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
"Science Fiction is speculative fiction in which the author takes as his first postulate the real world as we know it, including all established facts and natural laws."
- Robert Heinlein
 |
| Phymech | ||
| A robotic physician. |
| Far more intricate than a mere robot-mechanical, yet far simpler
than a human brain, it was capable-after proper conditioning-of the most delicate of operations. Further, the "phymech", as it was tagged soon after, was capable of infallible diagnosis, involving anything organic.
The House of Congress appointed a committee of fact-finders, from the firm of Data, Unlimited... They found phymechs could be operated in all the socialized hospitals of the Continent, for far less than was being spent on Doctor's salaries. A phymech absorbed one half pint of Iiquified radiol every three years, and an occasional oiling, to insure proper functioning.
So the government passed a law.
The Hippocratic Law of of 2088,
which said, in essence: Johns Hopkins was the first to be de-franchised.
 (Phymechs from 'Wanted in Surgery' by Harlan Ellison) A few specialist schools were maintained for a time, but it became increasingly apparent after the first three years of phymech operation, that even the specialists were slow compared to the robot doctors. |
| Technovelgy from Wanted in Surgery,
by Harlan Ellison. Published by IF Worlds of Science Fiction in 1957 Additional resources -
|
Additional details:
but no, it had to be a
brain job, with the phymechs' thirty
telescoping, snakelike appendages
extruded, and snicking into the
patient...
One of the telescoping, snakelike
tentacles of one phymech had a
wafer-thin circular saw on it, and
as Thomas watched, the saw sliced
down, and they could hear the buzz
of steel meeting skull...
...the snicker and gleam of the instruments being
whipped from their cubicles in the
phymech's storage-bin chest.
Compare to the emergency treatment tank from Agent of Vega (1949) by James Schmitz, the shipboard medical treatment from Contagion (1950) by Katherine MacLean, the
Gobathian from Time is the Simplest Thing (1961) by Clifford Simak, the surgical homeostatic unit from Now Wait For Last Year (1966) by Philip K. Dick, the diagnostat from The Man in the Maze (1969) by Robert Silverberg, electronic body analyzer from The Andromeda Strain (1969) by Michael Crichton, the crechepod from The Godmakers (1972) by Frank Herbert and the autosurgeon from Altered Carbon (2003) by Richard Morgan.
There
were no operating lamps in the
ceiling, as in old-style hospitals, for
the phymechs each had their own powerful "internal" light mounted
atop their heads, that served more
accurately than any outside light
could have...
Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Wanted in Surgery
More Ideas
and Technology by Harlan Ellison
Tech news articles related to Wanted in Surgery
Tech news articles related to works by Harlan Ellison
Phymech-related
news articles:
- Robot Surgeons No Better Than Humans
| Atlas Robot Makes Uncomfortable Movements |
| Humanoid Robots Tickle The Ivories |
| Golf Ball Test Robot Wears Them Out |
| PaXini Supersensitive Robot Fingers |
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> |
|
|
|
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
'...there's a narrow belt where the climate is moderate.'
'... with the Master-operator all you have to do is push one! A remarkable achievement!'
'Not like me. A T-1000, advanced prototype. A mimetic poly-alloy. Liquid metal.'
'It was riddled with holes that were the mouths of tunnels.'
'The massive feet working the pedals, arms and hands flashing and glinting...'
'There were cubic miles of it, and it glistened like a silvery Christmas tree...'
'Jason had been guiding the caravan of cars as usual...'
"The robot solemnly hit a ball against the wall, picked it up and teed it, hit it again, over and again...'
