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"I don't know why I write science fiction. The voices in my head told me to!"
- Charles Stross
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| Trans-Oceanic Rocket | ||
| Also, a rocket-plane. |
According to the story, it takes a mere 5 hours to cross the Atlantic. Ironically, the supersonic (and now defunct) Concorde made the trip in just 3 and 1/2 hours.
| I was rushing over the ground toward the glittering, silver-winged projectile that was the Baikal. A glowering officer waved me on, and I dashed up the slant of the gangplank and into the ship; the port dropped and I heard a long "Whew!" of relief...
There's a friendly atmosphere aboard a trans-oceanic rocket. The passengers are forced into a crowded infirmary for anywhere from seven to twelve hours, and there isn't much room for moving about. Generally, one strikes up an acquaintance with his neighbors; introductions aren't at all necessary, and the custom is simply to speak to anybody you choose— something like an all-day trip on the railroad trains of the last century, I suppose... Afterwards we walked along the narrow aisle to the glassed-in observation room up forward. |
| Technovelgy from The Worlds of If,
by Stanley G. Weinbaum. Published by Wonder Stories in 1935 Additional resources -
|
It is also called a "rocket-plane".
(The Trans-Oceanic Rocket Plane)
Five hundred people were picking themselves up from the floor, were trampling each other, milling around, being cast helplessly down as the great rocket-plane, its left wing but a broken stub, circled downward toward the Atlantic.
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| San Francisco Autobus |
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Science Fiction
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'If the biological robots were not living creatures, they were certainly very good imitations.'
"Everybody and his dog, it seemed, wanted to live out in the country; transportation and communication were no longer isolating factors."
'... the new typewriter that could be talked to, and which transposed the spoken sound into typed words.'
'... underneath they consisted of networks of cooling tubes against the skin.'
'My cars talk to one another. I have no doubt about it...'
'... the imprint of her image on the telephoto cell.'
