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"Science fiction is the very literature of change. In fact, it is the only such literature we have."
- Frederik Pohl
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| Tanglefoot Field | ||
| A force field that would not harm but merely entangle and stop anyone (or anything) caught in it. |
At this point in the story, a crowd of unruly aliens are in need of restraint.
| Greenberg slid a hand under his desk and located a control that would throw a tanglefoot field over the lower floor ... a permanent installation; the hall had seen other disturbances. |
| Technovelgy from The Star Beast,
by Robert Heinlein. Published by Charles Scribner's Sons in 1954 Additional resources -
|
Although no one has implemented this idea as an energy field, there is interest in quelling civil disorder using something similar. Once choice is an antitraction gel that is so slippery it is impossible to stand up. The Portable Vehicle Arresting Barrier is a kind of netting that can stop a 7,500 lb. pickup truck going 45 miles per hour, then wrap around to trap the occupants.
Compare to the IntruGrab from The Hunch (1961) by Christopher Anvil, the bubblegum pylon from Quantico by Greg Bear and the tangler from Logan's Run (1967) by Nolan and Johnson.
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Science Fiction
Timeline
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'If you're one of those rarities who haven't attended a rocket-polo "carnage", let me tell you it's a colorful affair.'
'They filed clumsily into the battleroom, like children in a swimming pool for the first time, clinging to the handholds along the side.'
'a walking balloon proceeded with long strides of its aluminum legs...'
'There was nowhere on the planet where science and technology could not provide one with a comfortable home...'
'Most men updated their PIP on New Year's Day...'
'...a misshapen, many-tentacled thing about twice the size of a man.'
