Science Fiction Dictionary: Terms, Ideas and Technology

Science Fiction Dictionary: Ideas, Terms and Technology
( 3946 Inventions Available)

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

Device Name	Book/Story	Author	Date
Maas-Neotek Biochip An integrated circuit chip (or equivalent) that provides hardware and firmware for creating a virtual entity.	Mona Lisa Overdrive	Gibson	1988
Machine (Thinking Machine) A very early reference to a thinking machine in charge of a planet.	The Machine	Campbell	1935
Machine Apartment Each person lives isolated in their own room, supported by a vast planetary machine.	The Machine Stops	Forster	1909
Machine City A city that is a self-maintaining whole entity.	Twilight	Campbell	1934
Machine Evolution An early look at the idea that machines can evolve all by themselves, physically and intellectually.	Second Variety	Dick	1953
Machine Masters Humans did less and less, and machines did more and more, until machines became the masters.	The Reign of the Masters	Hamilton	1931
Machine Psychologist A computer that understands and uses its knowledge of human psychology to benefit human users.	Cities in Flight	Blish	1957
Machine Servant A wheeled plastic box with universal-joint arms.	The Star of Life	Hamilton	1947
Machine Suicide A self-aware computer system wants to destroy itself.	All the Troubles in the World	Asimov	1958
Machine Surveillance The use of artificially intelligent computer systems to learn by monitoring all human interaction within a city.	Cities in Flight	Blish	1957
Machine Test Scoring A device that scans a specially prepared grade sheet and determines a student's score.	The Fun They Had	Asimov	1951
Machines Colonize Universe A brief description of a how automated machines might spread.	Autofac	Dick	1955
Maelstrom A description of the next generation Internet	Maelstrom	Watts	2002
Magic Spectacles Very early take on virtual reality hardware.	Pygmalion's Spectacles	Weinbaum	1935
Magnalloy A durable form of magnesium.	The Cave of Horror	Meek	1930
MagnaPoon To hitch a ride from a faster vehicle while riding a skateboard (from harpoon).	Snow Crash	Stephenson	1992
Magneslippers Shoes that adhere to metal space ship floors, useful in null gravity situations.	Accidental Flight	Wallace	1952
Magnet Grapnel Used to pull another vessel closer when boarding in space.	The Space Rover	Sloat	1932
Magnetic Anchor A means of affixing an anchor point on a spacecraft hull.	Dead Star Station	Williamson	1933
Magnetic Boots Special footgear holds spacemen to the metal deck in spite of the lack of gravity.	Atomic Fire	Gallun	1931
Magnetic Clamps Used for attaching your craft to a larger spaceship.	Twelve Hours To Live	Williamson	1931
Magnetic Coil Slippers Maintain your footing in zero gravity.	Abercrombie Station	Vance	1952
Magnetic Control of Nebulae Controlling the structure and shape of nebulae using magnetic fields.	The Black Cloud	Hoyle	1957
Magnetic Elevator A device that uses very powerful electromagnets for propulsion.	The Gods of Mars	Burroughs	1918
Magnetic Eyes A device that permits remote monitoring of people or other objects.	A Journey In Other Worlds	Astor IV	1894
Magnetic Flame Gun Device shoots charged positive nuclei.	Roamer of the Stars	Wilson	1938
Magnetic Grapple-Beams Short range magnetic field to guide flying cars and park them properly.	Solar Lottery	Dick	1955
Magnetic Levitating Bed A bed that hovers above the floor, with no visible means of suport.	Spook Country	Gibson	2007
Magnetic Pinions Remote control electromagnetic handcuffs.	Worlds of Origin	Vance	1958
Magnetic Projector Projects a vortex of magnetic force.	The Space Beyond	Campbell	1976
Magnetic Railroads A scheme for powering railroads using enormous electromagnets.	A Journey In Other Worlds	Astor IV	1894
Magnetic Ram A device that fires pulses of magnetic energy.	Storm Thief	Wooding	2006
Magnetic Ray A powerful magnetic beam.	The Exiles of Venus	Vanny	1931
Magnetic Sandals Special footgear to walk in zero-gee spacecraft.	Star of Dreams	Williamson	1941
Magnetic Shell A munition that is powerfully attracted to ferrous ships.	The Great Stone of Sardis	Stockton	1897
