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"We're about 20 minutes away from the point where Clarke's law kicks in and technology becomes indistinguishable from magic."
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A huge black cloud seems to attack an airship. The ship's sensors report that the cloud seems to be made of iron. How could such a thing exist?
"It is made up of tiny metal particles. A remote-controlled emulsion, as it were, with uniform center," answered Jazon.
Further speculation is made upon the gathering of additional evidence.
It is difficult to believe that a large mass of machines can operate without a central command mechanism:
"No, I don't think it's anything like that. It could be that these microorganisms themselves form such a center when they combine in a certain manner - a kind of inanimate brain. They exist in loose swarms, which permits them to be constantly exposed to the sunlight, or even to chase after thunderclouds, for they probably obtain energy from these atmospheric discharges."
The earliest take on this idea that I know about is the living metal cubes from the 1920 story The Metal Monster by Abraham Merritt.
See a more structured version of this idea, the Robot Cells (Crystal-Shaped Modules) from work by Michael P. Kube-McDowell. Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This | Additional
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Science Fiction
Timeline
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'... they could plug in your wire whenever they wanted to.'
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'... the expressionless face before me was therefore that of the golem-wrestler, Rolem, a creature that could be set for five times the strength of a human being.'
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'Waldo put his arms into the primary pair before him; all three pairs, including the secondary pair mounted before the machine, came to life.'
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'... the glittering little rocket bolted to the black iron behind him.'
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