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"Conspiracy theories are big because they're comforting. Any conspiracy is infinitely less multiplex than the real deal, which is multiplex to the point of being unknowable."
- William Gibson
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| Bot | ||
| The first use of this contraction for "robot". |
As far as I know, this is the first use in science fiction for this very common contraction.
| You see, sir, i was killed a lot deader than you were, my whole body was destroyed, when they got my ship the only part of me that the ’bots were able to get into cold-sleep was my head, shoulders and a part of my spine... |
| Technovelgy from We All Died At Breakaway Station,
by Richard Meredith. Published by Amazing Stories in 1969 Additional resources -
|
Compare to the first use of the word robot from R.U.R. (1920) by Karel Capek.
Hard to believe, but this familiar contraction was so new that in 1977, Gregory Benford felt he needed to explain it in his story Homemaker:
The robot squats mutely.
‘Bot?’ Gerald asks. ‘
Slang for robot. You ask him.’
‘What's your name, little bot?’
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