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"One of the great tragedies of mankind is that morality has been hijacked by religion. So now people assume that religion and morality have a necessary connection."
- Arthur C. Clarke
 |
| Electric Brain Stimulator | ||
| A device that coordinated the waves of the brain with an external device to improve performance. |
Once the King of Speed himself, Ben Gleed has been fired for pushing people too far. Now, Ben is just employee SX333; he's determined to prove himself.
| Lunch hour and midday check-up.
"SX333, come into the wave room,"
said a supervisor. "You need more
stimulant than coffee." In the designated room an absent-minded laboratory official made a test of Ben's brain
waves under concentration, explaining,
"This is one of the Speed King's Efficio
devices for converting electrical energy
into brain power."
He fitted an instrument over SX333's head. "Plug it in and work the rheostat to suit yourself. The electrical waves will synchronize with your own brain waves and reinforce them." The King of Speed clamped the electric stimulator over his head, turned the rheostat on full, and poured forth words and sweat. He choked down black coffee, did not stop for lunch, tried not to hear the whisper of "Faster! Faster!" But late in the afternoon when the speed-up whisper bore down and one of the women workers screamed out, "For God's sakes, turn that thing off!" and then slumped over her desk in tears, he wasted five good minutes getting his mind back on his work. "Damn weaklings," he muttered to himself. "They can't take the pace! I'll show them." |
| Technovelgy from Ben Gleed, King of Speed,
by Don Wilcox. Published by Amazing Stories in 1939 Additional resources -
|
Compare to the control helmet from Easy Money (1938) by Edmond Hamilton and the cogitator from The Consolidator (1705) by Daniel Defoe.
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'Now, except for weight and heat, the same conditions prevail in this chamber as in space.'
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'..the synthetic intellects at the Place of Knowledge had far outstripped the minds of men.'
'But after washing and drying clothes had to be smooth - free from fine lines and wrinkles ...'