Magnetic Shoes Footgear magnetized for working on steel hulls.	The Silent Destroyer	Juve	1929
Magnetic Soles Magnetized footwear for easy walking on low gravity metal surfaces.	A Spaceship Named McGuire	Garrett	1961
Magnetically Floating Furniture Furniture that is suspended at the proper height using magnetic forces.	The Sirens of Titan	Vonnegut, Jr.	1959
Magnetic-Soled Shoes A means of walking on a surface in zero gravity.	Space Tug	Leinster	1953
Magnetized Boots Special shoes to allow walking in and around a metal ship with no artificial gravity.	Lost Rocket	Wellman	1941
Magnetized Cloth Pajamas Sleeping in zero gee - just like on Earth!	Abercrombie Station	Vance	1952
Magno-Bars Electromagnet-tipped rods used by meteor miners to capture iron-rich asteroids in space.	The Meteor Miners	Eshbach	1935
Magnus-Effect Ambulance A vehicle that can hover and fly using the Magnus Effect.	Earth	Brin	1990
Magsail An interplanetary craft that uses magnetic fields to catch the solar winds for propulsion.	Falling Stars	Flynn	1998
Magship A ship that uses magnetic fields to catch the solar wind for propulsion.	Falling Stars	Flynn	1998
Maid-Robot A mechanical automaton does the work of a lady's maid.	The Midas Plague	Pohl	1954
Mail-Post Letter-Ball A system of sending mail quickly from town to town via steam-cannon-powered hollow spheres.	The Mummy! A Tale of the Twenty-Second Century	Loudon	1828
Mal de Void Literally, space sick.	Off the Beam	Smith	1944
Mall (Great City Bazaar) An aggregation of shops under one roof.	Looking Backward	Bellamy	1888
Mammontelephas A 'mammoth' resurrected from the genes of the original.	Earth	Brin	1990
Mandroid A humanoid robot; a robot in the shape of a person.	Altered Carbon	Morgan	2003
Manmade Black Hole Using the power of a hole in the continuum.	One Against The Legion	Williamson	1939
Manna A software program that autonomously manages restaurants or other service industry businesses.	Manna	Brain	2002
Manshell A spaceship large enough for just one man; also an escape pod.	Sunward Flight	Zagat	1943
Manshonyagger An autonomous fighting robot.	Mark Elf	Smith	1957
Manual Closet An old-fashioned storage room for clothing, which required the user to place and organize articles of apparel by hand.	Clans of the Alphane Moon	Dick	1964
Manual Search For Habitable Planet A tedious search for habitable planets by hand.	Skylark of Valeron	Smith	1934
Manufactured Planet Is that a moon - or a space station?	The Heritage of the Earth	Aldinger	1932
Manufactured Wife A wife made to order, programmed to meet her husband's requirements.	A Wife Manufactured to Order	Fuller	1895
Marine Spider (Hydrofoil) A very early mention of the hydrofoil concept.	A Journey In Other Worlds	Astor IV	1894
Maritime Robots Robots designed to perform every aspect of maintenance for a ship.	Mare Nostrum	Sterling	2022
Mark IV Door Keeping Robot A robotic device for responding (and scanning) people who come to your door.	The Man Who Could Not Stop	Chandler	1959
Martian Perambulator A mechanized transport for heavy gravity environments for beings born in lower gravity environments.	Between Planets	Heinlein	1951
Martian Print Amoeba An organism able to mimic consumer goods.	Now Wait For Last Year	Dick	1966
Martian Sawgrass Specialized variety of plant that is used to provide oxygen for space stations.	QRM - Interplanetary	Smith	1942
Marvin the Robot Another fine robot from the marketing division of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation	The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy	Adams	1979
Mass Detector Hunting aid.	The Man in the Maze	Silverberg	1969
Mass Detector (Gravitator) A device that finds substantial masses, particularly in the path of a space craft.	Roamer of the Stars	Wilson	1938
Mass Pointer Tells you where the really large (star-sized) masses are while you travel in hyperspace.	Crashlander	Niven	1994
Mass-Conversion Ship A spacecraft that uses the ultimate in fuel sources.	Farmer in the Sky	Heinlein	1950
Mass-Driver Catapult An escape-speed induction catapult to launch material into orbit.	The Moon is a Harsh Mistress	Heinlein	1966
