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"I went [to the top of] Vehicle Assembly Building and looked down, and tears burst from my eyes. The size of this cathedral where the Rockets take off to go to the moon is so amazing."
- Ray Bradbury
 |
| Toaster | ||
| A handheld beam weapon. |
| "But what about hand weapons? Are there any available?"
"You mean toasters?" "Anything that's lethal." "Nothing." |
| From Accidental Flight,
by W.F. Wallace. Published by Galaxy in 1952 Additional resources -
|
Here are some additional quotes:
"He adjusted the toaster beam to an imperceptible thickness. Deftly he sliced through the control case and removed a circular section..."
"Outside, there was the characteristic sputter, like frying, that the toaster beam made when it struck metal..."
"Jordan juggled the toaster. "I can weld with this. Let's put him in a cabin and weld the door closed..."
Compare to the blaster (1925) from When the Green Star Waned by Nictzin Dyalhis, the neutron blaster (1951), from The Complete Paratime, by H. Beam Piper and the heat ray from The War of the Worlds (1898), by H.G. Wells
"The rocket pilot moved closer. The deadly little toaster was in his hand..."
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Additional
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More Ideas
and Technology from Accidental Flight
More Ideas
and Technology by W.F. Wallace
Tech news articles related to Accidental Flight
Tech news articles related to works by W.F. Wallace
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'... forcing the energy transfer which allowed him to ... erase the other internal-external damage.'
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'... an instrument having relatively small bit pieces adapted to be gripped between the teeth.'
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'The cab was an egg-shaped bubble of light metals and plastics...'
