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"I think a lot of kids whose mental growth outruns their maturity gravitate to science fiction."
- Dan Simmons
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| Metal Lark | ||
| A device that adjusts the vocal chords and helps the user to be the best singer possible. |
Just the advertising sounds good!
"In your home twenty-four hours a day,” it began, “the finest vocal teacher in the world!" Then there was a lot of stuff about precision engineering in the Metal Lark’s electronic brain and the lyric wonder of the voice you can have and something about the revolutionary cortical synthesis of neutrons and positrons in a vital imbalance.
The prospectus ended with the words "What do you mean— you can’t sing? All you mean is — you’ve never owned a Metal Lark!’’
Oona got the prospectus of the Metal Lark Company (a division of Interstellar Electronics) out of her hand case and carefully studied it.
| "Do you like it, honey?" Jick asked with a hint of anxiety. "It's a Metal Lark. 1 sort of got the idea from something you said that you might like to have one.”
Oona found her tongue. "It’s just exactly what 1 wanted, Jick." she said warmly. “I was crazy to have one. But I'm a little surprised: I didn’t think it would be this big.”
 ('The Metal Lark' by Margaret St. Clair) Somehow, she'd had the idea that it would be about the size of a metronome; the Metal Lark was shaped like a metronome, all right, but it was almost a meter and a half tall and its whole surface was covered with glassy protuberances. It looked as efficient as could be. “It has to be big, honey, to hold all the machinery." Jick explained. "It's the super de luxe model, the best they make. I hope you enjoy it.” |
| Technovelgy from The Metal Lark,
by Margaret St. Clair. Published by Thrilling Wonder Stories in 1948 Additional resources -
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'Our study of your race has convinced us that you are not fitted to leave your planet in the present state of your civilization.'
'...the spreading beam of the deranging ray struck them, and Then one toppled and fell. Then another.'
'Within seconds the material was spread out over fifty yards, in a matter of hours it might occupy several cubic miles of space...'
'The men are dead, but their acquired wisdom lives on and I am the beneficiary.'
'Young people found the driverless car admirable for petting.'
'After twenty generations of shillyshallying...'
