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"It's hard to tell stories about critters that are not human. John W. Campbell tried it, in "Twilight," and everybody says it's a wonderful story, and nobody ever reads it twice."
- Jerry Pournelle
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| Way Station | ||
| A device used to transport individuals across the galaxy. |
The way station is one of a series of stations that make travel across the galaxy possible. It was established on earth by an alien race. The station keeper is chosen from the indigenous sapient species of the planet.
| Ulysses said, "We are a traveling people. We need a travel station here. We want to turn this house into a station and you to keep the station...
"We could not build a station, for then we'd have people asking who was building it and what it might be for. So we are forced to use an existing structure and change it for our needs. But inside only. We leave the outside as it is, in appearance, that is. For there must be no questions asked..." "But traveling..." "From star to star," said Ulysses. "Quicker than the thought of it... It will be no more than a switching and a resting point. No one on Earth can buy a ticket..." |
| Technovelgy from Way Station,
by Clifford Simak. Published by Doubleday in 1963 Additional resources -
|
Enoch Wallace, the station keeper for earth, fought in the Civil War. A field that surrounds the station cancels the effects of aging for those inside.
The machinery of the station allows travelers to materialize in special chambers (or tanks, for aquatic travelers). The keeper of the station prepares the necessary accomodations for travelers.
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Tech news articles related to Way Station
Tech news articles related to works by Clifford Simak
Way Station-related
news articles:
- Cell Phone Tower Equipment Sheds Way Station-Style
- Stellar Navigation Based On Network Analysis
| SpaceX Rocket Shuttle Point-To-Point On Earth |
| CORLEO Robotic Horse Concept Looks Ready To Ride |
| Futuristic Transit Elevated Bus Never Really Worked |
| Japan Automated Cargo Transport |
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'Anything larger than a BB shot it picked up and placed in a tray...'
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'Compounds devised by the biochemists for the rapid building of bone...'
'The car faltered as the external command came to brake...'
'It is about the size and shape of a kitchen stool, gyro-stabilized...'
'The greatest problem of all was the elimination of the human element of braking together with its inevitable time lag.'
'Across the ancient sea floor a dozen tall, blue-sailed Martian sand ships floated, like blue smoke.'