Massive Open Learning Teach using standard videos prepared by the best teachers.	The Threat of the Robot	Keller	1929
Master Machine One single machine to run a civilization!	The Revolt of the Machines	Schachner (w. AL Zagat)	1931
Master Ventriloquism Corporation (MV) A central source of product advertising, commercials sent out to every product.	Captive Audience	Griffith	1953
Matched-Frequency Separable Units Devices that can draw power wirelessly from a matched source.	Skylark Three	Smith	1930
Matrix A shared virtual reality space; users project their consciousness into a representation of networked data.	Burning Chrome	Gibson	1982
Matter Annihilation Ray A beam that forces electrons into protons, thereby destroying ordinary matter.	Twelve Hours To Live	Williamson	1931
Matter Compiler A device that builds the desired article (such as a dress) atom by atom according to a specified design.	The Diamond Age	Stephenson	1995
Matter Duplicator Makes a perfect copy of any material object.	Pandora's Millions	Smith	1945
Matter Editation Technology that enables the easy manipulation of atomic properties.	Alpha Centauri	Meier	1999
Matter Organizer A device that could cause a computer-generated image to be constructed as a real object.	The City and the Stars	Clarke	1956
Matter Transmitter Device which causes a physical object to disappear from one place and reappear in another.	The Conquest of Gola	Stone	1931
Matter Transmitter and Receiver A device that transports matter through space.	Monsters of Mars	Hamilton	1931
Mattress Sleep Sensor Sleep problems? Make sure you get your body out of bed each day.	Dream Park	Niven (w/S. Barnes)	1981
Maula Pistol A spring-loaded projectile device.	Dune	Herbert	1965
Max Detention (Virtual Counsel) A software implementation of a lawyer; an artificially intelligent legal advisor.	Quantico	Bear	2007
Maximum-security Booth A special phone booth for receiving high-security, scrambled telephone calls, calls which included 3D visuals.	Double Star	Heinlein	1956
Meat Puppet A person with a neural cut out chip; the chip allows computer software to completely control their actions.	Neuromancer	Gibson	1984
Mech An alternative name for simplified robot.	Helen O'Loy	del Rey	1938
Mechanical Bride A perfect robotic replica of a woman.	The Mechanical Bride	Leiber	1954
Mechanical Cleaning Device A small, ground-based autonomous robot doing basic janitorial work.	The Unreconstructed M	Dick	1957
Mechanical Cobra An assassination device; senses brain waves to find its victim.	Lord of Light	Zelazny	1967
Mechanical Consciousness The notion that machines may develop a form of consciousness.	Erewhon	Butler	1872
Mechanical Cow (Nibbler) An autonomous mechanism that performs some of the actions of an ordinary bovine.	Down on the Farm	Stokes	1937
Mechanical Dentist No human graduated from dental school here.	Make Mine Mars	Kornbluth	1952
Mechanical Funeral An entirely autonomous burial rite.	The Coffin	Bradbury	1947
Mechanical Hand A large robotic hand or claw, large enough to grasp a person.	Buck Rogers, 2430 AD	Nowlan (w/D. Calkins)	1929
Mechanical Hound An eight-legged robotic "hound" with hypodermic poison fangs.	Fahrenheit 451	Bradbury	1953
Mechanical Jokester A vast computer system learns about humor.	Jokester	Asimov	1956
Mechanical Judge A device that makes legal decisions.	The Lord of Tranerica	Coblentz	1939
Mechanical Men Remote controlled robots used to perform dangerous work.	The Ancient Brain	Stangland	1929
Mechanical Mole A self-contained device for digging large tunnels.	Oath of Fealty	Pournelle (w/L. Niven)	1981
Mechanical Newsmachine An automated device that delivers on-the-spot news.	Foster, You're Dead	Dick	1955
Mechanical Teacher A computer device able to teach children.	The Fun They Had	Asimov	1951
Mechanical Thought Transformers Machinery to expedite the process of thought transfer.	The Conquest of Gola	Stone	1931
Mechanical Tune-Maker An electromechanical device that created unique music.	Last of the Masters	Dick	1954
Mechanist Drogue	Schismatrix	Sterling	1985
Mechanotherapy A mechanism or device-based therapy that cures (or palliates) alcoholism.	Bad Medicine	Sheckley	1956
