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"Retire? Yeah, I want to die with my head in the typewriter. That's my idea of retirement."
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As far as I know, this is the first instance of the phrase "space-lanes".
The idea of "space lanes" seems clear; the term is analogous to "sea lanes", the well-trafficked courses that merchant ships take from one port to another. However, since the various bodies of the solar system are in constant motion relative to each other, and since the entire solar system itself is moving through space around the center of the galaxy, which is itself moving through space, the idea of static space-lanes seems unworkable. But it's a great concept for story writing.
Another instance can be found in the excellent 1934 short story Cosmic Teletype by Carl Jacobi. Jospeph Rane, injured during college and missing part of his brain, turned what was left to scientific pursuits. He succeeded in constructing a device able to contact inhabitants of distant worlds.
The messages were in code; but once translated, they revealed an entire civilization at war.
A decade later, this expression was in common usage; here's an example from One Against the Legion (1939) by Jack Williamson:
By the 1950's, this phrase had become a cliche. Take a look at this ironic excerpt from Philip K. Dick's short story Sales Pitch:
Compare to spaceways from Shambleau (1933) by CL Moore. Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This | Additional
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Science Fiction
Timeline
Brin's 1990 Novel Earth Still Full Of Predictions
'... making the point that their likenesses, every move they made, were being transmitted.'
Gaia - Why Stop With Just The Earth?
'But the stars are only atoms in larger space, and in that larger space the star-atoms could combine to form living matter, thinking matter, couldn't they?'
Microsoft VASA-1 Creates Personal Video From A Photo
'...to build up a video picture would require, say, ten million decisions every second. Mike, you're so fast I can't even think about it. But you aren't that fast.'
Splendid View Of Eclipse From Orbit Visualized And Repurposed By Arthur C. Clarke
'The area affected was five hundred kilometres across, and perfectly circular.'
Goldene - A Two-Dimensional Sheet Of Gold One Atom Thick
'Hasan always pitched a Gauzy - a one-molecule-layer tent, opaque, feather-light, and very tough.'
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...'
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