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"I do think there is a link in that in both cases, writing fiction or writing a computer program, at any given moment you're focusing on a very specific and particular thing—one word, one line of code, whatever."
- Neal Stephenson
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| Famnexdo | ||
| A set of four simulacra, one adult male, one adult female and two children; the family next door. |
Are you concerned about moving to Mars, because it's still so empty; are you leaving your friends and relatives behind?
| ...at the far end, taking up most of the available space, he saw four simulacra seated in silence, a group: one in adult male form, its female mate and two children. This was a major item of the firm's catalog; this was a famnexdo...
A man, when he emigrated, could buy neighbors, buy the simulated presence of life, the sound and motion of human activity - or at least its mechanical near-substitute - to bolster his morale in the new environment of unfamiliar stimuli and perhaps, god forbid, no stimuli at all... The famdexdo were actually not next door at all, they were part of their owner's entourage. Communication with them was in essence a circular dialogue with oneself; the famdexdo, if they were functioning properly, picked up the covert hopes and dreams of the settler and detailed them back in an articulated fashion. Therapeutically, this was helpful, although from a cultural standpoint it was a trifle sterile. |
| Technovelgy from The Simulacra,
by Philip K. Dick. Published by Ace in 1964 Additional resources -
|
Another great example of Dick's wit and vision; this is a sly commentary on the suburbanization of America in the 1960's.
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More Ideas
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Tech news articles related to The Simulacra
Tech news articles related to works by Philip K. Dick
Famnexdo-related
news articles:
- Japan's Humanoid Robot Moonbase Plan
| Robot Hand Separate From Robot |
| Is Optimus Autonomous Or Teleoperated? |
| Robot Masseuse Rubs People The Right Way |
| Optimus Robot Can Charge Itself |
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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.'
