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"We [science fiction writers] always wanted to believe in "private sector" space -- hucksters make better characters than a government does."
- Larry Niven
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| Robotnik Automated Hotel | ||
| A fully-automated hotel; no human interaction required. |
When you're on the run, and you don't want questions, where can you go?
| As soon as we had landed and our baggage had been disgorged, a robocab took us to the Dosadan-GIup Robotnik. This was the local branch of a planet-wide chain of hotels that specialized in non-human service. Everything was mechanized and computerized. Human beings presumably visited them once in a while to check the gauges and empty the tills, but I had never seen one although I had used these hotels quite often, for many obvious reasons. I had occasionally seen other guests entering or leaving but we had avoided each other's gaze like plague carriers. The Robotniks were islands of privacy in a sea of staring eyes. They had certain drawbacks, but I had long since learned to cope with these. To the Robotnik we went...
Cash in advance was the rule at the Robotnik with any balance returned upon departure. A bellboy robot, armed with a key, rolled out and showed us the way, throwing the door wide with a blare of recorded trumpets as though it were announcing the second coming... |
| Technovelgy from The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge,
by Harry Harrison. Published by Pyramid in 1970 Additional resources -
|
Compare to the automatic hotel from Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan in 2003.
Thanks to Arivne for the tip on this item.
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Additional
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More Ideas
and Technology from The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge
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and Technology by Harry Harrison
Tech news articles related to The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge
Tech news articles related to works by Harry Harrison
Robotnik Automated Hotel-related
news articles:
- Pengheng Space Capsule Hotel Staffed Entirely By Robots
- Henn-na Robot Hotel
- FlyZoo Robot Hotel By Alibaba
- Hotels Turn To Robots As Human Workers Regroup
| With Mycotecture, We'll Just Grow The Space Habitats We Need |
| Vast Apartment Living Will Get Even More Vast |
| LiquidView Ersatz Windows, ala Philip K. Dick |
| Solar House Concept Unfolds Solar Panels Like A Flower |
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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.'
