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
P-120 Reconnaissance Robot A multi-legged robot built for speed and silence.	A Season for Slaughter	Gerrold	1992
Pacification Drones Surveillance drones that emit calming notes.	The Breach	Hill	2020
Padloid A tawdry news publication on a PDA, or notepad, device.	Steel Beach	Varley	1992
Padre Booth Device that provides religious aid and comfort on demand.	Galactic Pot-Healer	Dick	1969
Paid Avoidance Zone An area where the inhabitants agree, for a government-paid fee, to live without sophisticated services.	The Shockwave Rider	Brunner	1975
Pail of Air A small bucket filled with (liquid) air.	A Pail of Air	Leiber	1951
Pain Box A small box which induced pain into the nerves of the hand.	Dune	Herbert	1965
Pain Canopy Pain by nerve induction improves interrogation.	Gather, Darkness!	Leiber	1943
Pain Ray Creates pain by nerve induction.	Crashing Suns	Hamilton	1928
Painted Respirator Masks Children choose to decorate otherwise uniform equipment masks.	Red Planet	Heinlein	1949
Paint-to-Order Robot Artist A robotic mechanism that could produce a unique picture, given subject and artistic style.	The Music Master	Wallace	1953
Palimpscreen A thin piece of digital paper.	The Mountain in the Sea	Naylor	2022
Palm Flower It's like a life clock.	Logan's Run	Nolan (w/G.C. Johnson)	1967
Palm Lock A lock or seal which can be opened only by contact with the palm of the human hand to which it has been keyed.	Dune	Herbert	1965
Palm Plate A device that scanned for a palm print prior to opening a door.	The Mechanical Monarch	Tubb	1958
Palm Scan A means of positive identification, in this case, for an ATM machine.	All Tomorrow's Parties	Gibson	1999
Panatrope A device that modifies human dna to ensure survival in harsh alien environments.	Surface Tension	Blish	1952
Panic Alarm Alarm senses intruders and instills mindless panic.	Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?	Dick	1968
Panoramic Viewer Permits observation at a distance, as well as the projection of a holographic image.	Childhood's End	Clarke	1953
Panther Modern Cyberterrorists for hire.	Neuromancer	Gibson	1984
Paper Steel Specially treated paper that forms material as hard as steel.	Robur-the-Conqueror	Verne	1866
Para-Beam A beam of energy that paralyzes the victim.	The Mechanical Monarch	Tubb	1958
Paracompass A very specialized compass that makes use of local magnetic anomalies.	Dune	Herbert	1965
Paragravity Artificial gravity.	Collision Orbit	Williamson	1942
Parallel Universe An entirely separate realm or universe that exists along with our own; it may be wildly different or vary from ours by only a tiny degree.	Men Like Gods	Wells	1923
Paralysis Bomb A device like a hand grenade that released paralyzing radiation.	If This Goes On...	Heinlein	1940
Paralysis Ray A special ray that produces paralysis.	Satellite Five	Barnes	1938
Paralyzing Blast A red Ray of light that freezes those it falls upon.	The Exile of Time	Cummings	1931
Paralyzing Cone A device that paralyzes the muscles.	The Atomic Conquerors	Hamilton	1927
Paralyzing Eye False eye contains mechanism for causing brief paralysis.	The Best-Laid Scheme	de Camp	1941
Paralyzing Gun Renders senseless any human in its path.	The Achilles Heel	Gallun	1940
Paralyzing Ray Stops body motions.	Brigands of the Moon	Cummings	1930
Paralyzing Ray (Bolar Current) A beam that forces a person to remain rooted to a particular spot.	Blood of the Moon	Cummings	1936
ParanoidLinux A computer operating system that deliberately obscures the activities of the user.	Little Brother	Doctorow	2008
Parastatics Means of completely eliminating injury in vehicles during crashes.	Return from the Stars	Lem	1961
Parent Drone A drone platform that launches smaller drones.	Kill Decision	Suarez	2012
Parenthood Lottery A means of restricting population growth.	Super-Toys Last All Summer Long	Aldiss	1969
Parking Orbit An orbit from which access to the planet's surface via a small auxiliary vessel is quick and uncomplicated.	Methuselah's Children	Heinlein	1941
Parlor Wall (TV Parlor) The original "big screen TV" takes up an entire wall of a room.	Fahrenheit 451	Bradbury	1953
Passenger-Carrying Mortar A unique way of crossing a river, without a boat or a bridge.	Le Monde Tel Qu'il Sera (The World As It Shall Be)	Souvestre	1846
Patient Bath Robot Robot gives patient a bath.	Roujin Z	Otomo	1991
Pay Per View TV The broadcast of games and matches to private televisions for a fee.	The Threat of the Robot	Keller	1929
Pedomotive A kind of stilt-like leg extenders; take longer strides, get there faster. Extreme sports gear.	The Diamond Age	Stephenson	1995
Peeper A device that unlocked the dreams and fantasies inherent in the user's brain.	Shadow World	Simak	1957
Pencil Beam A thin tube-like laser beam weapon.	Vulcan's Hammer	Dick	1960
Pencil Heat Ray An offensive, man-portable heat ray.	Brigands of the Moon	Cummings	1930
Penetron A synthetic substance that is opaque unless penetrated by infra-red.	Redmask of the Outlands	Schachner	1934
