True Names by Vernor Vinge:
Science Fiction Inventions, Technology and Ideas

Wonderful novella-length story that kicked off the cyberpunk era in science fiction. Roger Pollack (aka Mr. Slippery) is a "warlock" of what came to be called cyberspace. He is asked to stop a member of his group who is trying to take over the real world through the datanet. Vinge's prescience in this story is remarkable. Select an invention:

Data Space
Computer storage and processor time rented by the user.

Personality Simulator (Virtual Person)
A computer program that presents the appearance of being a person.

Portal
Sensory experience of a data network.

Virtual World Kiss
Kissing mediated by a computer system.

Virtual world metaphor - early use
use of fanciful imagery to represent real-world data systems in a virtual world.

 

Technovelgy.com is devoted to the creative inventions of science fiction authors and movie makers. Look for the Science Fiction Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary of Science Fiction Inventions, the Timeline of Science Fiction Inventions, or see what's New.
Find
new authors and technologies - Shop for yourself, your library and your lab.

 

 

 

 

Science Fiction
in the News

The Zapata Air Scooter Would Be Great In A Science Fiction Story
re: Robert Heinlein
(11/23/2025)

Thermostabilized Wet Meat Product (NASA Prototype)
re: Various
(11/21/2025)

Could Crystal Batteries Generate Power For Centuries?
re: Edmond Hamilton
(11/19/2025)

India Ponders Always-On Smartphone Location Tracking
re: Jack Vance
(11/17/2025)

Amazon Will Send You Heinlein's Knockdown Cabin
re: Robert Heinlein
(11/15/2025)

Is It Time To Forbid Human Driving?
re: Bernard Brown
(11/13/2025)

Replace The Smartphone With A Connected Edge Node For AI Inference
re: Raymond F. Jones
(11/11/2025)

Artificial Skin For Robots Is Coming Right Along
re: Harl VIncent
(11/9/2025)

Robot Guard Dog On Duty
re: Neal Stephenson
(11/7/2025)

Wearable Artificial Fabric Muscles
re: HG Wells
(11/5/2025)

BrainBridge Concept Transplant Of Human Head Proposed
re: Alexander Belaev
(11/3/2025)

Google's Nano Banana Pro Presents Handwritten Math Solutions
re: Isaac Asimov
(11/1/2025)

Edible Meat-Like Fungus Like Barbara Hambly's Slunch?
re: Barbara Hambly
(10/29/2025)

Sunday Robotics 'Memo' Bot Has Unique Training Glove
re: Robert Heinlein
(10/27/2025)

More SF in the News

Home | Glossary | Invention Timeline | Category | New | Contact Us | FAQ | Advertise |
Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction™

Copyright© Technovelgy LLC; all rights reserved.