 |
Jaunte Stage
A cleared space that existed to serve the needs of people who would jaunte (teleport) into that space. (Read the full article)
| "This actually works, saw it firsthand in late 1966. Some notes: there isn't any "pop" sound when it happens." (harrylime 12/16/2006 10:24:37 PM ) |
| "'The Stars My Destination'= possibly the most brilliant SF novel ever written, and I do not say that lightly. Possible flaw with jaunting as presented therein = 2 people appearing in same space would cause huge explosion, but OK to jaunte into air-filled space. It's still matter; is the state all-important? What about liquids? Plasma? More please harrylime! What is the sound of air rushing into a suddenly-empty human-shaped space? Did they have to threaten the jaunter with imminent death to unleash the ability? :)" (sryan 3/23/2007 7:17:02 AM ) |
| "It's one of those novels I've read and reread - I don't do that lightly, either. The novel sort of recognizes the possibility; jaunte stages in large cities are the size of a football field to handle capacity. Also, if you recall, there are cases where prisoners try to jaunte out of secure, underground facilities and materialize inside solid rock - it causes an explosion. They call 'em Blue Jauntes." (Bill Christensen 3/23/2007 1:08:50 PM ) |
| ""L-E-S, gentlemen. Location, Elevation, Situation!" Robin was always concerned with keeping her students off even the big public stages during rush hour. Blue jaunte - KABAAAMM! The travel industry must have still existed (Greyhound of Greyhound, the [upstart] USAir clan), because you couldn't jaunte to or from a place unless you had been there. Exercise: Imagine the appearance of a major metro jaunte stage at rush hour if one's clothes didn't automatically make the jaunte too. Some interesting technical and social adaptations would have to be made...
I read STARS when I was ten, and it rocked my life. It's still rewarding to reread endlessly - that book was written in one solid blast of genius. Bester threw off ideas in every page so brilliant that lesser writers would have built whole books around them. " (sryan 3/24/2007 2:31:48 PM ) |
| "The thought that really gets to me about Bester is this - 'What would it be like to have a mind capable of writing this book in 1956 - and then be forced to live four more years in the Fifties?'" (Bill Christensen 3/24/2007 7:12:29 PM ) |
| "We know the sad result of that, Bill ... he spent most of his career (20 yrs) as an editor for the travel magazine Holiday. A huge loss to SF for all that time. But remember the $ factor - even in 1968 an incredible (and very thick) novel like John Brunner's *Stand On Zanzibar* earned him the princely sum of $1,500 - which he was happy to get. Look Alfie up in Wikipedia for more astounding Bester trivia. Still not mentiond is his pioneering use of exotic embedded typography to describe synesthesia and the lovely complex interweaving riff-patterns of party conversations among the telepaths. Most of his richly-deserved honors were posthumous. Hey, how about a Technovelgy entry on that devastating harmonic vibrational shattergun in *Demolished Man*? "Quick - jump up and hang from the chandelier!" " (sryan 3/26/2007 5:44:31 PM ) |
Leave a comment:
Tediously, spammers have returned. So, send me your comments to bill at the site name (be sure to mention the page) and I'll post them. Thanks!
Current News Articles
SpaceX Wants A Moonbase Alpha
'And he had been sent with troops, supplies and bombs to command Russia's most trusted post, the Moonbase.'
Vast Apartment Living Will Get Even More Vast
'What is your population', I asked. 'About eighty millions.'
NASA Wants Self-Driving Or Remote-Controlled Vehicles For Lunar Astronauts
'THE autobus turned silently down the wide street of Hydropole. Robot-guided, insulated from noise and cold...'
Elon Musk Says Robotaxis Will Be Ready This August, 2024
'The car had no steering wheel, and no one drove!'
Moonwalkers AI-Controlled Electric Shoes
Now that's power walking that Hugo Gernsback would have approved.
Steve Jobs: 'Capture The Next Aristotle - With AI'
'It was disturbing to think of the Flatline as a construct...'
No Tips! Robotic Food Delivery In Phoenix
'...he rewired the delivery robot so that it would serve him midnight snacks.'
Electric Catamaran 'Explorer Eco 40m' Has 'Solar Skin'
'On went the electric-yacht faster and still faster.'
Orbital Mechanics, The Liftoff, The Turnover, The Retrograde Burn
'...the huge vessel had spun, with a sickening lurch, through a complete half-circle, the instant the power was reversed.'
Harvest Power From Tears And Blinking With Smart Contact Lens
'...he realized that it was not quite a clear lens. Speckles of colored brightness swirled and gathered in it.'
Europa Clipper Plate Carries A Special Message
'...a universal cryptogram — yet it is one which can be interpreted by any intelligent creature on any planet in the Solar System!'
Micro-Robots Are Smallest, Fully Functional
'With a whir, the Scarab shot from the concealing shadows of the corner where it had hidden itself.'
