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"I do think there is a link in that in both cases, writing fiction or writing a computer program, at any given moment you're focusing on a very specific and particular thing—one word, one line of code, whatever."
- Neal Stephenson
 |
| Space Liner | ||
| A large, passenger-carrying space ship. |
This is probably the first use of the phrase "space liner."
| “I’ve got to start for Mars in four hours,” Burgess
explained. “You see, to the Times managing-editor, a
reporter is not a person; he’s merely a projectile.”
“Oh, Mr. Burgess, please take me with you. Please do !” implored the boy. “I’ll pay all your expenses in grand style. Please let me go with you. I’d give anything to go to Mars!” “Well, at least you’re space-minded anyway,” the reporter laughed. “I’m sorry, kid,” he said gravely. “I couldn’t do it. It would get me into trouble with my paper. And the laws are mighty strict about anyone under twenty-one going up in a space-liner, except under the care of a parent or guardian. But, I’ll tell you all about it when I get back.” |
| Technovelgy from On Board the Martian Liner,
by Miles J. Breuer. Published by Amazing Stories in 1931 Additional resources -
|
I love this description:
From The Asteroid of Death in Wonder Science Quarterly, Fall of 1931:
John W. Campbell gave a good account of himself, in his 1932 story Electronic Siege:
The departure of a space-liner is always a thrilling
spectacle. To the casual onlooker, it looks like a mad,
chaotic turmoil of people and vehicles about the base of
the vast, silvery bulk that looms hugely into the sky.
Across the lawn ahead of me I saw Nez Hulan racing in long strides, carrying my beloved Zelna. Straight for the space ship hangars he ran. Before I could reach the hangar into which he carried Zelna, he had boarded a large space liner and set it into motion. Like a comet, the huge space ship shot skyward, heading into space...
A stream of famous scientists had been coming aboard the space liner Vega all afternoon.
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