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 we're still on that topic, still trying to figure out what computers are, how they change us, why we use them."
- Neal Stephenson

Fixed Star Advertising  
  In which the positions of the fixed stars are changed to form advertising.  

Not what you expect from the night sky.

Then having denied himself the supreme pleasure long enough, he turned his eyes up to the silent sky, and there it was. The four hundred and sixty-eight brightest stars spelling out:

USE
SNIVELY'S
SOAP

For just a second did his satisfaction last. Then his face began to turn apoplectic purple.

“My heavens!” said Mr. Sniveley. “It’s spelled wrong!”

OF THE many explanations offered by all and sundry who professed some physical and astronomical knowledge, none was more lucid—or closer to the actual truth— than that put forward by Wendell Mehan, president emeritus of the New York Astronomical Society.

“Obviously, the phenomenon is a trick of refraction,” said Dr. Mehan. “It is manifestly impossible for any force contrived by man to move a star. The stars, therefore, still occupy their old places in the firmament.

“I suggest that Sniveley must have contrived a method of refracting the light of the stars, somewhere in or just above the atmospheric layer of earth, so that they appear to have changed their position...

“This effect cannot possibly be permanent —more permanent, that is, than the wave projector which causes it. Sooner or later, Sniveley’s machine will be found and shut off, or will break down or wear out of its own volition. Undoubtedly it includes vacuum tubes, which will some day blow out, as do the tubes in our radios..."

The excellence of Mr. Mehan’s analysis was shown, two months and eight days later, when the Boston Electric Co. shut off, for non-payment of bills, service to a house sit¬ uated at 901 West Rogers Street, ten blocks from the Sniveley mansion. At the instant of the shut-off, excited reports from the night side of Earth brought the news that the stars had flashed back into their former positions, instantaneously.

In the attic was found a complicated network of four hundred and sixty-eight radio-type antennae, each antenna of different length and running in a different direction. The machine to which they were connected was not larger, strangely, than the average ham’s radio projector, nor did it draw appreciably more current, according to the electric company’s record.

Technovelgy from Pi in the Sky, by Frederic Brown.
Published by Thrilling Wonder Stories in 1945
Additional resources -

Compare to the Orbiting Casino Advertising Sign from One Against The Legion, by Jack Williamson, published by Astounding in 1939.

Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |

Additional resources:
  More Ideas and Technology from Pi in the Sky
  More Ideas and Technology by Frederic Brown
  Tech news articles related to Pi in the Sky
  Tech news articles related to works by Frederic Brown

Articles related to Communication
Will Whales Be Our First Contact?
NYC/Dublin Portal Fails To Meet 'Guardian Of Forever' Standards
Holobox? Who Doesn't Want A Home Hologram?
EBS-260 Handjet Free Hand Dot Matrix Printer

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>

Google
  Web TechNovelgy.com   

 

 

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

Science Fiction in the News

California Fireman Arrested For Starting Fires
'Fire is bright and fire is clean.'

Robots Need A Better Sense Of Touch
'First, it rubbed my arms...'

MouthPad Supports Head And Tongue Tracking
'The operation that had transformed half his body... had located the control switchboard in his teeth.'

REALLY Remote Control Excavators
'It takes over a second for the signal to get to the Moon...'

Disney Helping Robots Dance
Dance, Robots, Dance.

Kolors Virtual-Try-On Predicted, And TRIED, By Harry Harrison
'Bill blinked at his own face under the plumed helmet...'

Detecting Drones In Ukraine With Candy (Sukork)
'...a robot detector circuit closed, activating a bell."

Nevada Will Use AI To Decide Worker Benefits
'They had screwed up and been blacklisted by Manna.'

Tether Cryptocurrency Flow Rate US$190Bn Per Day
'Alex did not find it surprising that people... were electronically minting their own cash.'

First Trips To Mars Announced By Elon Musk
'I had determined that my first attempt should be a visit to Mars.'

More SF in the News

More Beyond Technovelgy

Home | Glossary | Science Fiction Timeline | Category | New | Contact Us | FAQ | Advertise |
Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction™

Copyright© Technovelgy LLC; all rights reserved.