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"No one has ever produced a statement of fact that was technically true. The most accurate statements of science we have today are accurate to only 15 decimal places."
- Bart Kosko
 |
| Panoramic Viewer | ||
| Permits observation at a distance, as well as the projection of a holographic image. |
| Rupert Boyce is a somewhat curious character," Rashaverak answered.
"Professionally, he's in charge of animal welfare over an important section of the Main African Reservation. He's quite efficient, and interested in his work.
Because he has to keep watch over several thousand square kilometres, he has one
of the fifteen panoramic viewers we've so far issued on loan - with the usual
safeguards, of course. It is, incidentilly, the only one with full projection
facilities. He was able to make a good case for these, so we let him have them." "What was his argument?" "He wanted to appear to various wild animals so that they could get used to seeing him, and so wouldn't attack when he was physically present. The theory has worked out quite well with animals that rely on sight rather than smell- though he'll probably get killed eventually. And, of course, there was another reason why we let him have the apparatus." "It made him more co-operative?" "Precisely." |
| Technovelgy from Childhood's End,
by Arthur C. Clarke. Published by Not Known in 1953 Additional resources -
|
Here's a bit more:
"What a place to live!" gasped Jean. "I thought this climate was supposed to be
controlled."
"So it is," replied George. "This was all desert once-and look at it now. Come
on-it'll be all right indoors ! "
Rupert's voice, slightly larger than life, boomed cheerfully in their ears. Their host was standing beside the flyer, a glass in each hand,
looking down at them with a roguish expression.
He looked down at them for the simple reason that he was about twelve feet tall:
he was also semi-transparent. One could see right through him without much
difficulty.
"This is a fine trick to play on your guests!" protested
George. He grabbed at the drinks, which he could just reach.
His hand, of course, went right through them. "I hope you've got something more
substantial for us when we reach the house!"
"Don't worry!" laughed Rupert. "Just give your order now, and it'll be ready by
the time you arrive."
"Two large beers, cooled in liquid air," said George promptly. We'll be right
there."
Rupert nodded, put down one of his glasses on an invisible table, adjusted an
equally invisible control, and promptly vanished from sight.
"Well!" said Jean. "That's the first time I've seen one of those gadgets in
action. How did Rupert get hold of it? I thought only the Overlords had them."
"Have you ever known Rupert not to get anything he wanted?" replied George.
"That's just the toy for him. He can sit comfortably in his studio and go
wandering round half of Africa. No heat, no bugs, no exertion-and the icebox
always in reach. I wonder what Stanley and Livingstone would have thought?"
They had left Alaska three hours before, and should have remembered to adjust
the cabin temperature accordingly.
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'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.'
