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"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
 |
| Angel Music Player | ||
| A device that beams music directly into your brain, without wires. |
This device can be used to provide your music directly to your mind, or to the mind of a nearby person.
| Amand glared at him. "Are you on that damn Angel? What have I told you about using that thing when we have guests?
"I've heard of those things," Lily said. "Why don't you show me, Benj?" He fished in his jacket pocket and produced a gadget as slim as a cigarette. It was heavy in her hand, seamless, warm from his body heat. Benj set it with unconscious skill, Lily couldn't follow what he did, and a bright, brassy pop tune erupted inside her head: "I love you more than my phone / You're my Angel, you're my TV..." The Angel beamed its music directly into her sensorium, somehow stimulating the hearing centers remotely, without the need for wires and earpieces... Amanda said, "...And it's a pain to be zapped in the street by some kid who thinks you need a headful of drums and bass." |
| From Flood,
by Stephen Baxter. Published by Gollancz in 2008 Additional resources -
|
In some ways this device reminds me of the tasp from Larry Niven's works; it comes in a portable model that can stimulate the pleasure center of another person's brain remotely. Here's a quote from Niven's 1970 novel Ringworld.
"Have you ever been hit by a tasp? None of my business, of course."
Teela grinned derision for his delicacy. "Yes, I know what it feels like. A moment of - well, there's no describing it. But you don't use a tasp on yourself. You use it on someone who isn't expecting it. That's where the fun comes in. Police are always picking up taspers in parks."
The author also mentions that these devices come in milspec versions for use by the military.
"...Usually a tasp is just small enough to aim with one hand."
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'Merton... placed the electrodes of the sleep-inducer on his forehead.'
'... we can descend and live down there at one of those year-round aquatic resorts.'
'...she would have to be coaxed by another series of pats into a circular orbit.'
'The sleek, tapered space shuttle lay immobile upon the private landing field...'
Yes, people of the future, robots will dress you.
