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"In WWII, they had a saying that there are no atheists in foxholes. I think the modern equivalent of that is that there are no jaded, bored people in the high-tech industry, in the land of really good hardcore geeks."
- Neal Stephenson
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| Flashlight Laser | ||
| Small cylindrical device that generates a green beam of variable intensity and focal length; can illuminate or cut. |
At this point in the novel, Louis Wu and his companions are exploring the Ringworld.
| Louis aimed the implement high.
The figurine which was his target jutted from the tower's roof. It was like a modernized, surrealistic gargoyle. Louis' thumb moved, and the gargoyle glowed yellow-white. His index finger shifted, and the beam narrowed to a pencil of green light. The gargoyle sprouted a white-hot navel. |
| Technovelgy from Ringworld,
by Larry Niven. Published by Ballantine in 1970 Additional resources -
|
The flashlight-laser is like the ultimate Maglite flashlight. From simple illumination to cutting tool, the flashlight-laser does it all. Now where is that power setting on my Maglite...
This item is very reminiscent of the pencil heat ray from a 1931 novel by Ray Cummings. See also the cutteray an industrial strength laser-based cutting tool from Dune, by Frank Herbert.
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- Almost Niven's Flashlight Laser
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'I don't have to tell you about the seven two-mile-diameter orbital mirrors that circulate around the satellite, making it habitable.'
'The steel tortoise gave MacKinnon a feeling of Crusoe- like independence.'
'...then back to their work, though little enough it was on these automatic cultivators.'
't came out into plain view. Darkington glimpsed a slim body and six short legs of articulated dull metal.'
'The suit stands up and starts walking, gripping me round the calves and waist, taking the bulk of my weight off my throbbing feet.'
'Internally it’s made up of millions of components, but the most important ones are the thinking and memory parts of the Mind proper.'
'I could look down at that face of carefully molded synthetic rubber, tinted the exact shade of the doctor's living flesh.'
