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"…we store information differently, reading a science fiction story, to make it make sense."
- Samuel R. Delany

Lethe-Mirror  
  Induces sleepy mindedness.  

From his pocket, he got out a small glittering bauble, carefully wrapped in translucent brown fiber. He sat with his knees apart, holding the bauble cupped in his hands.

“What is it?” Nina asked. Pathetically, she reached out to touch it. “A present for me?”

“We used these all the time,” Cussick said, blocking her fingers. “Until Pearson ruled against them. You've probably heard about them . . . the Communists developed them during the war as instruments for conversion. We picked the idea up, too. This is called a lethe-mirror.”

“Oh,” Nina said. “Yes.” She nodded. “I’ve heard of them. But I didn’t think there were any left.”

“Everybody kept one or two.” In Cussick’s hands the bauble shimmered menacingly. All he had to do was remove the brown-fiber covering; it was as simple as that. The mirror was a focus that caught and trapped the attention of the higher brain centers.

Technovelgy from The World Jones Made, by Philip K. Dick.
Published by Ace in 1956
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Additional resources:
  More Ideas and Technology from The World Jones Made
  More Ideas and Technology by Philip K. Dick
  Tech news articles related to The World Jones Made
  Tech news articles related to works by Philip K. Dick

Lethe-Mirror-related news articles:
  - 'McSleepy' Automated Anesthesia Machine

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Science Fiction in the News

Brin's 1990 Novel Earth Still Full Of Predictions
'... making the point that their likenesses, every move they made, were being transmitted.'

Gaia - Why Stop With Just The Earth?
'But the stars are only atoms in larger space, and in that larger space the star-atoms could combine to form living matter, thinking matter, couldn't they?'

Microsoft VASA-1 Creates Personal Video From A Photo
'...to build up a video picture would require, say, ten million decisions every second. Mike, you're so fast I can't even think about it. But you aren't that fast.'

Splendid View Of Eclipse From Orbit Visualized And Repurposed By Arthur C. Clarke
'The area affected was five hundred kilometres across, and perfectly circular.'

Bespoke Environment Music From AIs
'Call 'em Winter Mute," said the other, making it two words.'

Goldene - A Two-Dimensional Sheet Of Gold One Atom Thick
'Hasan always pitched a Gauzy - a one-molecule-layer tent, opaque, feather-light, and very tough.'

SpaceX Wants A Moonbase Alpha
'And he had been sent with troops, supplies and bombs to command Russia's most trusted post, the Moonbase.'

Vast Apartment Living Will Get Even More Vast
'What is your population', I asked. 'About eighty millions.'

NASA Wants Self-Driving Or Remote-Controlled Vehicles For Lunar Astronauts
'THE autobus turned silently down the wide street of Hydropole. Robot-guided, insulated from noise and cold...'

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