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
"In 1970 I found little difficulty staying 30 years ahead of the man in the street, and now I find it difficult to stay 18 months ahead of the man on the street."
- Vernor Vinge
 |
| Cardioplate | ||
| A device that could take seconds or minutes off your life, one beat at a time (or all at once). |
If you are caught late in this future society, you must answer to the Master Timekeeper - or as everyone calls him, the Ticktockman.
| EFFECTIVE 15 JULY 2389, 12:00:00 midnight, the office of the Master Timekeeper will require that all citizens to submit their time-cards and cardioplates for processing. In accordance with Statute 555-7-SGH-999 governing the revocation of time per capita, all cardioplates will be keyed to the individual holder and -
What they had done was to devise a method of curtailing the amount of life a person could have. If he was ten minutes late, he lost ten minutes of his life. |
| From 'Repent Harlequin' Said the Ticktockman,
by Harlan Ellison. Published by Galaxy Magazine in 1965 Additional resources -
|
Worse yet, if you were found to be consistently tardy, you might be told that as of a particular date and time, you would be turned off.
This idea precedes that of the palm flower from the 1967 novel Logan's Run by William Nolan and G.C. Johnson.
15-Sep-2011: Harlan Ellison is suing the makers of the fall film In Time for plagiarism. The film uses a similar idea; a measurement of life time remaining on the forearm.
Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from 'Repent Harlequin' Said the Ticktockman
More Ideas
and Technology by Harlan Ellison
Tech news articles related to 'Repent Harlequin' Said the Ticktockman
Tech news articles related to works by Harlan Ellison
| Neural Implant To Treat Memory Loss |
| The Claustrum - The Brain's On Off Switch? |
| Beating Mini-Heart Grown In Lab |
| An 'OFF' Switch For The Brain |
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.
|
'I had a small can of powdered alcohol disguised as tooth powder...'
'The jeweled hands clutching drinks (and the unobtrusive inspections with tiny remote-cast snoopers)...'
'It cut her out of the stream of vehicles and reduced the speed of her car...'
'A planet-wide chain of hotels that specialized in non-human service.'