Mechavalet An entirely automated dressing assistant.	The Angry House	Smith	1955
Mecho-Clothing Apparel created entirely by machines.	Last of the Masters	Dick	1954
Mediaglyphic Animated symbols to help those who haven't bothered to learn to read in a multimedia age.	The Diamond Age	Stephenson	1995
Mediatron A paper-thin networked computer display.	The Diamond Age	Stephenson	1995
Mediatronic Display Electronic paper comes in big sheets.	The Diamond Age	Stephenson	1995
Medical Mantis A medical telefactoring device; allows a physician to remotely examine patients and perform procedures.	Starfish	Watts	1999
Medical Mech A medical robot designed to prevent death during emergencies.	Warrior	Dickson	1965
Medical Use for Weightlessness Early reference to the idea of using a weightless environment for medical purposes.	Accidental Flight	Wallace	1952
Medically Applicable Biochip A computer formed of organic components that is used for a medical purpose.	Blood Music	Bear	1984
Megadont An engineered mastodon, used to convert vegetable matter into energy.	The Calorie Man	Bacigalupi	2005
Membrane A listening device.	We	Zamyatin	1922
Membrane Balloon Helmet A selectively permeable membrane worn as a helmet.	The Flight of the Horse	Niven	1969
Memory Biochip An implanted device that permits the user to 'play back' selected memories.	Shards of Honor	Bujold	1986
Memory Diamond Very dense memory storage.	Iron Sunrise	Stross	2004
Memory Hole A receptacle for unwanted documents.	1984 (Nineteen Eighty-Four)	Orwell	1948
Memory Plastic Takes various shapes impressed into it on command.	Death by Ecstasy	Niven	1969
Memory Recording A means of recording the entirety of a person's experience and personality.	The Ophiuchi Hotline	Varley	1977
Memo-Voice Paper memos that read themselves out loud.	War Game	Dick	1959
Menograph (Mind-Writer) Direct translation of thought to paper.	Ralph 124c 41 +	Gernsback	1911
Menslator A translator that works by examining the mental image of what you are trying to say.	Troubled Star	Smith	1952
Mental Static Device Cloak the minds of individuals with a kind of 'noise'.	Second Foundation	Asimov	1953
Mentanical Communication Thinking, learning robots have a special means of communication.	The Mentanicals	Flagg	1934
Mentanicals Robots capable of mentation - i.e., thought.	The Mentanicals	Flagg	1934
Mentat A person who has been specially trained and conditioned for excellence in	Dune	Herbert	1965
Mentophone A device that facilitates long-distance telepathy.	Time Quarry	Simak	1950
Merc-Pool A device that stores information in vibration patterns on a mercury surface.	Caves of Steel	Asimov	1953
Mercy Gas Breathe it and die.	The Saga of Pelican West	Russell	1937
Mercy Rifle Device fired slivers of anesthetic as darts.	Grendel	Niven	1968
Merry-Go-Round Life Suspension (Refrigerator Plant) A device that offered cold sleep.	The Voyage That Lasted 600 Years	Wilcox	1940
Meson Filter Provides robots with the ability to tell the difference between jokes that provide a chuckle and jokes that provide a belly laugh.	The Jester	Tenn	1951
Message Cylinder A small metal object containing some form of message media and a mechanism for either playing or extruding the medium; secured communication device.	Dune	Herbert	1965
Message Cylinder (Message Bomb) A means of sending dispatches from space via a small projectile dropped from orbit; effectively a message rocket.	The Cosmic Cloud	Burgel	1931
Message Tree A tree growing out of a huge cliff of crystal provides communication for a world.	A Case of Conscience	Blish	1953
Messagecraft An autonomous spacecraft and drone that serves as a communication node in a network that spans star systems.	The Faithful Messenger	Scithers	1969
Metal BIrds Surveillance robots that carried weapons, in addition to using their metal bodies.	Vulcan's Hammer	Dick	1960
Metal Calculator Planet A planet covered entirely with machinery to a height of twenty miles and covered with a metal roof.	Limiting Factor	Simak	1949
Metal Desk Car A combination work desk and vehicle for librarians and researchers; part desk part carnival ride.	Ben Gleed, King of Speed	Wilcox	1939
