Vulcan's Hammer by Philip K. Dick:
Science Fiction Inventions, Technology and Ideas

Outstanding novel describes a not-too-distant Earth run by the Unity organization, a totalitarian world bureaucracy; every move is dictated by Vulcan 3, a supercomputer that is self-aware. The story was published in an abbreviated form in Future Science Fiction magazine in 1956. Select an invention:

Fluid Metal Letters
A smooth metal display able to display words.

Hammer - weapon of AIs
Flying blunt trauma weapon remote-controlled by an artificially intelligent computer.

Infiltrators
Surveillance devices, small and insectile.

Interactive Blackboard
Early description of an interactive display device for lectures and demonstrations.

Metal BIrds
Surveillance robots that carried weapons, in addition to using their metal bodies.

Pencil Beam
A thin tube-like laser beam weapon.

Robot Tracking Device - preferred surveillance tool of AIs
Small UAV robot remotely operated by an artificially intelligent computer.

Transdermal Drug Capsule - slap it on
A drug capsule that delivers medication by being placed on the skin.

Vulcan 3 - endless self-modifying computer
Artificially intelligent self-modifying supercomputer.

 

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