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"The idea I want to push next is that the United States should make Siberia a Protectorate. Pay the Russians off – a hundred, two hundred billion dollars – and simply run Siberia in an ecologically responsible way."
- Gregory Benford
 |
| Padre Booth | ||
| Device that provides religious aid and comfort on demand. |
Getting ready to leave Earth, Joe Fernwright is seized by doubt. Who could he consult at a moment's notice in any spaceport?
| Getting to his feet he crossed the waiting room to the Padre booth; inside he put a dime into the slot and dialed at random. The marker came to rest at Zen.
"Tell me your torments," the Padre said, in an elderly voice marked with compassion. And slowly; it spoke as if there were no rush, no pressures. All was timeless. Joe said "I haven't worked for seven months and now I've got a job that takes me out of the Sol system entirely, and I'm afraid. What if I can't do it? What if I've lost my skill? The Padre's weightless voice floated back reassuringly to him. "You have worked and not worked. Not working is the hardest work of all." That's what I get for dialing zen, Joe said to himself. Before the Padre could intone further he switched to Puritan Ethic. "Without work," the Padre said in a somewhat more forceful voice, "A man is nothing. He ceases to exist." |
| Technovelgy from Galactic Pot-Healer,
by Philip K. Dick. Published by Berkley Publishing in 1969 Additional resources -
|
Following this effort, Joe tries Roman Catholic, Muslim and Jewish versions of the Padre, finally being told to have some Martian fatworm soup, the most nourishing soup in the solar system, by the Jewish version.
Compare to the robot pope from Good News From the Vatican (1971) by Robert Silverberg and the proselytizing robot from Cities in Flight (1951) by James Blish.
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Additional
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More Ideas
and Technology from Galactic Pot-Healer
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and Technology by Philip K. Dick
Tech news articles related to Galactic Pot-Healer
Tech news articles related to works by Philip K. Dick
Padre Booth-related
news articles:
- Xian'er Buddhist Monk Robot
- 'Electronic Mufti' May Issue Machine Fatwas
- Fortune-Telling Robotic Vending Machine
- Confession App For iPhone Catholic Church Approved
- Amazen ZenBooth Dispenses Serenity At Amazon
- Robot Buddhist Priest Chants, Drums
- Mindar The Robot Buddhist Priest Offers A Blessing
- A.I. Jesus Proclaims Machine Gospel
- Robot Preachers Found To Undermine Religious Commitment
- BibleGPT - King James Version Padre Booth, ala Philip K. Dick
| Robot Preachers Found To Undermine Religious Commitment |
| Gaia - Why Stop With Just The Earth? |
| Splendid View Of Eclipse From Orbit Visualized And Repurposed By Arthur C. Clarke |
| SensorWake Scent-Based Alarm Clock |
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'The pitiless M rays pierced Earth and steel and densest concrete as if they were so much transparent glass...'
'Pina2bo would have to operate full blast for many years to put as much SO2 into the stratosphere as its namesake had done in a few minutes.'
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'...we've promised him a generous pension from the royalties.'
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'We want to do something to help those who are suffering from tooth loss or absence,' said lead researcher Katsu Takahashi.