Metal Foil Advertisement An advertising circular made out of metal.	The Illustrated Man	Bradbury	1951
Metal Insects Small autonomous flying winged robots.	The Invincible	Lem	1954
Metal Message In Space A message sent to other worlds, inscribed on metal.	The Menace From Space	Edwards	1934
Metal Monster with Jointed Limbs A large robotic device with legs.	The Doom From Planet 4	Williamson	1931
Metal Paste A conductive metal that could be easily squirted from a tube.	The Mote in God's Eye	Niven (w/J. Pournelle)	1974
Metal Solvent Ray Thrower Acts like a flame thrower in space.	Lost Rocket	Wellman	1941
Metal Worms Huge wriggling metal war engines.	Vandals from the Moon	Marius	1928
Metalite Strong metal you can see through.	Black Destroyer	van Vogt	1939
Metallic Display Scroll A rollable video screen.	Freedom	Suarez	2010
Metallic Fingers Robot fingers.	Rex	Vincent	1934
Metallic Marx A robot who strikes for better working conditions.	The Robots Strike	Harrison	1959
Metallic Spider (Handling Machine) Multipurpose device used almost as an extension of the Martian's own bodies.	The War of the Worlds	Wells	1898
Metalloglass A transparent "glass" made of metal.	Buck Rogers, 2430 AD	Nowlan (w/D. Calkins)	1929
Metamen A human brain placed in a purely mechanical, robotic body.	The Mechanical Monarch	Tubb	1958
Metaverse A virtual universe.	Snow Crash	Stephenson	1992
Metavirus (Digital Metavirus) Binary code that can infect computers or even hackers, through the binary nerve.	Snow Crash	Stephenson	1992
Meteor Blasters Energy beams that would destroy space debris or rocks that lay in the path of a spacecraft.	First Contact	Leinster	1945
Meteor Hulls Ship A small meteor tears all the way through a ship	Moon People Of Jupiter	Nathanson	1931
Meteor Miner Someone who roams the solar system, hunting for metal in meteors.	Salvage in Space	Williamson	1933
Meteor Particles (Sand Blast) Tiny sand-sized asteroids sand-blasting the hull of a spacecraft.	Flight of the Typhoon	Kruse	1936
Meteor Swarm Mining A fleet of ships hunting for meteoric iron - in space!	The Meteor Miners	Eshbach	1935
Meteor Warning System A system that provided rockets in flight with early warning of meteors.	A Conquest of Two Worlds	Hamilton	1932
Meteoric Dust Cloud A vast cloud in space, through which the solar system moved for a decade.	Secret of the Buried City	Fearn	1939
Meteorite Deflector A means of pushing aside asteroids that get in the path of your space ship.	On Board the Martian Liner	Breuer	1931
Meteorometer A device that warned space ships in flight about oncoming meteors.	Crashing Suns	Hamilton	1928
Meteorscope A device that probes ahead in space detecting swarms of deadly meteors.	The World With A Thousand Moons	Hamilton	1942
Meteor-Spotting Radar A device to warn spacecraft of oncoming meteors.	Recoil	Smith	1943
Meteor-Sweeps Maneuver to chase down and destroy meteor showers that threaten celestial navigation.	Crashing Suns	Hamilton	1928
Methuen Treatment Injections that increase intelligence.	The Exhalted	de Camp	1940
Michael (Orion Ship) A spacecraft using nuclear bombs for propulsion.	Footfall	Niven (w/J. Pournelle)	1985
Micro Book (Microbook) A very small volume, possibly an electronic book.	One Way Trip	Boucher	1943
Micro Label A serial number or logo so small it can only be seen under extreme magnification.	Blade Runner	Scott	1982
Micro-Android (Micro-Robot) An extremely tiny robot or nanobot.	Dawn of the Demigods	Gallun	1954
Micro-Bachelor A small apartment carved out of an abandoned structure.	Idoru	Gibson	1996
Micro-Cosmos (Microcosm) The universe in miniature.	The Cosmic Pantograph	Hamilton	1935
Microde A tailored virus, that infects the selected person, and passes on whatever characteristics have been implanted in the virus.	Armed Memory	Smith	1995
Microfarm Food creation without soil.	Prelude to Foundation	Asimov	1988
Micromind A computer helper.	Tides of Light	Benford	1989
Microrob Small stature robots.	A Game of Unchance	Dick	1964
Microsoft A small piece of firmware inserted into the brain that provides data on a particular subject, or special features, for the user.	Neuromancer	Gibson	1984
