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 think a lot of kids whose mental growth outruns their maturity gravitate to science fiction."
- Dan Simmons
 |
| Personality-Construct (Lazarus) | ||
| A chip providing a robotic body with the attributes of the selected person. |
| The watery blue eyes stared at her blankly.
“Gramps, you’re dead! You’re a lazarus, a personality-construct chip shoved into a casing of metal and plastic and God knows what. Certainly nothing with a right to run my life."
 (Personality-construct from 'Killing Gramps' by Ann K. Schwader) The eyes did not change expression. Pivoting its ’chair away from her, the lazarus headed for the living room’s front window at a fast walking speed. Phillipa nearly panicked. If the thing had fritzed, there was no way of stopping it from — what? Biomechanical suicide via the twentieth floor? Maybe a lazarus couldn’t survive being told what it was. Centimeters away from the window, the lazarus thumbed a remote button on the ’chair’s armrest. One wide pane slid open as ’chair and passenger sailed into a clear afternoon sky, the ’chair’s nullgrav adjusting to the drop. Cursing under her breath, Phillipa got up to shut the window. Midair exits had been Gramps’ favorite response to any argument — and he’d never bothered to close the pane behind him, either. Just how much personality did a “personality construct” preserve? |
| Technovelgy from Killing Gramps,
by Ann K. Schwader. Published by Aboriginal Science Fiction in 1988 Additional resources -
|
Compare to the Electronic Analogue of Living Brain from The Tunnel Under The World (1955) by Frederik Pohl, the construct from Neuromancer (1984) by William Gibson, recorded personality, from Gibson's Mona Lisa Overdrive. See also the personality simulator from The Dosadi Experiment (1977) by Frank Herbert and the Neuro-netsukes from Rim (1994) by Alexander Besher.
Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Killing Gramps
More Ideas
and Technology by Ann K. Schwader
Tech news articles related to Killing Gramps
Tech news articles related to works by Ann K. Schwader
| 'AI Assistants' Are Actually Less Reliable For News |
| Will AIs Give Better Results If You're Rude To Them? |
| Chinese Tokamak Uses AI To Keep Fusion Plasma Stable |
| Alexa+ And Its AI Brain Improvements |
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 was nowhere on the planet where science and technology could not provide one with a comfortable home...'
'Most men updated their PIP on New Year's Day...'
'...a misshapen, many-tentacled thing about twice the size of a man.'
'He was in a high-ceilinged windowless cell with walls of glittering white porcelain.'
