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Science Fiction
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"This category [science fiction] excludes rocket ships that make U-turns, serpent men of Neptune that lust after human maidens, and stories by authors who flunked their Boy Scout merit badge tests in descriptive astronomy."
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In typical style, the device is worked into the story by comparing it with other hush corners in the narrator's experience.
In this scene from the novel, two rocket pilots argue over hiring an actor to "double" for their boss, an important political figure on Mars.
One of the strengths of Heinlein's writing (for me) is his ability to directly connect the culture of the 1930's and 1940's with an era in which space travel is commonplace. He does it in this case by mentioning a mentalist act (mind reading) performed live in a large hall.
This piece of technovelgy predates the term "cone of silence," as used by Frank Herbert. Herbert also deals with the lip-reading problem. You might also be interested in Heinlein's futuristic modifications of the hush-a-phone, an actual invention used in the nineteen-twenties and thirties. Don't forget the Fenton silencer, from Arthur C. Clarke's 1957 short story collection Tales from the White Hart. Comment/Join this discussion ( 1 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This | Additional
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Science Fiction
Timeline
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'What would you do,' Eric asked the robot cabdriver, 'if your wife had turned to stone, your best friend were a toad, and you had lost your job?'
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'..the synthetic intellects at the Place of Knowledge had far outstripped the minds of men.'
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'But after washing and drying clothes had to be smooth - free from fine lines and wrinkles ...'
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