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"...science fiction is sort of like a sociological genome. It's a huge range of possible futures, most of them useless; some vital. You never really know in advance."
- Peter Watts
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| Telephone Wire Tether | ||
| A communication line that connects people floating in space beside a spaceship with the ship and with each other. |
This is the earliest reference to the idea of using a physical line to connect space explorers with their ship; the use of the line to provide communication is ingenious.
| He explained the use of the telephone wire, which was coiled up and hung on the breast of the suit. One end of the wire ran to the inside of the helmet and was attached to a microphone there. The other end was to be connected with one of the numerous plugs which were placed all over the outside of the ship.
“Do not forget,” were Korf’s final words, “to plug in the wire first of all. Then we can speak to one another or communicate with the men on board, and in case of need we can pull ourselves back to the ship by means of the wires. Let’s go!” When Korf had convinced himself that the helmets fitted properly, he opened the inner door of the exit chamber and had Sam and Berger enter. Then he carefully closed the door and turned an air valve, through which the air escaped with a whistling sound. The rubber suits puffed out, so that the little chamber had scarcely room enough for the three expansive figures. A turn of Korf’s hand, the outer door opened, and the three men slipped out into outer space.
 (The Telephone Wire Tether from 'The Shot into Infinity' by Otto Willi Gail) |
| Technovelgy from The Shot Into Infinity,
by Otto Willi Gail. Published by Science Wonder Quarterly in 1929 Additional resources -
|
Compare to the clever electrical "tether" from Edison's Conquest of Mars (1898) by Garrett P. Serviss.
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Tech news articles related to works by Otto Willi Gail
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'The leg was to function, in a way, as a servo-mechanism operated by Larry’s brain...'
'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?'
