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" I think that computers today allow us one last opportunity to provide something like a level playingfield in America."
- William Gibson
 |
| Visiphone | ||
| Visual as well as audio communication. |
As far as I know, this is the first use of this clever neologism, certainly as far as conventional science fiction in concerned.
| Beyond a doubt, he was greatly worried for, after muttering to himself a while, he turned to a visiphone which recorded
the image of the party at the other end.
"Section QG32, division KM2937," he called into the instrument. In a moment the face oŁ the official in charge of the indicated division appeared in a small disk mounted on top of the phone. "Mentel Prolack AD8C," said the Superintendent Inspector, "you will have a fast inspection flier ready for use at once with a crew of three. Include a Wexton ray machine." |
| Technovelgy from The Message From Space,
by David M. Speaker. Published by Amazing Stories in 1930 Additional resources -
|
This was a popular term; here it is used by 'Doc' Smith in Triplanetary (1934):
A slightly different spelling of this word was used earlier in a variety magazine, The Black Cat, in 1915; see the entry for Visaphone zoom call in a Harry Stephen Keeling short story John Jones's Dollar.
Then, as she sat upon a bench, recovering her strength, he flipped on the lifeboat's visiphone projector and shot its invisible beam up into the control room, where he saw space-armored figures furiously busy at the panels.
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'Provision had been made to meet the terrific cold which we knew would be encountered the moment we had passed beyond the atmosphere.'
'You are who we say you are, Dr. Dakin,' Turner said.'
'It's area, and its consequent light-gathering capacity, was many times greater than any rigid mirror...'
'Tell me your torments,' the Padre said, in an elderly voice marked with compassion.
'...a slender-legged tripod surmounted by a spherical body no larger than a football.'
'... making the point that their likenesses, every move they made, were being transmitted.'
'But the stars are only atoms in larger space, and in that larger space the star-atoms could combine to form living matter, thinking matter, couldn't they?'
'...to build up a video picture would require, say, ten million decisions every second. Mike, you're so fast I can't even think about it. But you aren't that fast.'
