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"I kind of take it for granted that our great-grandchildren will regard us as a sort of precursor species. That they won't think of us as human and if we could see them, we probably wouldn't think of them as human either."
- William Gibson
 |
| Identificator | ||
| A hologram projector used to flash door signs. |
After you have finished this short quote, you might want to take a look at the Heliodisplay, a real-world technology that would allow a message or sign to float in the air.
| The floor was resilient black and gray tesserae; the walls and ceiling were plastered white, devoid of decoration or relief except for the doors and identificators - these in various muted tones of maroon, mauve, dark green, indigo.
Three doors doors along the corridor Gersen came upon a free-floating identificator of luminous blue letters, which read: GYLE WARWEAVE, and below: PROVOST.... He stepped forward; the door slipped aside, quick as a camera shutter; the identificator broke into individual letters which scattered like frightened fish, to regroup after he had passed. |
| Technovelgy from The Star King,
by Jack Vance. Published by Berkeley in 1964 Additional resources -
|
I saw the Heliodisplay at NextFest 2005 in Chicago; if you put your fingers in the flow, you can make the picture or words "scatter like fish," very much the way Vance describes the Identificator. Different technology, similar effect.
Thanks to an anonymous reader for suggesting this item (and providing a quote!).
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and Technology from The Star King
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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.'
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'The men are dead, but their acquired wisdom lives on and I am the beneficiary.'
'Young people found the driverless car admirable for petting.'
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