Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Latest By
Category:
Armor
Artificial
Intelligence
Biology
Clothing
Communication
Computers
Culture
Data Storage
Displays
Engineering
Entertainment
Food
Input Devices
Lifestyle
Living Space
Manufacturing
Material
Media
Medical
Miscellaneous
Robotics
Security
Space Tech
Spacecraft
Surveillance
Transportation
Travel
Vehicle
Virtual
Person
Warfare
Weapon
Work
"Science fiction represents the modern heresy and the cutting edge of speculative imagination as it grapples with Mysterious Time---linear or non-linear time."
- Frank Herbert
 |
| Slowboat | ||
| An interstellar craft carrying people. |
Larry Niven originated this term, which came to have several uses.
| Having located a world the right distance from the star to which it was sent, the ramrohot probe would drop and circle until it found a place at ground level which matched its criteria for atmospheric composition, average temperature, water vapor, et cetera. Then the ramrobot would beam its laser pulse back at the solar system, and the UN would respond by sending a colony slowboat. Unlike the ramrobots, the man- carrying slowboats could not use interstellar ramscoops. They had to carry their own fuel. It meant that the slowboats took a long time to get where they were going, and there were no round trip tickets. The slowboats could not turn back. |
| Technovelgy from The Ethics of Madness,
by Larry Niven. Published by If in 1967 Additional resources -
|
Joe Haldeman finds a slightly different use for this word in his 1979 story The Pilot:
“Our next guest is a woman with a marvelously rare occupation.” Occupation! He smiles offcube and the picture scale diminishes to include her as well, not smiling, trying not to fidget on the filthy leather chair. “She is a spaceship pilot . . .’’I am a spaceship."... but no ordinary rocket jock. She pilots a slowboat between the Earth and the outer solar system— the asteroids, even as far as Saturn. Her name is Lydia Meinenger and she's a fellow New Yorker.” New Yorker. "Lydia, would you tell us something about slowboats; how they — ”
“In the first place,” she interrupts, "they aren’t slow. They go much faster than anything you use in the Earth-Moon system. The name is a hangover from the old robot tugs that crawled along on Hohmann transfer orbits, to minimize fuel use. A Hohmann tug took six years to get to Saturn; I can make it in thirteen months. Nine months, with a Jupiter flyby. But 1 can’t do that with passengers.”
"Because of the radiation?”
"That’s right.” Warm like summer sunshine. "They can't wrap everyone up in lead, the way I am.”
Compare with the city ship from Star of Wonder (1953), by Julian May and generation ship from Star Ship (1955) by EC Tubb. The New Frontiers from Robert Heinlein's Methuselah's Children was effectively a generation ship - except everyone lived so long! Also, see the multi-generation space voyage from The Return of the Murians (1936) by Nat Schachner.
('The Pilot' by Joe Haldeman)
Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from The Ethics of Madness
More Ideas
and Technology by Larry Niven
Tech news articles related to The Ethics of Madness
Tech news articles related to works by Larry Niven
Slowboat-related
news articles:
- AI Tries To Replicate Famous People
| Will Space Stations Have Large Interior Spaces Again? |
| Reflect Orbital Offers 'Sunlight on Demand' And Light Pollution |
| Chrysalis Generation Ship to Alpha Centauri |
| The First Space Warship For Space Force |
Want to Contribute an
Item?
It's easy:
Get the name of the item, a
quote, the book's name and the author's name, and Add
it here.
| <Previous | Next> |
|
|
|
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Science Fiction Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
|
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
'The observation vehicle was of that peculiar variety used in conveying a large number of people across rough terrain.'
'The real border was defended by... a swarm of quasi-independent aerostats.'
'I ... set my automatic astronomical instruments to searching for a habitable planet.'
'...haven't you a section of the factory where only robot labor is employed?'
'... oblongs were all over the floor and surfaces.'
