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"In 1970 I found little difficulty staying 30 years ahead of the man in the street, and now I find it difficult to stay 18 months ahead of the man on the street."
- Vernor Vinge
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| Haberman | ||
| Modified humans controlled by cybernetic implants. |
A human that have been modified from most sensory reception, while their bodily functions are controlled by cybernetic implants. Habermans are needed to crew spacecraft, since unmodified humans would not be able to withstand the "pain of space". The Pain is a side effect of interstellar travel, which causes a desire for death in living beings.
| "'And how, O Scanners, are habermans made?' "'They are made with the cuts. The brain is cut from the heart, the lungs. The brain is cut from the ears, the nose. The brain is cut from the mouth, the belly. The brain is cut from desire, and pain. The brain is cut from the world. Save for the eyes. Save for the control of the living flesh' "'And how...is flesh controlled?' "'By the boxes set in the flesh, the controls set in the chest, the signs made to rule the living body...'" |
| Technovelgy from Scanners Live in Vain,
by Cordwainer Smith. Published by Fantasy Publishing Co. Inc. in 1950 Additional resources -
|
The eponymous "Scanners" are volunteers who undergo the haberman creation process. Since Habermans tend to be robotic and disturbed as a result of their condition, they need constant supervision and adjustment. Scanners makes sure the habbermans survive, or if need be, kill them.
Thanks to Gatomon41 for submitting this item!
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'The crawling... object was V-Stephen's surgeon-hand...'
'Joe got out the gravity-simulator harnesses...'
'You couldn't have the capstone without the pyramid to hold it up.'
'the unobtrusive inspections with tiny remote-cast snoopers...'
I'm hoping that this procedure becomes a normal part of medical practice!
'... nothing was perfected until M. Pantalon announced the completion of his automatic valet.'
'...its streets were of remarkable width, with few or no buildings so high as mosques, churches, State-offices, or palaces in Tellurian cities.'
