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"SF looks towards an imaginary future, while fantasy, by and large, looks towards an imaginary past."
- Frederik Pohl
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| Hovercraft | ||
| A vehicle that moves about on a cushion of air. |
Obviously, Gibson did not invent the hovercraft; but I like his description.
| Feeling entirely dislocated now, Komiko watched as Sally made a survey of available vehicles, quickly bribed a uniformed dispatcher, intimidated three other prospective fares, and chivied Komiko into a pockmarked, slabsided hover craft, painted in diagonal bands of yellow and black. The passenger compartment was barren and remarkably uncomfortable-looking. The driver, if there was one, was invisible beyond a scrawled bulkhead of plastic armor. The nub of a video camera protruded where the bulkhead met the roof, and someone had drawn a crude figure there. |
| Technovelgy from Mona Lisa Overdrive,
by William Gibson. Published by Bantam in 1988 Additional resources -
|
The first known design for vehicle using an air cushion was by the Swedish designer and philosopher, Emmanual Swedenborg, in 1716. The craft looked like a small boat turned upside down. The operator of this vehicle would "flap" a pair of oar-like air scoops, forcing compressed air beneath the hull. However, the inventor soon realized that the energy requirements were greater than a person could provide.
The name and concept of hovercraft were created by Sir Christopher Cockrell; the first working hovercraft was built by him in 1959. Hovercraft are today in common use; however, dreams of hovercars and other vehicles never came to fruition, owing to the excessive power requirements of getting a vehicle to "hover" on anything but the smoothest surface. Read more at The Hovercraft History and Hovercraft Museum.
Compare to the flying platform from Locked Worlds (1929) by Edmond Hamilton, the
gyrotomic from Ra For The Rajah (1938) by John Victor Peterson, the
hoverlimo from Steel Beach (1992) by John Varley and the
landspeeder from Star Wars (1976) by George Lucas.
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Tech news articles related to works by William Gibson
| Waymo And Tesla 'Autonomous Cabs' Are Piloted By Remote Drivers |
| Maybe It's Too Soon To Require Autonomous Mode |
| Caterpillar Electric Mining Loader Not Yet Ready For Moon |
| Engineer Creates Crazy Motorized Track Hospital Bed |
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'He was in a high-ceilinged windowless cell with walls of glittering white porcelain.'
'I don't have to tell you about the seven two-mile-diameter orbital mirrors...'
'The robant and the tiny old woman entered the control room slowly...'
'Guy named Otto Octavius winds up with eight limbs... What are the odds?'
'It is as you thought when you constructed the time crystal, my master Vaylan.'
'This was their world, their planet — this swift-traveling, yet seemingly moveless vessel.'
