Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Latest By
Category:
Armor
Artificial
Intelligence
Biology
Clothing
Communication
Computers
Culture
Data Storage
Displays
Engineering
Entertainment
Food
Input Devices
Lifestyle
Living Space
Manufacturing
Material
Media
Medical
Miscellaneous
Robotics
Security
Space Tech
Spacecraft
Surveillance
Transportation
Travel
Vehicle
Virtual
Person
Warfare
Weapon
Work
"I'm a fairly visual thinker. In doing science, I think in terms of pictures of things happening, and then do the mathematics."
- Gregory Benford
 |
| Robass | ||
| A robotic beast of burden. |
| “Your steed is here,” the Pope said, with something like laughter in his voice.
“Steed?” “We may be as poor and as persecuted as the primitive church, but we can occasionally gain greater advantages from our tyrants. I have secured for you a robass — gift of a leading Technarch who, like Nicodemus, does good by stealth — a secret convert, and converted indeed by that very Aquin whom you seek.” It looked harmlessly like a woodpile sheltered against possible rain. Thomas pulled off the skins and contemplated the sleek functional lines of the robass. Smiling, he stowed his minimal gear into its panniers and climbed into the foam saddle. The starlight was bright enough so he could check the necessary coordinates on his map and feed the data into the electronic controls... Thomas had never ridden a robass before, but he was inclined, within their patent limitations, to trust the works of the Technarchy. After several miles had proved that the coordinates were duly registered, he put up the foam backrest... and went to sleep. |
| Technovelgy from The Quest for Saint Aquin,
by Anthony Boucher. Published by Holt in 1951 Additional resources -
|
Here are some additional details:
Thomas stared at the black mound of brain. “Are you talking to me?” he asked the robass.
“Ha ha,” the voice said in lieu of laughter. “Surprised, are you not.”
“Somewhat,” Thomas confessed. “I thought the only robots who could talk were in library information service and such.”
“I am a new model. Designed-to-provide-conversation-to-entertain-the-way-worm-traveler,” the robass said slurring the words together as though that phrase of promotional copy was released all at once by one of his simplest binary synapses.
Well, ’ said Thomas simply. “One keeps learning new marvels.”
Boucher points out that riding a legged transport is not always comfortable, as the robass itself points out:
Even earlier, Emile Souvestre described a steam horse in Le Monde Tel Qu'il Sera (The World As It Shall Be), published in 1846.
Considering it as transport with legs, compare to the centipede-machine from Monsters of Mars (1931) by Edmond Hamilton, the ships with legs from Buck Rogers: 2430 AD (1929) by Nowlan and Calkin, the metal monster from The Doom from Planet 4 (1931) by Jack Williamson, the walker wagon from Farmer in the Sky (1950) by Robert Heinlein, the walking mill from Bread Overhead! (1958) by Fritz Leiber, the centipede from Killing Titan (2015) by Greg Bear and the walking fort from The Killing Machine (1964) by Jack Vance.
Compare to the steam horse from Le Monde Tel Qu'il Sera (The World As It Shall Be) (1846) by Emile Souvestre,
the steam cart horse from Frank Reade and his Steam Horse (1883) by Harry Enton,
the robotic horse - Faithful Cybernetic Companion from The Warlock in Spite of Himself (1969) by Christopher Stasheff and
the chevaline from The Diamond Age (1995) by Neal Stephenson.
Thanks to Mark for contributing this item.
He... took his first opportunity to inspect the robass in full light. He admired the fast-plodding, articulated legs, so necessary since roads had degenerated... the side wheels that could be lowered into action if surface conditions permitted; and above all the smooth black mound that housed the electronic brain - the brain that stored commands and data concerning ultimate objectives and made its own decisions on how to fulfill those commands in view of those data...
"...Comfortable though I am you are already tired of traveling very tired you have many small muscular aches from sustaining an unaccustomed position and with the best intentions I am bound to jolt a little a jolting which will get worse as we ascend the mountain and I am forced to adjust my legs disproportionately to each other but proportionately to the slope. You will find the remainder of this trip twice as uncomfortable as what has gone before."
Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from The Quest for Saint Aquin
More Ideas
and Technology by Anthony Boucher
Tech news articles related to The Quest for Saint Aquin
Tech news articles related to works by Anthony Boucher
Robass-related
news articles:
- MULE Autonomous Navigation Vehicle By Lockheed Martin
- BigDog Robass More Coordinated Than I Am
- Lrry-1 Fire-Breathing, Riding MechaDog Video
- LittleDog Robot Has Dynamic Double-Support Gait
- KITECH And POSTECH Korean Quadruped Robots
- Legged Squad Support System Monster BigDog Robot
- 'Robotic Mule' Ready For Duty, Sir
- AlphaDog Proto Stronger, Quieter Than BigDog
- HyQ Four-Legged Robot From Italy
- DARPA LS3 Robot Pack Animal Video
- LS3 AlphaDog Robot Marine Corps Video
- ANYmal Quadruped Robot Trots On
- TIGER Ultimate Mobility Vehicle From Hyundai
| Epirus High-Power Microwave Defeats Drones |
| It's A Giant Robot! You Reporters Have Been Warned! |
| Tactile Skin Supplier Map |
| Robot Bees 3D Printed By Festo |
Want to Contribute an
Item?
It's easy:
Get the name of the item, a
quote, the book's name and the author's name, and Add
it here.
| <Previous | Next> |
|
|
|
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Science Fiction Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
|
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
'Space-sickness is one of the most unpleasant sensations that a human being can experience. Not all are subject to it...'
'...I saw a nice black heavy-looking cloud sailing by just now, and I can get the electrical machine out in five minutes to draw it down.'
'From a distance it could resolve the cosmic rays reflected from various substances.'
'The answer to the dumb student's prayer.'
'He had travelled the space-lanes of the solar system for the greater part of his life...'
'The dinner was excellent. It was completely vegetarian — grown in specially prepared gardens in this Moon base...'
'Telepaths had their sensitiveness enlarged to an immense range by the pin-sets, which were telepathic amplifiers adapted to the mammal mind.'
'It was a relief to enter one of the comfortable autos, whisper a direction down the tube, and just know that you would be taken to your destination in the quickest, safest, and cheapest manner.'
'But he didn't get very far with it before another noise in his ear radio scattered his thoughts. George winced...'
