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"I have been a soreheaded occupant of a file drawer labeled 'Science Fiction' and I would like out, particularly since so many serious critics regularly mistake the drawer for a urinal."
- Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
 |
| Desert Cabbage | ||
| A giant plant that regulates its internal temperature even on Mars. |
Very handy for lost travelers.
| "Jim boy come here. Frank come here. Cold there. Warm here."
"...we can't go inside a cabbage It would crush us." "Do as you like, Jim. I can't skate any farther." He set one foot on a broad leaf - which flinched under the contact - and strode steadily..." Willis greeted them ecstatically. "Good boy, Frank! Good boy, Jim! Stay nice and warm all night." The Sun was slipping behind a distant dune; the sunset wind whipped coldly at them. The far edges of the plant lifted and began to curl toward them... The inner leaves were beginning to curl faster than the outer leaves. Such a leaf, four feet wide at its widest and at least ten feet long, raised up in back of Jim and curved in until it touched his shoulder... With elbows and knees and hands the two managed to occupy a roughly spherical space about five feet across and a little less than that high. The leaves closed down on them, seemed to feel them out, then settled firmly against them... Soon the last open space was covered and they were in total darkness. |
| Technovelgy from Red Planet,
by Robert Heinlein. Published by Scribner in 1949 Additional resources -
|
This colorful cover version shows the desert cabbage:
(Red Planet cover by Shigeru Komatsuzaki)
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Tech news articles related to Red Planet
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Desert Cabbage-related
news articles:
- Earth Skunk Cabbage And Martian Desert Cabbage
- Farming In Space Starts With Mycorrhiza
| Lunar Biorepository Proposed For Cryo-Preservation Of Earth Species |
| Let's Make Slaver Sunflowers! Engineering Plants To Reflect Light |
| Machete-Wielding Philodendron Isn't Going To Take It Anymore |
| Tsunami Forecasts Improved By Ionosphere Signals |
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Science Fiction
Timeline
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'...Anything was possible in my imaginary environment.'
'Somewhere in space, a chrome and blue automobile raced the green light of Earth.'
'That explains how it was so easy for me to remain motionless in midair...'
'We had discovered that metal was relatively impervious to the telepathic effect.'
'Detailed plans for the construction of the Gundstetter-Halone warp drive were flowing.'
'Do not waste your priceless company on the unappreciative folds of a sleep pod...'
'...so we've promised him a generous pension from the royalties.'
'Hocus-pocus religions and archaic weapons are no substitute for a good blaster at your side.'
