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"Science fiction is what scientists would do if they could - if they had enough grant money, enough time, and enough brains to do the wonderful things they would like to do."
- Greg Bear
 |
| Portal | ||
| Sensory experience of a data network. |
Although most people credit William Gibson for inventing cyberspace, a reading of the following passage should convince you that Vernor Vinge was several years ahead.
| He powered up his processors, settled back in his favorite chair, and carefully attached the Portal's five sucker electrodes to his scalp. For long minutes nothing happened: a certain amount of self-denial - or at least self-hypnosis - was necessary to make the ascent. Some experts recommended drugs or sensory isolation to heighten the user's sensitivity to the faint, ambiguous signals that could be read from the Portal... And just as a daydreamer forgets his actual surroundings, and sees other realities, so Pollack drifted, detached, his subconscious interpreting the status of the West Coast communications and data services as a vague thicket for his conscious mind to inspect and interrogate for the safest path... The correct path had the aspect of a narrow row of stones cutting through a grayish-green swamp... The subconscious knew what the stones represented, handled the chaining of routines from one information net to another, but it was the conscious mind of the skilled traveler that must make the decisions... |
| From True Names,
by Vernor Vinge. Published by Dell Binary Star in 1981 Additional resources -
|
There is a lot more detail, both psychological and technical, in the short novel. See also the reference for cyberspace, by William Gibson.
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Portal-related
news articles:
- ARPANET Turns 30
- Sony Patents Ultrasound Brain Beam Matrix
- Japanese Researchers Jack Halfway Into The Matrix
| Mendeley Research Tool Like iTunes Genius |
| Polaris Robot Mobile Phone Prototype Unveiled |
| LG Watchphone Now Available |
| Android Glass Desk Phone |
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Gerry was dubious. She had seen abortive attempts at paralysis rays before.
Let your fingers - uh - your robot do the walking. And hopping.