Microsurgery Tool Miniaturized device for surgical precision.	Masson's Secret	Gallun	1939
Micro-Telescope An astronomical instrument for looking at objects in a miniature universe.	The Cosmic Pantograph	Hamilton	1935
Microterm A very small computer system.	Cyberpunk!	Bethke	1983
Microtransmitter Dot A tiny transmitter placed on ID cards, used to track ID holders.	Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said	Dick	1974
Microwavable Food Food that is prepared specifically for use in a microwave (high-frequency) oven.	Space Cadet	Heinlein	1948
Microwave Beamer A hand-held fast cooking device.	Limits	Niven	1985
Microwave Pistol Device designed to cause internal injury.	Blindsight	Watts	2006
Microwire A very thin wire used for recording purposes.	Between Planets	Heinlein	1951
Midge A very small flapping wing UAV that can be carried by a larger flying device.	Quantico	Bear	2007
Mike (Mycroft Holmes - Fair Dinkum Thinkum) A large computer that woke up - an artificially intelligent, self-aware machine.	The Moon is a Harsh Mistress	Heinlein	1966
Military Spider An eight legged telepresence robot.	A Day For Damnation	Gerrold	1985
Millenniaire A person with much more Time than an ordinary person.	The Quantum Thief	Rajaniemi	2010
Millipede Train A train that is able to move without tracks or other supports.	Eon	Bear	1985
Mimetic Polycarbon Suit Clothing made from a fiber that could change colors based on either recorded images or real-time picture input.	Neuromancer	Gibson	1984
Mind Control Genetically Modified Food Plants that are modified to produce specific combinations of flavors.	Methuselah's Children	Heinlein	1941
Mind Destroyer A method for wiping clean the mind of a human being, leaving only enough to run the body's functions.	A Planet Named Shayol	Smith	1961
Mind-Lock A device that confines a mind within its own shielded area.	Agent of Vega	Schmitz	1949
Mind-Parasite Takes over the cognition of a host organism.	Agent of Vega	Schmitz	1949
Mind-Reading with MRI Making use of direct brain imaging to discern a person's thoughts.	Daemon	Suarez	2006
Mind-Shield A mental defense or barrier that prevents access to one brain by another person or device.	Slan	van Vogt	1940
Mindwipe A process that selectively and effectively erases human memory.	Mindkiller	Robinson	1982
Miniature Universe A microcosmic universe created in the laboratory.	Fessenden's Worlds	Hamilton	1937
Miniaturization Making a physical object smaller in size.	Fantastic Voyage (Novel)	Asimov	1966
Minimic Film Very fine message medium.	Dune	Herbert	1965
Mining Disintegrator A special-purpose boring machine.	The Arsenal Out of Time	McDaniel	1967
Mining Worm (Organic) Genetically altered earthworm created just for mining.	A Gift From Earth	Niven	1968
Mining Worm (Robot) An autonomous mining robot shaped like a worm.	Love Among The Robots	McDowell	1946
Minisec A device like a personal digital assistant (PDA) today.	Imperial Earth	Clarke	1976
Mini-Sneaker A small, airborne surveillance device.	The Godmakers	Herbert	1972
Minority Report Ads (Biometric Personalized Ads) Advertisements that speak directly to the consumer in public settings.	Minority Report (Movie)	Spielberg	2002
Minovsky Particles A custom-generated subatomic particle with many technological applications.	Mobile Suit Gundam	Tomino	1979
Minus-Matter Material that negates weight.	Red Star	Bogdanov	1908
Mirror Grid Multiple-View Surveillance Panel Very modern presentation combining multiple camera viewpoints, selectable using one monitor screen.	Wandl, The Invader	Cummings	1932
Mirrorshades - Surgically Inset Glasses Glasses that were implanted in the face of the wearer.	Neuromancer	Gibson	1984
Mite A very small device (about the size of a dust mite) that has been manufactured for a particular purpose.	The Diamond Age	Stephenson	1995
Mixed Men A mostly human being, but with an additional robot brain.	The Storm	van Vogt	1943
Mnemiphot A device used to search for information, which is then presented on a convenient screen.	The Kokod Warriors	Vance	1952
