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"We follow the scientists around and look over their shoulders. They're watching their feet: provable mistakes are bad for them. We're looking as far ahead as we can, and we don't get penalized for mistakes."
- Larry Niven
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| Thought Screen | ||
| A material screen that is worn by the user, upon which are projected the mental images of the user. |
Very handy device for aliens - although you still need to interpret the symbols.
Joe and Al, intrepid space explorers who stumble onto an unknown universe on their way to Pluto, encounter unusual alien beings.
| Two orange, dome-shaped creatures, somewhat like diving bells. The front of each bell was flattened, and in the center was a huge oval opening, covered by a translucent mica-like substance. Directly over and on each side of the opening protruded two antennae, at the end of which were round faceted knobs...
On the translucent mica-like coverings over the orifices, appeared reddish characters. There were four of them, delicate, intricate tracings, lit up by some interior fire. They resembled somewhat the old cuneiform writing of the Babylonians or the Egyptian hieroglyphs. Al was greatly excited, "I believe they're trying to communicate with us..." |
| Technovelgy from The Emperor of the Stars,
by Nat Schachner (w. AL Zagat). Published by Wonder Stories in 1931 Additional resources -
|
The thought screen also presented an interpretation of emotion:
You just don’t read this kind of empathy for alien races these days:
The Ruler emanated unnuterable sadness, and a host of pallid red glyphs flashed in rapid succession on the thought screen.
“Did the Prostak scientists watch the transcendental spectacle in their powerful telescopes? If so, what joy there must have been in that world, what a waving of tentacles, what a shimmering procession of bright red glyphs across their strange communication disks! How that orange glowing air must have vibrated to emanations of joy and of thankfulness!”
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Additional
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More Ideas
and Technology from The Emperor of the Stars
More Ideas
and Technology by Nat Schachner (w. AL Zagat)
Tech news articles related to The Emperor of the Stars
Tech news articles related to works by Nat Schachner (w. AL Zagat)
Thought Screen-related
news articles:
- T-Sketch The Whiteboard T-Shirt
- Solar-Powered Bra
- Transparent Thin Film Transistors Fabbed With Nanotubes
| Cognify - A Prison Of The Mind We've Seen Before In SF |
| Robot Preachers Found To Undermine Religious Commitment |
| Gaia - Why Stop With Just The Earth? |
| Splendid View Of Eclipse From Orbit Visualized And Repurposed By Arthur C. Clarke |
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'What would you do,' Eric asked the robot cabdriver, 'if your wife had turned to stone, your best friend were a toad, and you had lost your job?'
'those suits they wear -- call them 'stillsuits' -- that reclaim the body's own water...'
'Now, except for weight and heat, the same conditions prevail in this chamber as in space.'
'there were so many worms and counterworms loose in the data-net...'
'Now, look, let's start with the three fundamental Rules of Robotics...'
'..the synthetic intellects at the Place of Knowledge had far outstripped the minds of men.'
'But after washing and drying clothes had to be smooth - free from fine lines and wrinkles ...'
