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"Science fiction is really sociological studies of the future, things that the writer believes are going to happen by putting two and two together."
- Ray Bradbury
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| Automated Travel Bureau | ||
| A computer program that allows individuals to book their travel arrangements themselves, with a credit card. |
Pretty good prediction of services like Travelocity and Expedia.
| The lobby of the Hilton was pleasanty cool. Best of all, it held a fully automated travel bureau. I went in, found an empty booth, sat down in front of the terminal. |
| Technovelgy from Friday,
by Robert Heinlein. Published by Holt, Rhinehart and Winston in 1982 Additional resources -
|
Friday (the novel's protagonist) then makes a number of reservations, paid with credit cards.
For those of us who remember travel booking prior to the Internet, there were these people called "travel agents." They sat in front of a screen and listened to your requests; they did the typing for you, and ran your credit cards too.
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'...the rocket’s landing-arms automatically unfolded.'
'...points and patches of light... sliding all over their faces in a programmed manner that had been designed to foil facial recognition systems.'
'...the combined Wind-Suncatcher, like a spray of tulips mounted fanwise.'
'I went to the control room where the three other men were manipulating their mechanical men.'
'The low-slung monorail car, straddling its single track, bored through the shadows on a slowly rising course.'
'It was a smooth ovoid floating a few inches from the floor...'
'... he thrust in his charging arm to replenish his store of energy.'
'...the terrible Jovian gravity that made each movement an effort.'
