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"Beyond a thousand years from now humans are not quite recognizably human, and I have trouble finding characters."
- Larry Niven
 |
| Personal Solar Plant | ||
| A single-home solar-powered energy source. |
An early take on this idea.
| "...For instance there is the solar plant. You know what a solar plant is."
Vickers nodded. "A power plant operated by the sun." "Exactly," said the salesman. "This plant, however, is somewhat more efficient than the usual solar plant. It not only heats the house in winter, but supplies electrical power for all the year around. It eliminates the necessity of relying upon a public utility for your power. I might add there is plenty of power, much more than you will ever need." |
| From Ring Around the Sun,
by Clifford Simak. Published by Galaxy Science Fiction in 1952 Additional resources -
|
Compare to black power from Larry Niven's 1995 novella The Woman in Del Rey Crater, the solar power reception screens from Robert Heinlein's 1940 novella The Roads Must Roll and the shipstone from Heinlein's 1982 novel Friday.
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'The appearance was enough like a giant witch's broom to justify the nickname.'
'A vast circle of scarlet stars came up into the greenish desert dusk.'
'He had constructed an organ, a brain, of metal, entirely inorganic and lifeless...'
'I shall never forget the sight... when the yellow gleam of the precious metal appeared under the star dust.'
Oh, and now I suppose someone will develop the robotic porch pirate.
'This thing will start at one end of ...a house and build it complete to the other end, following drawings only.'
'In contrast to the airless desolation outside, the interior of this five-acre greenhouse was the one most desirable place to be.'
