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"I am first of all not a science fiction writer … I write, I suppose, what the Latin Americans call magic realism."
- Harlan Ellison
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| Mind Destroyer | ||
| A method for wiping clean the mind of a human being, leaving only enough to run the body's functions. |
| Now, I can destroy your mind before you go down—if you want me to."
"That's against the law," said Mercer. Doctor Vomact smiled warmly and confidently. "Of course it is. A lot of things areagainst human law. But there are laws of science, too. Your body, down onShayol, is going to serve science. It doesn't matter to me whether that body has Mercer's mind or the mind of a low-grade shellfish. I have to leave enough mindin you to keep the body going, but I can wipe out the historic you and give yourbody a better chance of being happy. It's your choice, Mercer. Do you want to beyou or not?" |
| Technovelgy from A Planet Named Shayol,
by Cordwainer Smith. Published by Galaxy Science Fiction in 1961 Additional resources -
|
Compare to the mindwipe from Mindkiller, a 1982 story by Spider Robinson.
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More Ideas
and Technology from A Planet Named Shayol
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and Technology by Cordwainer Smith
Tech news articles related to A Planet Named Shayol
Tech news articles related to works by Cordwainer Smith
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| ErythroMer Artificial Blood |
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'...small electric motors at the principal joints worked the prosthetic framework by means of steel cables...'
'Living protoplasm incorporated into the Ampek F-a2 recording system...'
'Twoflower's Luggage, which was currently ambling along on its little legs...'
'He came to as the ship went into free flight, arching in a high parabola over the plains...'
'The peculiar quality of this light, which gave it its great preeminence over all other penetrating rays...'
'The overworked leg motor would have to cool down before he could work on it...'
‘Where to, sport?’ the starter at cab relay asked.
