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"[Science fiction is] anything that turns you and your social context, the social you, inside out."
- Gregory Benford
 |
| Spine-Clamp | ||
| A device that constrains the movements of convicted criminals. |
Those not of the avout may be disciplined while still allowed to roam free.
| "...if someone commits a bad enough crime, the Powers That Be clamp a thing on their spine that makes them sort of crippled for a while. Later it falls off and then they are normal again."
"Does it hurt?" "No." A new page. "When you see someone wearing one of those devices, can you tell what crime they committed?" "Yes, it says right on it, in Kinagrams." |
| From Anathem,
by Neal Stephenson. Published by Morrow in 2008 Additional resources -
|
Here's what happens when it goes into control mode:
Readers may also be reminded of Heinlein's security restraint field.
His spine-clamp exploded in light, flashing alternately red and blue... Every muscle in his body had lost tone in the same instant, jammed by signals from the clamp."
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