Science Fiction
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"Retire? Yeah, I want to die with my head in the typewriter. That's my idea of retirement."
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The protagonist of this set of stories is a man who does not exist. Present when the countries of the world pooled their data, he arranged to leave his data out of the world's data sphere. He can also get back in to manipulate information, becoming whoever he wants to be.
In this story, he is investigating a murder at an undersea park; the park has an unusual means of keeping unwanted large predators out while welcoming friendlier animals.
This is remarkably similar to a known behavior of humpback whales called bubble feeding. Humpback whales blow air from their blow holes while slowly spiraling to the surface; the sound and bubbles concentrate their small prey in a small area. The whales then swim through this narrow spiral, gulping their prey more efficiently.
I don't know if this is an original idea of Zelazny's or not. The patent for the Infraacoustic/electric fish fence wasn't filed until 1995.
See also this idea, which uses infrasound, which are acoustic signals with frequencies below 20 Hz, which alarm fish.
For another example of an adjustable animal barrier, see the sonobarrier from Frank Herbert's 1977 novel The Dosadi Experiment.
From the marvelous short story 'Kjwalll'kje'k'koothailll'kje'k in the collection noted in the citation above. Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This | Additional
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Science Fiction
Timeline
Europa Clipper Plate Carries A Special Message
'...a universal cryptogram — yet it is one which can be interpreted by any intelligent creature on any planet in the Solar System!'
Micro-Robots Are Smallest, Fully Functional
'With a whir, the Scarab shot from the concealing shadows of the corner where it had hidden itself.'
AI Enhances Images Your Brain Sees
'I could have sworn the psychomat showed pictures almost as sharp and detailed as reality itself'
Illustrating Classic Heinlein With AI
'Stasis, cold sleep, hibernation, hypothermia, reduced metabolism, call it what you will - the logistics-medicine research teams had found a way to stack people like cordwood and use them when needed.'
Deflector Plasma Screen For Drones ala Star Wars
'If the enemy persists in attacking or even intensifies their power, the density of the plasma in space will suddenly increase, causing it to reflect most of the incoming energy like a mirror.'
DIY Robotic Hand Made After Loss Of Fingers
'I made them... with the fine work of the watchmaker...'
Can A Human Land A SpaceX Rocket On Its Tail?
'If she starts to roll sideways — blooey! The underjets only hold you up when they’re pointing down, you know.'
Robot Snakes No Longer Stopped By Stairs
'...she dropped her hands from the wheel, took the robot snake from his box.'
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