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"SF looks towards an imaginary future, while fantasy, by and large, looks towards an imaginary past."
- Frederik Pohl
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| Transo | ||
| Teleportation of objects and personnel, used as the basis for "Trading Post" stores across the planet. |
This is one of those great Simak stories that never go out of style. In the book, human travelers are able to bring back alien technologies from distant worlds. One of them is a workable teleportation system.
| The back door opened to his knock and they walked into the back room of the Trading Post. Up near the door that went into the front part of the store stood a massive box-like structure, and Blaine, although he'd never seen one, recognized it immediately as a transo -- the matter transference machine which made the vast network of Trading Posts stretched around the globe an economic possibility. Through that box could come, with a moment's notice, any of the merchandise for which any of the thousands of retail outlets might find itself in need. |
| From Time is the Simplest Thing,
by Clifford Simak. Published by Doubleday in 1961 Additional resources -
|
One of the interesting themes explored repeatedly in the book is the effect that advanced alien technologies have on Earth economic systems. In our current era of globalization, the U.S. is encountering the effects of great technologies developed in other parts of the world.
For example, Europeans demanded that cell phones work in all of the countries of the European Union. As a result, they learned to have rigorous standards; phone companies met those standards. And that's how Nokia, a Finnish company, came to be a major player in world cell phone technology.
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More Ideas
and Technology from Time is the Simplest Thing
More Ideas
and Technology by Clifford Simak
Tech news articles related to Time is the Simplest Thing
Tech news articles related to works by Clifford Simak
Transo-related
news articles:
- Deterministic Quantum-State Teleportation Achieved With High Fidelity
| Volvo's Autonomous Truck |
| Eviation Alice Electric Plane First Flight |
| Robotaxi By Cruise Premieres in Austin, Texas |
| Aéroplume Blimp For One Reflects 150 Years |
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'LET ME TELL YOU HOW MUCH I'VE COME TO HATE YOU SINCE I BEGAN TO LIVE.'
'...a rolled-up sheet of a thin, dark metal strange to them.'
'... his contract with Space Industries required him to work summers in their orbital factory complex.'
'Space-weather men had been placed at their disposal...'
With each successive print, our model needed to incorporate more structural ingredients to minimize print failures.
'... Wendis stared thoughtfully at the brilliant lines on the spectroscope screen.'
'A special spot-wavex scrambler also caused his televised image, in the area immediately about his lips, to mouth the vowels and consonants beautifully.'
'... it was as if the upper part had been removed, like a cut deck of cards.'
Sumomo will get those office workers into good shape!
