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"It is change ... that is the dominant factor in society today... the world as it will be. This means that ... every man must take on a science fictional way of thinking.""
- Isaac Asimov
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| Adaptable Overcoat | ||
| A disguise allowing an alien to walk amongst, well, other aliens without notice. |
In this somewhat labored (but still likable) tale, the Hoka, an alien species that looks like 3-foot tall teddy bears, encounter the human race and having read A. Conan Doyle, decide to model their civilization after it.
Then the alien ppussjan tries smuggling drugs, the humans investigate, and are forced to humor the Hoka, who bring forward their greatest investigator. None other than, you guessed it, Sherlock Holmes.
| Sir Henry's disappearance was, of course, part of this program of terrorization; but also, the ppussjan needed a Hoka face. He would have to appear in the local villages from time to time, you see, to purchase food and to find out whether or not he was being hunted by your bureau, Gregson. Watson has been good enough to explain to me the process by which your civilization can cast a mask in spray-plastic. The ppussjan's overcoat is an ingenious, adaptable garment; by a quick adjustment, it can be made to seem either like the body of a monster or, if he walks on his hind legs, the covering of a somewhat stout Hoka. Thus, the ppussjan could be himself, or Sir Henry Baskerville, or the Hound of the Baskervilles, just as it suited him." |
| Technovelgy from The Adventure of the Misplaced Hound,
by Poul Anderson (w/GR Dickson). Published by Universe in 1953 Additional resources -
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'Looks like she has bought the Avatar Construction Set and put together her own...'
'Across the ground something small and metallic came, flashing in the dull sunlight of midday.'
'A broken circle with arrows pointing to a right-hand flow appeared in the chalf.'
'The object seemed melted together like wax — nothing was distinguishable.'
'Midges have many capabilities. To the untrained eye, they look like sparrows.'
'I made disks of my own voice to the number of five hundred very carefully chosen words.'
'His sensors out and working, and the whirring of the tape that sucked up sight and sound and shape and smell and form...'
