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"Does it open a new horizon for my thinking? Does it lead me to think new kinds of thoughts, that I would not otherwise perhaps have thought at all? These qualities are what [make] science fiction ...unique."
- Frederik Pohl
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| Barrier (Force Field) | ||
| Force-field fence. |
In this story, Heinlein explores the idea of a just society; what does that society do with people who refuse to follow the rules? People who refuse to abide by the Covenant are placed (willingly or not) in Coventry, a large area of the U.S. about the size of Montana to fend for themselves. Coventry is surrounded by an impenetrable force field called the Barrier.
| MacKinnon peered out of a forward port of the big transport helicopter with repressed excitement in his heart. There! That must be it- that black band in the distance. The helicopter drew closer, and he became certain that he was seeing the Barrier- the mysterious, impenetrable wall that divided the United States from the reservation known as Coventry...
 Barrier from 'Coventry' by Robert Heinlein) A tiny, bright dot appeared in the foot of the barrier opposite where they waited. It spread into a half circle across the lampblack nothingness. Now it was large enough for MacKinnon to see the countryside beyond through the arch it had formed. He peered eagerly. |
| Technovelgy from Coventry,
by Robert Heinlein. Published by Astounding Science Fiction in 1940 Additional resources -
|
Another character adds:
This story is classic Heinlein; read it to get some of the basis for the socio-political climate in his future history series.
This description from Rex (1934) by Harl Vincent of a similar idea is interesting:
Compare to the Langston field from Mote in God's Eye, by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle.
'...I'm not a mathematical physicist, but I was always told that it was
theoretically impossible to break the Barrier-that it was just a nothingness that there was no way to
touch. Of course, you can fly over it, but even that is supposed to be deadly to life.'
Anticipating organized and armed attacks by humankind, Rex devised an invisible, impenetrable barrier of electronic vibrations which could be set up by the regular broadcast power. He caused the power plants themselves to be surrounded by these barriers, as well as providing them for the protection of the individual robots in the form of an inclosing bubble. Bulletproof, flameproof, impervious to the freezing ray of human scientists, these inclosures yet permitted each robot to carry on his newly appointed tasks without encumbrance.
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Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Coventry
More Ideas
and Technology by Robert Heinlein
Tech news articles related to Coventry
Tech news articles related to works by Robert Heinlein
Barrier (Force Field)-related
news articles:
- Virtual Fence To Be Tested This Month
| Is There A Subterranean Ocean? |
| The Robotic Shopping Cart Of The Future |
| Arctic Resource Jackpot An Old Wish |
| Marie Curie's Papers Still Radioactive |
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'... an elastic, tinted material that had all the feel and appearance of human flesh and epidermis.'
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