the sciences, the way to change science's perception of things is to wait until all the old farts have died off."
- Larry Niven

Control Harness  
  Connects to the brain and nervous system of a host organism for control purposes.  

A tunnel lay exposed and in it, dying in a heap of quivering, pulsating fur, lay — as he had from long experience anticipated — a Martian gopher, its eyes glazed in agony, elongated fangs exposed.

He killed it, mercifully. And then bent down to examine it. Because something had caught his eye: a flash of metal.

The m-gopher wore a harness. It was artificial, of course ; the harness fitted snugly around the animal’s thick neck. Almost invisible, hair-like wires passed from the harness and disappeared into the scalp of the gopher near the front of the skull.

“Lord,” Tony Costner said, picking the gopher and its harness up and standing in futile anxiety, wondering what to do. Right away he connected this with the carnival dolls ; they had gone off and done this, made this — the settlement, as Hoagland had said, was under attack.

Later, he sat beside Hoagland Rae in the workshop; Rae, with care, had opened the harness, inspected its interior.

“A transmitter,” Hoagland - said, and breathed out noisily, as if his childhood asthma had returned. “Short range, maybe half a mile. The gopher was directed by it, maybe gave back a signal that told where it was and what it was doing. The electrodes to the brain probably connect with pleasure and pain areas ... that way the gopher could be controlled.” He glanced at Tony Costner. “How’d you like to have a harness like that on you?”

Technovelgy from A Game of Unchance, by Philip K. Dick.
Published by Amazing Stories in 1964
Additional resources -

See roachster from Sparrowhawk (1990) by Thomas Easton.

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

Additional resources:
  More Ideas and Technology from A Game of Unchance
  More Ideas and Technology by Philip K. Dick
  Tech news articles related to A Game of Unchance
  Tech news articles related to works by Philip K. Dick

Articles related to Engineering
Jetson ONE Air Races Begin, Can Air Polo Be Far Behind?
X-Control Janus-1 A Suitcase Aircraft
Time Crystals Can Now Be Seen Directly
China Steals Strato Airship Design From Google App Engine

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

Jetson ONE Air Races Begin, Can Air Polo Be Far Behind?
'If you're one of those rarities who haven't attended a rocket-polo "carnage", let me tell you it's a colorful affair.'

Will Space Stations Have Large Interior Spaces Again?
'They filed clumsily into the battleroom, like children in a swimming pool for the first time, clinging to the handholds along the side.'

Mornine Sales Robot
'Robot-salesmen were everywhere, gesturing...'

Bipedal Robot Floats Gently While Walking
'a walking balloon proceeded with long strides of its aluminum legs...'

Elegant Bivouac Shelter Produces Water And Electricity
'There was nowhere on the planet where science and technology could not provide one with a comfortable home...'

X-Control Janus-1 A Suitcase Aircraft
'You will notice that it... fits the suitcase nicely.'

'AI Assistants' Are Actually Less Reliable For News
'Most men updated their PIP on New Year's Day...'

YES!! Remote Teleoperated Robots predicted by Technovelgy!
'...a misshapen, many-tentacled thing about twice the size of a man.'

Will Robots Ever Fold Landry?
Where have you gone, Mrs. Robinson?

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.