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
"...the space defense initiative drove the USSR bankrupt, and it originated at my house in Tarzana."
- Larry Niven
 |
| Truffle Skins | ||
| Genetically unique skins are the common currency; their special genetic makeup makes forgery impossible. |
How to solve the problem of counterfeiting? We've been working on that one for thousands of years. We put serrated edges on quarters to keep people from shaving them smaller and smaller.
We use special ink and special paper. You can even buy counterfeit detectors.
But what if it was impossible to duplicate money?
| Seating himself at the table beside the display case, Mr. Icholtz brought out his wallet and began counting out skins. "Very little publicity will be attached to this at first.
But eventually--" He offered Hnatt the stack of brown, wrinkled, truffle-skins which served as tender in the Sol system: the only molecule, a unique protein amino acid, which could not be duplicated by the Printers, the Biltong life forms employed in place of automated assembly lines by many of Terra's industries. |
| From The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch,
by Philip K. Dick. Published by Doubleday in 1965 Additional resources -
|
A remarkable idea; it also builds on the origin of the word 'skins as a slang term for money. In the early history of North America, fur trappers would bring their catch to a trading post to barter for supplies. How many buck skins for that rifle? How many bucks?
Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch
More Ideas
and Technology by Philip K. Dick
Tech news articles related to The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch
Tech news articles related to works by Philip K. Dick
Truffle Skins-related
news articles:
- DNA Authenticators: Anti-Counterfeiting Proposed by Philip K. Dick
- Unique DNA To Foil Parts Counterfeiters
| ROAM Robotics Skiing Exoskeleton |
| IRL Glasses Block Screens, Limit Vision To Real Life |
| The Hammock Caravan And Italo Calvino's Octavia |
| Americans! Stay Indoors To Save Energy |
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> |
|
|
|
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 Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
|
'...just a steady velvety whirr as the taxi sped along.'
'..a wide sheet of clear material suddenly flared with light and swirling colour.'
"I went to the control room where the three other men were manipulating their mechanical men...'
'The legs are long, curled way up to deliver power...'
Okay, sf fans. If you could have some art created from a science fiction sentence, what sentence would you pick?
'There were the cleaners, with large padded feet, who were apparently polishing their way the whole length...'
It's fascinating to me how the Apollo program forced people to think outside their usual boxes.
'Some will combine in place to form more complicated structures, like excavators or centipedes.'
'the hair-fine wire going deep into Owen's brain, down into the pleasure center.'
