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"it slowly dawned on me that the landscape of science is maybe what interests people a great deal in science fiction."
- Gregory Benford
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| OSMO (Osmic Mobile Observers) | ||
| UAV with the ability to "smell" their human quarry. |
| "...Many of our UAVs are equipped with smaller aircraft that can be dispersed in quantity. We refer to them as "midges". Midges have many capabilities. To the untrained eye, they look like sparrows. They even fly like sparrows, for up to 20 hours before they self-destruct. The ones we are utilizing at this moment to search the crowds in Mecca are known as Osmic Mobile Observers or OSMO's. They can zero in on individuals or groups of individuals based on long-term dietary habits."
"Any vegetarian will tell you that meat eaters stink. I stink, most of my crew stinks. Rich Muslims stink but with significant differences. Poor Muslims stink hardly at all. Three meals a day of eggs, meat, and/or fish, and we can send an OSMO right up to you with the passionate sensitivity of a moth seeking a hot date. We can also distinguish observant Muslims from drinkers of alcoholic beverages, which may or may not be helpful. We are discovering that a disturbing number of security, police, and Army personnel have imbibed spiritous liquors, wine, or beer in the past two weeks." |
| Technovelgy from Quantico,
by Greg Bear. Published by Vanguard in 2007 Additional resources -
|
Compare to the slamhound from Count Zero (1986) by William Gibson, as well as the mechanical hound from Fahrenheit 451.
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Science Fiction
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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.
