Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Latest By
Category:
Armor
Artificial
Intelligence
Biology
Clothing
Communication
Computers
Culture
Data Storage
Displays
Engineering
Entertainment
Food
Input Devices
Lifestyle
Living Space
Manufacturing
Material
Media
Medical
Miscellaneous
Robotics
Security
Space Tech
Spacecraft
Surveillance
Transportation
Travel
Vehicle
Virtual
Person
Warfare
Weapon
Work
"The science fiction method is dissection and reconstruction. You look at the world around you, and take it apart into its components. Then you take some of those components, throw them away, and plug in different ones, start it up and see what happens."
- Frederik Pohl
 |
| Moon-Terror | ||
| A syndrome common to people who live in less than half Earth-normal gravity. |
| Moon-terror. (Also, space-slang, gillies!) A disease
common among people living
under less than half normal gravity.
Recurrent attacks, with intervals of
comparative comfort, cause extreme
distress. The syndrome includes
changes in blood- and brain-pressure,
and typical psychopathic symptoms.
Early attempts at treatment, by centrifuge, drugs, and surgery of the inner ear, uniformly failed. Recent success has been claimed, however, for
the psykinetic technique, developed by
Kung, Swedberg, and Haldane. See
PSYKINETICS. — Dictionary of
Planetary Medicine. University of
Mars, 218 C. S.
“The moon-terror is part of the price we have paid for the conquest of space.” With an effort at professional dignity, Haldane drew up his slightly stooped shoulders. “When we hurl ourselves out of the environment that has shaped our bodies and our minds for millions of years, painful adjustments are necessary. “The task of planetary medicine is to assist those adaptations to the conditions of other worlds. I have followed up the pioneer work of my dead teachers, Kung and Swedberg, in developing the psykinetic technique.” |
| Technovelgy from Star of Dreams,
by Jack Williamson. Published by Comet in 1941 Additional resources -
|
Williamson, in his inimitable way, goes into more detail:
“You see,” Haldane explained, “for
millions of years, during the evolution of our ancesters on Earth, they
were never free of the sensation of
weight except when they were falling.
Most falls had a painful ending.
“When one individual falls, and Is
injured, a conditioned reflex is established. But a million generations developed that simple fear-reflex, into a
racial complex. The old behaviorists
discovered, centuries ago, that falling
is one of the only two things that
can frighten a newborn baby.
Compare to space-sick from Ralph 124c 41 + (1911) by Hugo Gernsback.
In my view, the
moon-terror is simply a peculiar psychosis. Naturally, physical methods,
such as drugs and operations and centrifuges, have failed to relieve a disease that is mental...”
Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Star of Dreams
More Ideas
and Technology by Jack Williamson
Tech news articles related to Star of Dreams
Tech news articles related to works by Jack Williamson
| Switzerland May Cap Population At Ten Million |
| California Governor Candidate Calls For Voting By Phone |
| Chinese Hospital Tries Vonnegut's 'Harrison Bergeron' Cosplay |
| A Remarkable Coincidence |
Want to Contribute an
Item?
It's easy:
Get the name of the item, a
quote, the book's name and the author's name, and Add
it here.
| <Previous | Next> |
|
|
|
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Science Fiction Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
|
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
'A broken circle with arrows pointing to a right-hand flow appeared in the chalf.'
'The object seemed melted together like wax — nothing was distinguishable.'
'Midges have many capabilities. To the untrained eye, they look like sparrows.'
'I made disks of my own voice to the number of five hundred very carefully chosen words.'
'His sensors out and working, and the whirring of the tape that sucked up sight and sound and shape and smell and form...'
'It sounds to me as though you had invented a kind of metal earthworm.'
