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Science Fiction in the News Articles
Related to material in The Brain Pirates
by John W. Campbell

"Intrepid Scientific Adventurers of the Thirtieth Century Explore the Far Regions of Space!"

The possibilities presented by a race of animals adept in the use of telepathy are endless — and amusing. In his latest Penton-and-Blake novelet, THE BRAIN PIRATES, John W. Campbell, Jr. dwells on the more amusing angles of the problem. Here’re a few words from the author himself on the subject of telepathically adapted creatures.

Telepathy is old and much-used in stories. It’s not so much that every author thoroughly believes In, and expects the eventual success of this method of communication, but that every author believes In and knows darned well he has to have dramatic action. And surely, every person who has ever studied a foreign language knows the utter lack of dramatics or action in the learning of a stranger’s language.
That alone, I think, is reason enough for the barrage of telepathy. But there’s more, too. The giraffe has no effective vocal cords. The only known way to get a rabbit to use the equipment he has is to kill him, slowly and lingeringly. When the rabbit is convinced he is dying, and the pain is quite unbearable, he’ll use his apparatus. Not before. If two mammals of Earth, our own planet and own animal-type, don’t and practically can’t speak, the chances are pretty fair we’ll meet a race that can’t, or at least doesn’t.
And how about a race equipped with two larynxes A race that could sing and talk chords? Man couldn’t possibly learn that language. But Lord, telepathy ought to be good for something more than practical uses! We have a world full of vocal-equipped animals. How about a world full of telepathically equipped animals? Then it’s a fact that about the best known — and practical today — method of invisibility is hypnotism. Hypnotize the subject, tell him he can’t see Mr. Xenephon Plantagenet, and he can’t see Mr. Plantagenet.
The havoc a mischievous, telepathic animal could create in a civilized world!

The only satellite of the tenth planet from the Sun turns out to be inhabited by sneaky telepaths who easily move about in its higher gravity and dim sunlight. They are, however, no match for clever explorers from Earth.

(From 'The Brain Pirates' by John Campbell)

Science fiction in the News articles describe real-world events that relate to the ideas and inventions in sf novels and movies. Select a news article:

BLEEX: Robotic Exoskeleton Making Strides
   The Berkeley Lower Extremity Exoskeleton (BLEEX), a DARPA robotics engineering project that is designed to help foot soldiers carry more supplies for longer distances, was demonstrated in California earlier this week.

ReWalk Medical Powered Exoskeleton
   The ReWalk device is slim enough that you can even fit it under your clothes, which you can't say about some of those other exoskeletons.

HAL Exoskeleton To Assist At Fukushima
   Maybe atomic-powered lifting suits are not quite right for this mission. With video.

H-MEX Helpful Exoskeleton From Hyundai
   'We have those new suits rigged with atomic-powered lifting gadgets...' - John W. Campbell, 1938.

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