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"[Science fiction is ] That branch of literature which is concerned with the impact of scientific advance upon human beings."
- Isaac Asimov
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| Weather Integrator | ||
| An entire technology for controlling the weather. |
Lazarus Long, oldest member of the Howard Families, is flying a space freighter down to Earth when he runs into a bit of a surprise.
| Entering the stratosphere and circling two-thirds of the globe took no longer than he had estimated. He used part of the hour's leeway he had allowed himself by being very stingy in his maneuvers in order to spare the worn, obsolescent injection meters. Then he was down in the troposphere and making his approach, with skin temperatures high but not dangerously so. Presently he realized what Ford had meant about the weather. Oklahoma and half of Texas were covered with deep, thick clouds. Lazarus was amazed and somehow pleased; it reminded him of other days, when weather was something experienced rather than controlled. Life had lost some flavor, in his opinion, when the weather engineers had learned how to harness the elements. He hoped that their planet-if they found one!-would have some nice, lively weather. Then he was down in it and too busy to meditate. In spite of her size the freighter bucked and complained. Whew! Ford must have ordered this little charivari the minute the time was set-and, at that, the integrators must have had a big low-pressure area close at hand to build on. |
| Technovelgy from Methuselah's Children,
by Robert Heinlein. Published by Astounding Science-Fiction in 1941 Additional resources -
|
The weather integrators were not able to handle everything Mother Nature dishes out:
Compare to the sun boat from The Weather Man (1961) by Theodore Thomas.
"...this emergency will be somewhat less troublesome than a low pressure minimum too big for the weather integrators."
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More Ideas
and Technology from Methuselah's Children
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and Technology by Robert Heinlein
Tech news articles related to Methuselah's Children
Tech news articles related to works by Robert Heinlein
Weather Integrator-related
news articles:
- Chinese Government To Control Olympic Weather
- Rain-Making Bacteria May Affect Climate
- China's Weather Modification Office
| Biomimetic Tendons From Rochu Robotics |
| You Will Eat The Cookies Made From Plastic... |
| ICE Buys Shock Gloves Like Batman's |
| When Colds Threaten You Can't Do This - Or Can You? |
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'Our study of your race has convinced us that you are not fitted to leave your planet in the present state of your civilization.'
'...the spreading beam of the deranging ray struck them, and Then one toppled and fell. Then another.'
'Within seconds the material was spread out over fifty yards, in a matter of hours it might occupy several cubic miles of space...'
'The men are dead, but their acquired wisdom lives on and I am the beneficiary.'
'Young people found the driverless car admirable for petting.'
'After twenty generations of shillyshallying...'
