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
"I operate by a code that makes me responsible for what I do, makes me definitely, directly, genuinely responsible. I am precisely the kind of person I made myself out to be."
- Harlan Ellison
 |
| Sub-C | ||
| Of ships, older models that travel at speeds below that of light. |
| Irma Gordon was one of the original settlers of the Riga system. Origin unknown. Probably born out in space — in one of the old sub-C ships. A strange feeling drifted through him. The little old creature. The centuries she had seen! The changes. |
| Technovelgy from The Impossible Planet,
by Philip K. Dick. Published by Not Known in 1953 Additional resources -
|
Stanley Schmidt used the same expression in War of Independence (1982):
"At that time our ancestors didn’t even know the Redskins existed, and the incident scared them silly. They stopped trying for the stars for about a third of a century. Things didn’t get going again until Kokes stumbled onto c-barrier tunneling and people met the Redskins. They found out in a general way what happened to the Columbus, but they still didn’t know where it wound up. Well, it wound up on Midnnoa.”
Murray nodded. So the wreck on Midnnoa was the Columbusl The Chercqs, then, were not just any shipwreck survivor descendants. 'They were one of the two oldest human colonies outside the Solar System — and still one of the most remote.
Compare to ftl from The Enchanted Forest (1950) by Fritz Leiber, which is as far as I know the first use of this abbreviation for faster-than-light from Islands of Space (1931) by John W. Campbell, which is as far as I know, the first use of that phrase in science fiction.
"Okay, brace yourself. You may remember there was a false start before interstellar expansion from Sol really got going. A pair of sub-c ships called the Mayflower and the Columbus set out together for Alpha Centauri. The Mayflower made it. The Columbus hit the wake of a Redskin warpship bound for Alpha Persei and disappeared.
Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from The Impossible Planet
More Ideas
and Technology by Philip K. Dick
Tech news articles related to The Impossible Planet
Tech news articles related to works by Philip K. Dick
| First Trips To Mars Announced By Elon Musk |
| Lava Tubes On Moon And Mars |
| SpaceX EVA Spacesuit Tested By Polaris Dawn Crew |
| ESA To Build Moon Bases Brick By Printed LEGO Brick |
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
'The operation that had transformed half his body... had located the control switchboard in his teeth.'
'Bill blinked at his own face under the plumed helmet...'
'...a robot detector circuit closed, activating a bell."
'Alex did not find it surprising that people... were electronically minting their own cash.'
'I had determined that my first attempt should be a visit to Mars.'
