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"I suspect that religion is a necessary evil in the childhood of our particular species. And that's one of the interesting things about contact with other intelligences: we could see what role, if any, religion plays in their development."
- Arthur C. Clarke
 |
| 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." |
| Technovelgy 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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| Flimmer Navy Drone Flies And Swims |
| Indian Court Says Brain Scan Proves Murder |
| Background Draw-a-Secret (BDAS) Makes Graphical Passwords |
| ID-U Biometrics Eye Tracking Signature |
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'Their only check on the growth and development of Vulcan 3 lay in two clues: the amount of rock thrown up to the surface... and the amount of the raw materials and tools and parts which the computer requested.'
'I guess there's nobody round this table who doesn't have a Crosswell [tapeworm] working for him in the small intestine.'
'Figments of his mind in one sense, of course, for he had shaped them...'
'So the parent drone carries a spotter that it launches...'
'...nurse drones that would cruise around dumping large amounts of power into randomly selected pods.'
'It's done with a flip of the third joint of the tentacle on the down beat.'
'...for months Grantline bores had dug into the cliff.'
'I hope all those other cars are on automatic,' he said anxiously.
'It’s smart enough to go wrong in very complicated ways, but not smart enough to help us find out what’s wrong.'
