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"A science fiction story is a story built around human beings, with a human problem and a human solution, which would not have happened at all without its scientific content."
- Theodore Sturgeon
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| Computer Translator | ||
| A computer translator; software that provides automatic translation when jacked into a data port. |
In Idoru, Chia journeys to Japan to meet with the fan club of her favorite musician. She overcomes the language barrier by using her customized computer (Sandbenders) and a variety of software and services.
| Chia used a public dataport in the deepest level of the station. The Sandbenders sent the number they'd given her for Misuko Mimura.. A girl's sleepy voice in Japanese came from the Sandbenders' speakers. The translation followed instantly. "Hello, yes?" "It's Chia McKenzie from Seattle." "Are you coming here now?" The voice began to explain the route. "It's okay," said Chia, "my computer can do it. Just give me your address." "Addresses in Japan are difficult." "I've got global positioning." The Sandbenders, working the Tokyo Telco, was already showing her Mitsuko's latitude and longitude. |
| Technovelgy from Idoru,
by William Gibson. Published by Putnam in 1996 Additional resources -
|
She leaves her bag partly unzipped to follow its prompts. As she continues in her journey, her computer translates what she hears around her like station announcements, demonstrating the capacity for speech recognition and translation.
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'Does thinking you're the last sane man on the face of the Earth make you crazy?'
'It hurtled on down with inconceivable speed until it was visible as thousands of tiny robot planes...'
'Then she looked up with a smile and moved closer to the camera.'
'... folios and tapes and playable discs of platinum alloy.'
'... another corner of his mind began to think about the shields.'
'Michel Ardan, as a Frenchman, was declared chief cook, an important function, which raised no rival.'
