Latest By
Category:
Armor
Artificial
Intelligence
Biology
Clothing
Communication
Computers
Culture
Data Storage
Displays
Engineering
Entertainment
Food
Input Devices
Lifestyle
Living Space
Manufacturing
Material
Media
Medical
Miscellaneous
Robotics
Security
Space Tech
Spacecraft
Surveillance
Transportation
Travel
Vehicle
Virtual
Person
Warfare
Weapon
Work
"It's hard to tell stories about critters that are not human. John W. Campbell tried it, in "Twilight," and everybody says it's a wonderful story, and nobody ever reads it twice."
- Jerry Pournelle
 |
| Chairdog | ||
| A chair that is alive and partly sentient; it shapes itself to the person sitting in it. |
In The Tactful Saboteur, Frank Herbert describes a chair in common use in this alternative world. This short story shows the variety of Herbert's creativity; he not only imagines interesting machines and devices, but also thinks about the possibilities in genetic alteration of existing species to serve basic needs.
At this point in the story, saboteur extraordinary Jorj X. McKie meets with Pan-Spechi Panthor Bolin.
| He indicated a chairdog against the wall to his right, snapped his fingers. The semi-sentient artifact glided to a position behind McKie. "Please be seated."
McKie, his caution realerted by Bolin's reference to "uninhibited conversation," sank into the chairdog, patting it until it assumed the contours he wanted. |
| From The Tactful Saboteur,
by Frank Herbert. Published by Galaxy in 1964 Additional resources -
|
The chairdogs seemed to be able to sense the mood of the person (or being) sitting in it, reacting to stress with mild massage. Don't you wish you could find an ergonomic chair that worked as hard as a chairdog to make you comfortable? Obviously, we're a long way from being able to genetically modify a complex animal like a dog. However, this invention has clear roots in the past. A chairdog reminds me of horsehair chairs; my grandmother had one in her living room. I can only hope that the hair on a chairdog is more comfortable. The "grain" on her horsehair chair was in line with how you sat in the chair, and the net result was that you were constantly sliding out of the chair; it was impossible to retain an upright position.
Here's another look at chairdogs from Herbert's Whipping Star:
My daughter wants to know if there are different breeds of chairdog; maybe a small bichon chairdog for her. I think I'd need something based on a Great Dane...
Take a look at the entry for suspensor chair, from Dune, also by Frank Herbert.
The room's standard model chairdogs had been well trained to comfort their masters, McKie noted. One of them nudged him behind the knees until he dropped his bag and took a reluctant seat. The chairdog began massaging his back. Obviously it had been instructed to make him comfortable while someone was summoned.
Comment/Join this discussion ( 6 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from The Tactful Saboteur
More Ideas
and Technology by Frank Herbert
Tech news articles related to The Tactful Saboteur
Tech news articles related to works by Frank Herbert
Chairdog-related
news articles:
- GloFish First Genetically Modified Pet Update
- WAO-1 Therapeutic Face Massage Robot
- Meat Chairs And Chairdogs
- Smart Chair Follows You Like A Chairdog
- Skin Chair For That 'Sitting On A Fat Guy' Feeling
| ROAM Robotics Skiing Exoskeleton |
| IRL Glasses Block Screens, Limit Vision To Real Life |
| The Hammock Caravan And Italo Calvino's Octavia |
| Americans! Stay Indoors To Save Energy |
Want to Contribute an
Item?
It's easy:
Get the name of the item, a
quote, the book's name and the author's name, and Add
it here.
| <Previous | Next> |
|
|
|
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
|
'As she neared the barrier the car surged and lifted...'
'... with large padded feet, who were apparently polishing their way the whole length of Rama's six artificial suns.'
'Anything larger than a BB shot it picked up and placed in a tray on its upper surface...'
'the human seats took up two-thirds of the room in each'
