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"[Science fiction is ] That branch of literature which is concerned with the impact of scientific advance upon human beings."
- Isaac Asimov
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| Corrosite Gas | ||
| A highly corrosive gas. |
| “People of the underworld,” he began. “Attention! One who believes that you have the right to live, speaks. The Highs have decided that you are all to die at the end of an hour. Many of you, knowing the degree of perfection achieved in the robots, have anticipated such a move ; and so you will not find it difficult to believe what I say.
The devices which are to bring about the end, were put into position with the greatest secrecy. The timers have already been set in motion. In an hour there will be countless explosions. Each will release an enormous volume of corrosite gas. Metal and flesh alike will be swiftly eaten and dissolved by its corrosive action. You will die horribly, unless you can find means of exit to the surface soon enough. The Highs no longer need either you or the machines you tend, for old methods have become obsolete. The thought machines could have devised robots to replace you hundreds of years ago, had it been deemed necessary. |
| Technovelgy from The Machine That Thought,
by William Callahan. Published by Science Fiction in 1939 Additional resources -
|
Compare to the vapor cloud from The Cosmic Poachers (1953) by Philip K. Dick.
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More Ideas
and Technology from The Machine That Thought
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and Technology by William Callahan
Tech news articles related to The Machine That Thought
Tech news articles related to works by William Callahan
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| FlexRAM Liquid Metal RAM And One Particular SF Movie Robot |
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Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
'There was a wall ahead... It was riddled with holes that were the mouths of tunnels.'
'...support the interior human structure against Jupiter’s pull.'
'Anything larger than a BB shot it picked up and placed in a tray...'
'The German chemists have discovered how to supply the needed elements in compact, undiluted form...'
'Compounds devised by the biochemists for the rapid building of bone...'
'The car faltered as the external command came to brake...'
'It is about the size and shape of a kitchen stool, gyro-stabilized...'
