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"The SF approach: an awareness that things could have been different, that this is one of many possible worlds, that if you came to this world from some other planet, this would be a science fiction world."
- Neal Stephenson
 |
| Sobriety Ray | ||
| A ray of a particular wavelength and intensity, that conferred instant sobriety on those it shone upon. |
| Two hours later a taxi let Kerry out at his door. He was remarkably drunk...
The radio came forward to meet him. Tentacles, thin, but strong as metal, coiled gently around his body, holding him motionless... From the radio panel a beam of yellow light shot out, blinding the man. It swung down, aimed at his chest. Abruptly a queer taste was perceptible under Kerry's tongue. He was sober. |
| Technovelgy from The Twonky,
by Lewis Padgett. Published by Street and Smith in 1942 Additional resources -
|
Padgett offers an interesting bit of pseudoscience for how it works, based on a false analogy to the manner in which the body manufactures vitamin D.
"The vibrationary equivalent of thiamin chloride... There's vitamin content in sunlight, you know."
Patients with chronic alcoholism or experiencing alcohol withdrawal are at risk of thiamin deficiency and its associated complications, and are given thiamin prior to rehydrating them.
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| Robotic Barber Programmed With a Number of Styles |
| Centipede Robots Down On The Farm |
| Vipera Electric Skis From Frigid Dynamics |
| Pivotal Blackfly Electric Aircraft Lifts And Hovers |
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Science Fiction
Timeline
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'He found a barber shop which, he thought, would be good for an idle hour.'
'Thirty rounds of fighting is tough work. Even for machines.'
'...the excavations were already in progress, for he saw gray slopes of rubble.'
'...the walking mills of Puffy Products began to tread delicately on their centipede legs across the wheat fields of Kansas.'
'Here is a Clerk that would work incessantly, and neither eat, sleep, want payment, or grumble.'
'ZARNAK, YOU'RE TO COMMAND A SCOUTING EXPEDITION --- FIND OUT WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT!'
'These are your rudimentary seed packages... Some will combine in place to form more complicated structures.'
