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"...the space defense initiative drove the USSR bankrupt, and it originated at my house in Tarzana."
- Larry Niven
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| Corrosite Gas | ||
| A highly corrosive gas. |
| “People of the underworld,” he began. “Attention! One who believes that you have the right to live, speaks. The Highs have decided that you are all to die at the end of an hour. Many of you, knowing the degree of perfection achieved in the robots, have anticipated such a move ; and so you will not find it difficult to believe what I say.
The devices which are to bring about the end, were put into position with the greatest secrecy. The timers have already been set in motion. In an hour there will be countless explosions. Each will release an enormous volume of corrosite gas. Metal and flesh alike will be swiftly eaten and dissolved by its corrosive action. You will die horribly, unless you can find means of exit to the surface soon enough. The Highs no longer need either you or the machines you tend, for old methods have become obsolete. The thought machines could have devised robots to replace you hundreds of years ago, had it been deemed necessary. |
| Technovelgy from The Machine That Thought,
by William Callahan. Published by Science Fiction in 1939 Additional resources -
|
Compare to the vapor cloud from The Cosmic Poachers (1953) by Philip K. Dick.
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Tech news articles related to works by William Callahan
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'This was their world, their planet — this swift-traveling, yet seemingly moveless vessel.'
'Gaines and Harvey mounted tumblebugs, and kept abreast of the Cadet Captain...'
Accompanied by a small selection of similar ideas from science fiction.
'...war-balloons, or, as it would be more correct to call them, navigable aerostats.'
