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"For the sciences, the way to change science's perception of things is to wait until all the old farts have died off."
- Larry Niven
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| Lens-Tube | ||
| A kind of seeing device like a short-range telescope. |
| That is, it was an oblong metal box, tapering toward the ends, with the greatest width forward of the middle. Twin tubes projected from the end of it, lenses in them glistening like eyes. Just below them sprang out steely, glistening tentacles several feet long, writhing and twitching as if they were alive. The tangle of green brush hid the thing's legs, so that Dan could not see them.
Suddenly it sprang toward him, rising ten feet high and covering half the distance between them. It alighted easily upon the two long, jointed metal limbs upon which it had leapt, and continued to keep the lens-tubes turned toward Dan, so he knew that the grotesque metal thing was watching him. |
| Technovelgy from The Doom From Planet 4,
by Jack Williamson. Published by Astounding Stories in 1931 Additional resources -
|
If I recall correctly, the Scarab robot from Gallun's story of that name made use of "minute vision tubes".
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and Technology from The Doom From Planet 4
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Tech news articles related to works by Jack Williamson
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'BY PUSHING AGAINST THE LITTLE MARTIAN MOON WITH OUR ROCKET SHIP, WE HAD LESSENED THE CENTRIFUGAL SPEED THAT HELD IT BALANCED IN THE SKY.'
'... he had tightened the chest to gain maximum pumping action from the motion of breathing.'
'...a prayer wheel swung into view and began spinning at a furious pace.'
'And are all the people willing to be governed by a machine?'
