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"We follow the scientists around and look over their shoulders."
- Larry Niven
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| Airmaker | ||
| A device that creates a specific breathable mix directly from the atmosphere. |
It seems clear that at least part of the breathable mix required for Trinocs can be taken directly from the atmosphere.
| "How did you get a Trinoc to come?" "Don't tell me he's still here." "Oh, no. His air was running out and he had to go home." "A little white lie," Louis informed her. "A Trinoc airmaker lasts for weeks." |
| Technovelgy from Ringworld,
by Larry Niven. Published by Ballantine in 1970 Additional resources -
|
This is actually a pretty good idea, since similar products called "oxygen concentrators" are starting to replace oxygen cylinders. They are substantially less dangerous that cylinders of oxygen.
Aliens in sf sometimes require something in addition to the elements of Earth's air. In his classic 1953 novel Childhood's End, for example, Arthur C. Clarke's Overlords sometimes needed more than the atmosphere provides:
Compare to David Brin's oxygen hip flask from his 1990 novel Earth.
Though they [the Overlords] seemed able to breathe terrestrial air, they sometimes carried small cylinders of gas from which they refreshed themselves occasionally.
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'Do not waste your priceless company on the unappreciative folds of a sleep pod...'
'...so we've promised him a generous pension from the royalties.'
'Hocus-pocus religions and archaic weapons are no substitute for a good blaster at your side.'
'Oscar picked up a trowel. 'I'm the tool for the mortar,' the little trowel squeaked cheerfully.'
'... he waited for the robotrix attendant to finish fueling up his ship.'
The Roujin Z system provides care to fully bedridden patients - and then some!
'Aerostat meant anything that hung in the air. This was an easy trick to pull off nowadays.'
'The Ringworld had no horizon. There was no line where the land curved away from the sky.'
'An adjustment panel outside the door would cause it to extrude various appurtenances in memory plastic...'
