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"I have a standard axiom: all governments lie. Don't believe anything they say. And corporations are only kinds of government."
- Frank Herbert
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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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'...there's a narrow belt where the climate is moderate.'
'... with the Master-operator all you have to do is push one! A remarkable achievement!'
'Not like me. A T-1000, advanced prototype. A mimetic poly-alloy. Liquid metal.'
'It was riddled with holes that were the mouths of tunnels.'
'The massive feet working the pedals, arms and hands flashing and glinting...'
'There were cubic miles of it, and it glistened like a silvery Christmas tree...'
'Jason had been guiding the caravan of cars as usual...'
"The robot solemnly hit a ball against the wall, picked it up and teed it, hit it again, over and again...'
