True Names by Vernor Vinge:
Science Fiction Inventions, Technology and Ideas

Wonderful novella-length story that kicked off the cyberpunk era in science fiction. Roger Pollack (aka Mr. Slippery) is a "warlock" of what came to be called cyberspace. He is asked to stop a member of his group who is trying to take over the real world through the datanet. Vinge's prescience in this story is remarkable. Select an invention:

Data Space
Computer storage and processor time rented by the user.

Personality Simulator (Virtual Person)
A computer program that presents the appearance of being a person.

Portal
Sensory experience of a data network.

Virtual World Kiss
Kissing mediated by a computer system.

Virtual world metaphor - early use
use of fanciful imagery to represent real-world data systems in a virtual world.

 

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Science Fiction
in the News

Russians Create Robot Tank Platoons
re: Philip Nowlan w/D. Calkins
(8/15/2025)

3D-Printed Exoskeleton Learns From Your Hand
re: Fritz Leiber
(8/13/2025)

Smartwatch Powered By Slime Mold
re: Philip K. Dick
(7/11/2025)

Unmanned Boats Attack At Sea
re: Ray Naylor
(7/9/2025)

Carpentopod Walking Table
re: Terry Pratchett
(7/7/2025)

Iron Drone Raider Counter-UAV Operations
re: Robert Sheckley
(7/5/2025)

SpaceX Rocket Shuttle Point-To-Point On Earth
re: Robert Heinlein
(7/3/2025)

Quaise Uses Beams Of Energy To Dig Geothermal Wells
re: Frank Stockton
(7/1/2025)

Robots Repair And Modify Themselves
re: Harry Harrison
(6/29/2025)

Waymo And Tesla 'Autonomous Cabs' Are Piloted By Remote Drivers
re: Philip K Dick
(6/27/2025)

Robot Janitors Get To Work
re: Philip K. Dick
(6/25/2025)

Robots Learn To Install Charged Batteries Into Themselves
re: Not known.
(6/23/2025)

Robot Rabbits Entice Pythons
re: JW Groves
(6/21/2025)

LLM 'Cognitive Core' Now Evolving
re: Philip K. Dick
(6/19/2025)

More SF in the News

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