Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Latest By
Category:
Armor
Artificial
Intelligence
Biology
Clothing
Communication
Computers
Culture
Data Storage
Displays
Engineering
Entertainment
Food
Input Devices
Lifestyle
Living Space
Manufacturing
Material
Media
Medical
Miscellaneous
Robotics
Security
Space Tech
Spacecraft
Surveillance
Transportation
Travel
Vehicle
Virtual
Person
Warfare
Weapon
Work
"Bureaucracies hide their mistakes, because people's careers are tied to those mistakes. Therefore, bureaucracies are a perfect mechanism for perpetuating mistakes."
- Frank Herbert
 |
| Twonky | ||
| A futuristic artifact left by time travelers in the past which, if discovered, could cause a paradox. |
There are really two worlds in Millennium. One is the world of our present (okay - your past - the mid 1980's). The other is the far future. It is not made clear at the beginning of the book what the purpose of time travel is, and I won't spoil your discovery. This is a great word; not only is it original, but it's fun to say. Is it a verb or a noun?
| I said, "What's up?" "We had an indication of a twonky developing," he said, with deplorable grammar. A twonky used to mean some anachronistic object left behind during a snatch, but lately people had begun using the word to refer to the paradox situation that object tended to generate. "Shortly after the twonky alarm, one of your girls lost her stunner on the plane." |
| Technovelgy from Millennium,
by John Varley. Published by Berkley Books in 1983 Additional resources -
|
When a traveler goes back in time, great care must be taken not to disturb the timestream, the chain of events that leads to the future under consideration in the novel. Their greatest fear is what happens if there is a "Grandfather Paradox", which comes up in most discussions of time travel. The basic idea is as follows: if I go back in time and kill my grandfather, how will I ever be born? Paradoxes like these are taken by some as proof that time travel cannot exist; in this future, time travel exists, but what happens if you cause a paradox in the past? Will the future you exist in - cease to exist?
The word "twonky" was first used by Henry Kuttner writing as Lewis Padgett in his short story "The Twonky".
Comment/Join this discussion ( 1 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Millennium
More Ideas
and Technology by John Varley
Tech news articles related to Millennium
Tech news articles related to works by John Varley
| Is There A Subterranean Ocean? |
| The Robotic Shopping Cart Of The Future |
| Arctic Resource Jackpot An Old Wish |
| Marie Curie's Papers Still Radioactive |
Want to Contribute an
Item?
It's easy:
Get the name of the item, a
quote, the book's name and the author's name, and Add
it here.
| <Previous | Next> |
|
|
|
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Science Fiction Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
|
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
'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.'
