Science Fiction Dictionary
A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

Latest By
Category:


Armor
Artificial Intelligence
Biology
Clothing
Communication
Computers
Culture
Data Storage
Displays
Engineering
Entertainment
Food
Input Devices
Lifestyle
Living Space
Manufacturing
Material
Media
Medical
Miscellaneous
Robotics
Security
Space Tech
Spacecraft
Surveillance
Transportation
Travel
Vehicle
Virtual Person
Warfare
Weapon
Work

"The wealth of the universe is all over your head. We need to take command of the solar system to gain that wealth..."
- Larry Niven

Plastiskin  
  Artificial human skin to cover prosthetics.  

As far as I know, the first use of this word.

Horace looked over the assembly of quiet, subdued robots.

“Fortunately I have taught you all how to make others like you, so that you can perpetuate your race by making more and more robots. You can go on where the human race leaves off, building a civilization that will spread over the universe. 1 Just remember that planets where life exists are death to you. The radiations of living protoplasm, no matter how you try to insulate yourselves from them will destroy the gel in which your brain rests. And no other substance has the same properties as that gel.”


(Plastiskin from 'Unforeseen' by Roger P. Graham)

“But all you planned for us to do for the human race?” Rob protested as Horace skillfully glued the plastiskin back over the braincase of his first robot creation.

Technovelgy from Unforeseen, by Roger P. Graham.
Published by Fantastic Adventures in 1949
Additional resources -

Another use from We All Died At Breakaway Station by Richard Meredith, published by Amazing Stories in 1969:

The steward vanished as quickly and silently as he had come, and Bracer remained in the same position, fighting thought, until metallic knuckles clad in synthetic plastiskin rapped on the cabin’s hatch.

Additional resources - Compare to the surrogate skin from Robert Heinlein's 1951 novel The Puppet Masters and art-derm from Philip K. Dick's 1961 novel Dr. Futurity and the more functional read-out skin from John Varley's 1992 novel Steel Beach.

Also, compare to plastissue from WF Wallace's 1952 story Accidental Flight and plasta-skin from Star Rangers (1953) by Andre Norton. And uniflesh from The Dosadi Experiment (1977) by Frank Herbert.

Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |

Additional resources:
  More Ideas and Technology from Unforeseen
  More Ideas and Technology by Roger P. Graham
  Tech news articles related to Unforeseen
  Tech news articles related to works by Roger P. Graham

Articles related to Medical
BrainBridge Concept Transplant Of Human Head Proposed
Natural Gait With Prosthetic Connected To Nervous System
Brain Implant Is Able To Capture Your Inner Dialogue
'Pregnancy Humanoids' From China Replace Moms

Want to Contribute an Item? It's easy:
Get the name of the item, a quote, the book's name and the author's name, and Add it here.

<Previous
Next>

Google
  Web TechNovelgy.com   

 

 

Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Science Fiction Invention Timeline, or see what's New.

 

 

 

 

Science Fiction Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's   1950's
1960's   1970's
1980's   1990's
2000's   2010's

Science Fiction in the News

Replace The Smartphone With A Connected Edge Node For AI Inference
'Buy a Little Dingbat... electropen, wrist watch, pocketphone, pocket radio, billfold ... all in one.'

Artificial Skin For Robots Is Coming Right Along
'... an elastic, tinted material that had all the feel and appearance of human flesh and epidermis.'

Robot Guard Dog On Duty
I might also be thinking of K-9 from Doctor Who.

Wearable Artificial Fabric Muscles
'It is remarkable that the long leverages of their machines are in most cases actuated by a sort of sham musculature...'

BrainBridge Concept Transplant Of Human Head Proposed
'Briquet’s head seemed to think that to find and attach a new body to her head was as easy as to fit and sew a new dress.'

Google's Nano Banana Pro Presents Handwritten Math Solutions
'...copy was turned out in a charming and entirely feminine handwriting.'

Edible Meat-Like Fungus Like Barbara Hambly's Slunch?
'It was almost unheard of for slunch to spread that fast...'

Sunday Robotics 'Memo' Bot Has Unique Training Glove
'He then started hand movements of definite pattern...'

Woman Marries Computer, Vonnegut's Dream Comes True
'Men are made of protoplasm... Lasts forever.'

Natural Gait With Prosthetic Connected To Nervous System
'The leg was to function, in a way, as a servo-mechanism operated by Larry’s brain...'

More SF in the News

More Beyond Technovelgy

Home | Glossary | Science Fiction Timeline | Category | New | Contact Us | FAQ | Advertise |
Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction™

Copyright© Technovelgy LLC; all rights reserved.