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
"What television does is rent us friends and relatives who are quite satisfactory. This is quite something, to rent artificial friends and relatives right inside the house."
- Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
 |
| Tleilaxu Eyes (Metal Eyes) | ||
| Tleilaxu eye surgery replaces natural eyeballs damaged or destroyed. |
Frank Herbert uses the idea of these artificial eyes to great effect in various stories, including Dune Messiah. The devices themselves are metallic, almost insectile in appearance. There is always the sense of distrust for technology that is often seen in Herbert's work.
The Tleilaxu themselves are never seen in the original book; it is not stated whether the eye surgery is done on the host planet.
| A serene smile spread over the ghola's dark features. The metal eyes lifted, centered on Paul, but maintained their mechanical stare. "That is how I am called, my lord: Hayt." |
| Technovelgy from Dune Messiah,
by Frank Herbert. Published by Putnam in 1969 Additional resources -
|
At present, there are no artificial or replacement eyes. However, scientists at the Space Vacuum Epitaxy Centre
(SVEC) (University of
Houston, Texas), have developed, tiny ceramic photocells that could
detect incoming light and so
‘repair’ malfunctioning human eyes.
At the back of each of your eyes are about 120 million rods and around
six million cones. They convert light into electrical
impulses which travel along
the optic nerve to your brain. If these cells are damaged, the result is a loss of eyesight.
The first generation of artificial
retinas constructed at SVEC
consist of 100,000 tiny ceramic
microdetectors, each one
twentieth the size of a human hair. The arrays are
attached to a polymer film one
millimetre by one millimetre in size, large enough to be placed by the surgeon.
The film is designed to dissolve
after a couple weeks, leaving the
array in position on the retina.
Find out more at bionic eye surgery.
Elsewhere in the novel, the Tleilaxu are described as producing not artifacts, but tools and services. Even war and poverty could be manufactured, and could be considered as either a destructive tool (poverty could wreck a rival's power) or a useful tool (war can focus the attention of a population, and can be used to cull unwanted population). The Tleilaxu are an interesting vision of what a corporation might look like in 10,000 years.
Comment/Join this discussion ( 8 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Dune Messiah
More Ideas
and Technology by Frank Herbert
Tech news articles related to Dune Messiah
Tech news articles related to works by Frank Herbert
Tleilaxu Eyes (Metal Eyes)-related
news articles:
- 'Bionic Eye' Argus II Retinal Implant
- What Retinal Implants May Not Replace
- Retinal Prosthesis Uses Organic Printing Inks
| MIT Computerized Bionic Leg Is Part Of The User |
| Bone-Building Drug Evenity Approved |
| BrainBridge Concept Transplant Of Human Head Proposed |
| Natural Gait With Prosthetic Connected To Nervous System |
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
'The suit stands up and starts walking, gripping me round the calves and waist, taking the bulk of my weight off my throbbing feet.'
't came out into plain view. Darkington glimpsed a slim body and six short legs of articulated dull metal.'
'Internally it’s made up of millions of components, but the most important ones are the thinking and memory parts of the Mind proper.'
'I could look down at that face of carefully molded synthetic rubber, tinted the exact shade of the doctor's living flesh.'
'Chris, the City Fathers are not interested in your welfare; I suppose you know that. They're interested in only one thing: the survival of the city.'
'Drake was the young spatial engineer he employed to terraform the little rock...'
