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"The primary attraction [of writing sf] is the sheer pleasure of creating something from whole cloth."
- Dan Simmons
 |
| Swibble | ||
| An artificially evolved telepathic metazoan-based mind control device. |
What exactly is a swibble? Let's let the repairman explain.
| Patiently, the repairman explained elementary physics. "Swibble-culture is an organic phenotype evolved in a protein medium under controlled conditions. The directing neurological tissue that forms the basis of the swibble is alive, certainly, in the sense that it grows, thinks, feeds, excretes waste. Yes, it's definitely alive. But the swibble, as a functioning whole, is a manufactured item. The organic tissue is inserted in the master tank and then sealed. I certainly don't repair that; I give it nutriments to restore a proper balance of diet, and I try to deal with parasitic organisms that find their way into it. I try to keep it adjusted and healthy. The balance of the organism, is, of course, totally mechanical."
"The swibble has direct access to human minds?" Anderson asked, fascinated. "Naturally. It's an artificially evolved telepathic metazoan. And with it, Wright solved the basic problem of modern times: the existence of diverse, warring ideological factions, the presence of disloyalty and dissent. |
| Technovelgy from Service Call,
by Philip K. Dick. Published by Science Fiction Stories in 1955 Additional resources -
|
The swibble makes sure that, in the words of the prison warden in Cool Hand Luke, you "have your mind right." Peace of mind, that's what you get.
It was MacDowell who managed to pull himself together first. "Yeah," he said ironically. "It certainly sounds like what the missus and I want."
"Oh, you ought to have a swibble of your own," the repairman urged. "Consider -- if you have your own swibble, it'll adjust you automatically. It'll keep you on the right track without strain or fuss. You'll always know you're not going wrong -- remember the swibble slogan: Why be half loyal? With your own swibble, your outlook will be corrected by painless degrees . . .
Excellent story - well worth reading.
Compare to the Ampek F-a2 Recording System from The Simulacra (1964), also by Philip K. Dick.
"Well, as a new swibble owner, you've found out the advantages. You know the sense of security and satisfaction in being certain that your ideology is exactly congruent with that of everybody else in the world..."
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Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Service Call
More Ideas
and Technology by Philip K. Dick
Tech news articles related to Service Call
Tech news articles related to works by Philip K. Dick
Swibble-related
news articles:
- Living Robot Has Biological Brain
- Smellicopter Combines Live Moth Antenna With Mechanical Drone
- Lung On A Chip - Electronics Plus Human Cells
- Hybrid Chips: Solid-State Device With Integrated Biological Cells
- 3D-Printed Biohybrid Is A Tissue-Engineered Robot
- Who Needs Dogs? Trained Bees Detect Explosives
| Lunar Biorepository Proposed For Cryo-Preservation Of Earth Species |
| Let's Make Slaver Sunflowers! Engineering Plants To Reflect Light |
| Machete-Wielding Philodendron Isn't Going To Take It Anymore |
| Tsunami Forecasts Improved By Ionosphere Signals |
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'Their only check on the growth and development of Vulcan 3 lay in two clues: the amount of rock thrown up to the surface... and the amount of the raw materials and tools and parts which the computer requested.'
'I guess there's nobody round this table who doesn't have a Crosswell [tapeworm] working for him in the small intestine.'
'Figments of his mind in one sense, of course, for he had shaped them...'
'So the parent drone carries a spotter that it launches...'
'...nurse drones that would cruise around dumping large amounts of power into randomly selected pods.'
'It's done with a flip of the third joint of the tentacle on the down beat.'
'...for months Grantline bores had dug into the cliff.'
'I hope all those other cars are on automatic,' he said anxiously.
'It’s smart enough to go wrong in very complicated ways, but not smart enough to help us find out what’s wrong.'
