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
"By the time I can take people out to where Hubble is looking, they won't be human anymore, by a long way."
- Larry Niven
 |
| Life Wand | ||
| Shoots a powerful ray of energy. |
| I could see nothing but the Martian. I did not see the human standing behind him, nor did I notice the life wand the Martian cradled in his pseudolimb.
Then the Martian flowed inside, the man with him stepped in behind him, and the door relaxed. The Martian squeaked, "Good afternoon, gentlemen. Going somewhere?” I was frozen, dazed, by acute xenophobia. Dak was handicapped by disarranged clothing. But little Jock Dubois acted with a simple heroism that made him my beloved brother even as he died — he flung himself at that life wand. Right at it — he made no attempt to evade it. He must have been dead, a hole burned through his belly you could poke a fist through, before he hit the floor. But he hung on and the pseudolimb stretched like taffy — then snapped, broken off a few inches from the monster’s neck, and poor Jock still had the life wand cradled in his dead arms.
 (Lifewand from 'Double Star' by Robert Heinlein) |
| Technovelgy from Double Star,
by Robert Heinlein. Published by Doubleday in 1956 Additional resources -
|
In this vignette, Smyth (as Bonforte) is being adopted into a Martian family:
l got through without stumbling. The Martian language is terribly difficult for the human throat at best and it was made no easier by the presence at my elbow throughout the ceremonies of a dozen adult Martians, each clutching a life-wand in his psuedolimbs... and I knew only too well that it took only a tiny pressure on a lifewand to give me eternal quietus.
Apparently I made no important mistakes; l lived through it. At last I was allowed to leave — a Martian citizen now myself, with thousands of Martian brothers and cousins, a Martian name of my own, and a Martian life-wand in my band, badge of my adult Martian status. Penny was waiting for me outside the gates of the nest.
The details of my adoption into a Martian family are as secret as the ritual of a lodge initiation...
(Lifewand from 'Double Star' by Robert Heinlein)
Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Double Star
More Ideas
and Technology by Robert Heinlein
Tech news articles related to Double Star
Tech news articles related to works by Robert Heinlein
| Is The Seattle Ultrasonics C-200 A Heinlein Vibroblade? |
| Man Builds 200 Foot Basement Firing Range |
| Russians Create Robot Tank Platoons |
| Unmanned Boats Attack At Sea |
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> |
|
|
|
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
"The robot solemnly hit a ball against the wall, picked it up and teed it, hit it again, over and again...'
'There was a wall ahead... It was riddled with holes that were the mouths of tunnels.'
'...support the interior human structure against Jupiter’s pull.'
'Anything larger than a BB shot it picked up and placed in a tray...'
'The German chemists have discovered how to supply the needed elements in compact, undiluted form...'
'Compounds devised by the biochemists for the rapid building of bone...'
'The car faltered as the external command came to brake...'
'It is about the size and shape of a kitchen stool, gyro-stabilized...'
