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"I think we're still on that topic, still trying to figure out what computers are, how they change us, why we use them."
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![]() This three-part serial was originally published in 1943. In the story, the device is presented as being a small rod, like a flashlight, which projects an energy beam.
Sure, go ahead and compare it to the lightsaber from Star Wars and the rod from Fritz Leiber's 1943 novel Gather, Darkness!. See also the entry for flashlight laser, which is essentially an indefinitely long light saber, from Ringworld, by Larry Niven. Niven mentions "light swords" in the book. See also the entry for Force-Field Penknife, from Foundation by Isaac Asimov.
Thanks to Stephen Jones for pointing this out in Dr. Hermes Retro-Scans. Thanks also to Secret Master of Fandom for the illustration and discussion. Comment/Join this discussion ( 2 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This | Additional
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Science Fiction
Timeline
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'...the excavations were already in progress, for he saw gray slopes of rubble.'
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'These are your rudimentary seed packages... Some will combine in place to form more complicated structures.'
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