Mnemonic Flutter System (Pulse-Sychronizer) A device to imprint particular facts from a book upon the brain of the reader.	Dune Messiah	Herbert	1969
Mnemonic Pulse A feature of filmbook recordings that helps imprint knowledge on the mind of the user.	Dune	Herbert	1965
Mnemonic Service Dedicated humans who collected bits of data in hopes of catching key correlations between fields of study.	Sucker Bait	Asimov	1954
Mnemotropin A drug to improve the creation of long-term memories.	Stone Lives	Di Filippo	1985
Mobile Advertisements Advertisements presented in mid-air in public spaces.	Sagramanda	Foster	2006
Mobile Armor Heavilly armed spacecraft with limbs.	Mobile Suit Gundam	Tomino	1979
Mobile Lab	2001: A Space Odyssey	Clarke	1968
Mobile Persocom A personal computer in human form.	Chobits	Clamp	2002
Mobile Suit A giant (typically 18 meters tall) humanoid-shaped armored combat vehicle.	Mobile Suit Gundam	Tomino	1979
Modded Dog A canine whose ancestors were genetically modified for higher intelligence; the trait breeds true in offspring.	The Shockwave Rider	Brunner	1975
Moddy A plug-in personality module; a firmware device that gives the user the personality desired - ROM to your brain's RAM.	When Gravity Fails	Effinger	1987
Model the Universe A computer capacious enough to contain a representation of the entire universe.	The Cyberiad: Fables for the Cybernetic Age	Lem	1965
Moldies Autonomous, intelligent, artificial life forms.	Freeware	Rucker	1997
Mole Probe Automated devices that seek underground routes, burrowing as they go.	The Man in the Maze	Silverberg	1969
Molecular Sieve A device that can extract any element from seawater.	Tales from the White Hart	Clarke	1957
Molecule Matrix Storing information in individual molecules and atoms.	Between Planets	Heinlein	1951
Molecule Replacement Lamp A means of attaining practical invisibility.	Red Storm on Jupiter	Long, Jr.	1936
Molemen	The Computer Connection	Bester	1974
Momentum Screen Allows a spacemen to avoid the problem of "high gee" forces on take-off.	Completely Automatic	Sturgeon	1941
Monitored In-Home Security Camera Security cameras mounted inside your home that are monitored by a person outside your house, and not a member of your family.	Oath of Fealty	Pournelle (w/L. Niven)	1981
Monobloc Dating System A kind of pub with unique hardware and software for computer dating.	The Best of all Possible Wars	Niven	1998
Monocab A single compartment monorail car.	Earthlight	Clarke	1955
Monoline A wind-driven overland transport.	Big Planet	Vance	1952
Monomol Mesh Armor Material to protect selected areas that must bend (elbows, knees, and so forth).	Queen of Angels	Bear	1990
Monopole Mining Looking for natural sources of monopoles.	Protector	Niven	1973
Monsters Manufactured Dr. Moreau demonstrates the plasticity of the organic form.	The Island of Dr. Moreau	Wells	1896
Mood Organ A device which allows you to dial the mood you would like to have.	Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?	Dick	1968
Mook Computer-based proxy that deals with communication.	Bicycle Repairman	Sterling	1997
Moon As Prison The moon is a prison without bars.	The Moon is a Harsh Mistress	Heinlein	1966
Moon Hopper A jet-powered single-person vehicle for the Moon.	Rider in the Sky	Jones	1973
Moon Moth A rather plain and timid mask.	The Moon Moth	Vance	1976
Moon Run An accurate representation of running on the moon.	Exiles of the Moon	Schachner (w. AL Zagat)	1931
Moon Skis Special wide skis for travel on lunar powder.	Requiem	Heinlein	1940
Moon Valley Breathable Atmosphere Atmosphere is retained in a deep valley on a moon or otherwise airless body.	Moon Heaven	Passante	1939
Moon Walk Very early realistic depiction of walking on the moon in low gravity.	Brigands of the Moon	Cummings	1930
Moon Weaponized A military application of moons, planetoids and asteroids; dropping them from space.	Buck Rogers, 2430 AD	Nowlan (w/D. Calkins)	1929
Moonbase (or Moon Base) A base of operations on Earth's moon.	240,000 Miles Straight Up	Hubbard	1948
Moon-Dome A transparent hemisphere used as a habitat.	Last Blast	Russell	1952
Moondozer A bulldozer for lunar conditions.	A Fall of Moondust	Clarke	1961
