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"I myself feel that our country, for whose Constitution I fought in a just war, might as well have been invaded by Martians and body snatchers."
- Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
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| Week Trees | ||
| Specially engineered bonsai that could grow in a week, instead of decades. |
This is sort of a great idea. Only "sort of" because most people would argue that part of the charm and appeal of a real bonsai (a stunted, ornamental tree) is that it takes decades of constant expert help for a plant to become a work of art.
| Della's second present was a little seed-packet labeled WEEK TREES. "Have you heard of these?" asked Mom. "They're bioengineered. You know the miniature bonsai trees that the Japanese used to grow? These are the same, except their whole life cycle only takes a week... They're amazing." |
| Technovelgy from Wetware,
by Rudy Rucker. Published by Avon Books in 1988 Additional resources -
|
In the novel, genetic engineering takes the place of the gardener's efforts. You could imagine these sold almost as "Chia Pets" that grow to whatever shape you want.
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| Let's Make Slaver Sunflowers! Engineering Plants To Reflect Light |
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'Chris, the City Fathers are not interested in your welfare; I suppose you know that. They're interested in only one thing: the survival of the city.'
'Drake was the young spatial engineer he employed to terraform the little rock...'
'It diverts integers of the data, the fundamental message-units, so that they no longer agree.'
'Clothes are no longer made from dead fibers of fixed color and texture that can approximate only crudely to the vagrant human figure...'
'Books were just a commodity that had to be produced, like jam or bootlaces.'
