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"What has allowed so many Psychopathic Personalities to rise so high in corporations and government, is that they are so decisive. Unlike normal people, they are never filled with doubts, for the simple reason that they cannot care what happens next."
- Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
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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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'Within seconds the material was spread out over fifty yards, in a matter of hours it might occupy several cubic miles of space...'
'And the lifter was being piloted by a large pizza with extra cheese...'
'Young people found the driverless car admirable for petting.'
'After twenty generations of shillyshallying...'
'Our planes are going to start bringing in bales of discarded plastics...'
'... completely forgetting the ship at sight of the awesome figure and great head of the giant Gaut...'
