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"I long ago realized that I could reach far more people by writing something, than by walking down the street with a banner."
- John Brunner
 |
| Mechanical Marshal | ||
| An automaton that functions like a quick-draw lawman of the Old West. |
Amos Handworthy had never married and had no children, but he enjoyed collecting automata, including the Marshal.
| "The others," said Amos
Handworthy, "are marvelous
antiques that I've collected, but
this fellow was made to my own
specifications in Switzerland.
His clothing is quite authentic
and he really works. Watch
this!" He stepped forward and took a loosely draped gun belt off the hitching post to the right of the Marshal and buckled it about his waist. "The device is electrically operated," he continued. "The instant I draw, the Marshal draws too, and the trick is to hit him somewhere on his target photo cells with a beam of light that flashes out of my gun, before he can get off his shot. I can adjust the speed of his draw within fairly wide limits and I've been moving him up to faster and faster speeds. But I've gotten pretty damn fast."
 ('The Fastest Draw' by Larry Eisenberg) WITH a drawing motion that was almost a blur, he whipped out his gun and pulled the trigger. The Marshal was fast, but apparently not as fast for suddenly a recorded voice bellowed in pain and gasped, "you got me, you dirty varmint." "A little touch of my own," said Amos Handworthy. "That's what happens when I hit him." |
| Technovelgy from The Fastest Draw,
by Larry Eisenberg. Published by Amazing Stories in 1963 Additional resources -
|
Be sure to read the article about Light Vests (Laser Tag) from the same story.
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'It sounds to me as though you had invented a kind of metal earthworm.'
'I don't have to tell you about the seven two-mile-diameter orbital mirrors that circulate around the satellite, making it habitable.'
'The steel tortoise gave MacKinnon a feeling of Crusoe- like independence.'
'...then back to their work, though little enough it was on these automatic cultivators.'
't came out into plain view. Darkington glimpsed a slim body and six short legs of articulated dull metal.'
'The suit stands up and starts walking, gripping me round the calves and waist, taking the bulk of my weight off my throbbing feet.'
'Internally it’s made up of millions of components, but the most important ones are the thinking and memory parts of the Mind proper.'
