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"I operate by a code that makes me responsible for what I do, makes me definitely, directly, genuinely responsible. I am precisely the kind of person I made myself out to be."
- Harlan Ellison
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| Panatrope | ||
| A device that modifies human dna to ensure survival in harsh alien environments. |
This technovelgy lets the author imagine a future that contains "people" who are barely recognizable as human.
| "The panatropes make adaptations, not gods. They take human germ-cells - in this case, our own, since our bank was wiped out in the crash - and modify them toward creatures who can live in any reasonable environment. The result will be manlike and intelligent. It usually shows the donor's personality, too. |
| Technovelgy from Surface Tension,
by James Blish. Published by Galaxy in 1952 Additional resources -
|
Compare to genetic adjustment from Enchanted Village (1950) by A.E. van Vogt, Ontogenetic Adaptation from The End of the Line (1951) by James Schmitz and the recycler from Starfish (1999) by Peter Watts.
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Tech news articles related to Surface Tension
Tech news articles related to works by James Blish
| Starfall Manufacturing Drugs In Space |
| 'Maybe The Woman Of Your Life Is Still Under Production' |
| Factories In The Sky Will Surpass Those Of Earth |
| Monolith One Giant Industrial Metal 3D-printer |
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'He had travelled the space-lanes of the solar system for the greater part of his life...'
'The dinner was excellent. It was completely vegetarian — grown in specially prepared gardens in this Moon base...'
'Telepaths had their sensitiveness enlarged to an immense range by the pin-sets, which were telepathic amplifiers adapted to the mammal mind.'
'It was a relief to enter one of the comfortable autos, whisper a direction down the tube, and just know that you would be taken to your destination in the quickest, safest, and cheapest manner.'
'But he didn't get very far with it before another noise in his ear radio scattered his thoughts. George winced...'
'The vast spinning sphere of Factory in the Sky loomed above and ahead of us, gleaming white against the unfathomable jet depths of surrounding space.'
'And if it doesn’t work,' inquired Lazarus, 'what does that make us? Sunspots?'
'The Dillard people had performed a miracle and put all the works in a girl-modeled case.'
'Our study of your race has convinced us that you are not fitted to leave your planet in the present state of your civilization.'
