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

"Tokyo homeless people reiterate the whole nature of living in Tokyo in cardboard boxes, they're only slightly smaller than Tokyo apartments, and they have almost as many consumer goods. It's a nightmare of boxes within boxes."
- William Gibson

Sky-Bike  
  A human-powered floating bicycle built for use in lunar sports.  

Sports on the Moon are inevitable.

When Natasha came in to take her place, she had her own single assistant, this one carrying what looked like a bicycle without wheels but with flimsy, almost gossamer-like wings. There was music for her, too - if it was the Sri Lankan anthem, that was news to Ranjit, who hadn't known there was one - but it was almost drowned out by the yells of the spectators on her side of the tube.

The yelling kept up while the handlers attached the racers to their machines - Piper Dugan suspended from his hydrogen tank, with his hands and feet free to pedal, Natasha seated at a 45-degree angle on the saddle of her sky-bike.

The music stopped. The yelling dwindled away. There was a moment of near silence…and then the sharp crack of the starter's pistol. At first Dugan's blimp surged horizontally forward while Natasha's sky-bike dropped half a dozen metres before she could get it up to speed. Then she began to overtake her competitor.

Technovelgy from The Last Theorem, by Arthur C. Clarke (w/Pohl).
Published by Harper Voyager in 2008
Additional resources -

The reader may wish to compare this item to the lunocycle by Robert Heinlein from The Rolling Stones, Storer-Gulls Wings by Robert Heinlein from The Menace from Earth and the low-gravity velodrome by William Gibson from Neuromancer.

Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |

Additional resources:
  More Ideas and Technology from The Last Theorem
  More Ideas and Technology by Arthur C. Clarke (w/Pohl)
  Tech news articles related to The Last Theorem
  Tech news articles related to works by Arthur C. Clarke (w/Pohl)

Articles related to Entertainment
Lucid Dreams On Demand From Prophetic and Card79
Flyboard Water Jet Shoes Lift Off
Cosplay Style Wings Could Work On Moon
Music Not Impossible (MNI) Vibrotactile Wearable Experience

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>

Google
  Web TechNovelgy.com   

 

 

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

Science Fiction in the News

WiFi and AI Team Up To See Through Walls
'The pitiless M rays pierced Earth and steel and densest concrete as if they were so much transparent glass...'

Climate Engineering In California Could Make Europe's Heat Waves Worse
'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.'

Optimus Robot Will Be A Good Nanny, Says Musk
'Nanny is different,' Tom Fields murmured... 'she's not like a machine. She's like a person.'

ESA To Build Moon Bases Brick By Printed LEGO Brick
'We made a crude , small cell and were delighted - and, I admit, somewhat surprised - to find it worked.'

Does The Shortage Of Human Inputs Limit AI Development?
'...we've promised him a generous pension from the royalties.'

Textiles That Harvest Energy And Store It
'The clothes and jewelery drew their tiny power requirements from her movements.'

LORIS Passive-Gripper Climbing Robot
'At the end of each appendage's eight fingers there are tinier appendages...'

Drug To Regenerate Teeth In Humans
'We want to do something to help those who are suffering from tooth loss or absence,' said lead researcher Katsu Takahashi.

Coin-Sized Nuclear Battery Good For 100 Years
'...power pack the size of a pea.'

More SF in the News

More Beyond Technovelgy

Home | Glossary | Science Fiction Timeline | Category | New | Contact Us | FAQ | Advertise |
Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction™

Copyright© Technovelgy LLC; all rights reserved.