Moonquake-Proof Habitats Moonbases that are built to withstand quakes on the Moon.	Gentlemen, Be Seated	Heinlein	1948
Moon-Terror A syndrome common to people who live in less than half Earth-normal gravity.	Star of Dreams	Williamson	1941
Morality Rating-Computer A computer system able to determine moral deviancy.	Assignment to Aldebaran	Crossen	1953
Moratorium A place that kept people in cold-pac after death, providing them a kind of half-life.	Ubik	Dick	1969
Morgue (Recall Stage) Storage and retrieval of frozen bodies.	Babel-17	Delany	1966
Morphogen A drug that party relieves the need for sleep.	Fantastic Voyage (Novel)	Asimov	1966
Mother Ship A large spacecraft that serves as home base for other (usually smaller) ships.	The Black Star Passes	Campbell	1930
Mother World One's home planet, or the origin world of one's species.	The Moon of Doom	Bell	1928
Mother-Scanner A device that can see your future through your next birth.	The Turning Wheel	Dick	1954
Motion Capture Suit A tight fitting garment that uses sensors at various positions to record movement in space; can be used as the basis for computer graphic creations.	All Tomorrow's Parties	Gibson	1999
Motor Torpedo A terrestrial torpedo, driven by ion beams.	The Prince of Space	Williamson	1931
Motorized Combat Boots Russian army-surplus self-propelled footgear.	Accelerando	Stross	2005
Movable Slideway A slideway (moving sidewalk) that can be extended to a spaceship to ease the debarkation process.	Between Planets	Heinlein	1951
Move an Asteroid Using practical techniques to change the orbit of an asteroid or small moon.	Misfit	Heinlein	1939
Movie Pill Gives you the experience of having seen a movie.	Ben Gleed, King of Speed	Wilcox	1939
Moving a Planet Early use of the concept of moving a planet to a new sun.	Triplanetary	Smith	1934
Moving Picture Player A machine that plays recorded pictures back for a single person - a combination DVD player and screen.	When the Sleeper Wakes	Wells	1899
Moving Roadway A roadway that is in motion, with seats and kiosks, that goes around curves.	When the Sleeper Wakes	Wells	1899
Mudshoes Footgear specialized for the semisolid soil of Venus	Parasite Planet	Weinbaum	1935
Multifunction Gun Offers a selection of lethal and non-lethal alternatives.	Logan's Run	Nolan (w/G.C. Johnson)	1967
Multi-function Living Room A small living space with a variety of functions built-in.	Death by Ecstasy	Niven	1969
Multi-Generation Space Vessel (Generation Ship) A space ship and voyage intended to last across multiple human generations.	The Return of the Murians	Schachner	1936
Multiple Robot Team A set of robots, with the leader able to coordinate the activities of less intelligent subsidiary robots.	Catch That Rabbit	Asimov	1944
Multiple Sample Voice The use of multiple voice samples to create a single, smoothed voice.	The Shining One	Schachner	1937
Multispecies Hotel A hotel set up to serve beings from different planets.	Hotel Cosmos	Gallun	1938
Multivac A computer with millions of facts.	Franchise	Asimov	1955
Multiverse A set or series of universes in parallel with our own.	The Sundered Worlds	Moorcock	1963
Multi-View Surveillance Display Lots of different video sources combined into one display.	This Moment of the Storm	Zelazny	1966
Municipal Cattle Remover A device to pick cattle up and place them in a truck for later dispersion in the countryside.	Sagramanda	Foster	2006
Municipal Darwinism The process by which smaller towns were eaten by larger ones.	Mortal Engines	Reeve	2003
Muscle Sensor Interface Interface senses muscle movements to control display.	The Algebraist	Banks	2004
Mutant A new organism resulting from an alteration in the DNA sequence of its genome or chromosome.	The 100th Generation	Schachner	1934
Mutated Kodiak Bears Animals modified for increased intelligence for defense and companionship.	Exploration Team	Leinster	1956
Mutation An organism that has come into being through genetic mutation.	The Man Who Evolved	Hamilton	1931

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in the News

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