Penfield Wave Transmitter A device that directs some sort of energy wave into a person's brain, allowing them to experience a chosen (dialed) mood.	Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?	Dick	1968
Pent House An island in the sky - a hermetically sealed skyscraper isolated entirely from its surroundings.	The Pent House	Keller	1932
Pentavalent Nitrogen A high explosive formed from nitrogen.	Spacehounds of IPC	Smith	1931
People-Mover A fixed mode of transporting people outside; and, they get to sit down.	Wetware	Rucker	1988
People-Sorter A device able to sort human beings with incredible speed.	Millennium	Varley	1983
Perfect Voice Modulation Artificially creating the perfect human singing voice.	Prima Donna 1980	Brown	1931
Perky Pat Layout A very special playset into which adults could project their very being.	The Days of Perky Pat	Dick	1963
Permalloy Protects ships from the hazards of space.	Fugitives From Earth	Bond	1939
Permanent Skywriting Non-wispy skywriting letters.	Soap Opera	Nelson	1953
Perpetual Train A vast machine that lays its own tracks as it moves forward.	Iron Council	Mieville	2004
Personal Cache An online data repository used to store personal data.	Earth	Brin	1990
Personal Capsule An impenetrable device containing information for your eyes only.	Foundation	Asimov	1951
Personal Force-Shield A portable force-shield small enough to be carried by a single man.	Foundation	Asimov	1951
Personal Interest Profile (PIP) A set of topics about which you would like to hear the latest news; known today as Google News Alerts.	The Fountains of Paradise	Clarke	1978
Personal Metallic Record Disc A stamped metal record that contains all of a person's data in a convenient form.	The Ancient Brain	Stangland	1929
Personal Rocket Jet A small, handheld jet pack that can be used to maneuver freely in space.	Space Cadet	Heinlein	1948
Personal Smelter A device used to reduce metallic objects (like coins, pots, cables) to an ingot with known value.	The Shockwave Rider	Brunner	1975
Personal Solar Plant A single-home solar-powered energy source.	Ring Around the Sun	Simak	1952
Personality Alteration Permanent alternation of personality, the tools of the trade.	Gather, Darkness!	Leiber	1943
Personality Death Punishment leaves the body intact.	Robot Justice	Harrison	1959
Personality Simulator A device which, when fed enough data about a person, simulated their personality allowing the user to predict behavior in stated circumstances.	The Dosadi Experiment	Herbert	1977
Personality Simulator (Virtual Person) A computer program that presents the appearance of being a person.	True Names	Vinge	1981
Personality-Construct (Lazarus) A chip providing a robotic body with the attributes of the selected person.	Killing Gramps	Schwader	1988
Personalized Fashion Display A set of displays that show you dressed in different uniforms.	Bill the Galactic Hero	Harrison	1965
Personalized News First reference to news that is customized to the needs of each individual subscriber.	Ralph 124c 41 +	Gernsback	1911
Persuader Device secured to a person that ensures compliant behavior by threat of force.	Storm Thief	Wooding	2006
Phantomatic Generator (Virtual Reality) A computer-generated experience.	Summa Technologiae	Lem	1964
Phantoscope (phenomenoscope) A device that provides you with a computer-operable display; can be worn or surgically implanted right on your own eyes.	The Diamond Age	Stephenson	1995
Phased Acoustical Array An music system implanted right on your eardrum.	The Diamond Age	Stephenson	1995
Philips Squeeze Gun A handheld railgun	Altered Carbon	Morgan	2003
Phone-Grid Transex Network Addictive network-enhanced sexuality.	Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said	Dick	1974
Phonographic Locks Doors that open using voice recognition.	A Journey to the Year 2025	Fezandie	1921
Phonotelephote A means of transmitting and receiving both voice and picture for a personal conversation.	In the Year 2889	Verne	1889
Photic Borer (Artesian Ray) A ray of energy that illuminates a cross-section of Earth as it goes through solid earth and rock.	The Great Stone of Sardis	Stockton	1897
Photo Crystal (Cube) A small handheld display for a picture	Foundation and Empire	Asimov	1952
Photoelectric Course Warning A means of keeping a spaceship on course using a selected star and a photoelectric cell.	Out Around Rigel	Wilson	1931
Photo-Electric Mosaic A means of capturing astronomical images.	Beyond Which Limits	Schachner	1937
Photoelectric Telescope (Photoelectric Eyes) An astronomical telescope that uses the photoelectric effect to gather light, and then to present the finished image on a screen.	The Cometeers	Williamson	1936
Photograph of Earth from Space An aerial photograph from outside the atmosphere.	The Prince of Space	Williamson	1931
Photomnemonic Tablet A device that both records and displays images with the same element.	Anathem	Stephenson	2008
Photonic Sail A sail that uses light pressure for propulsion.	Think Blue, Count Two	Smith	1962
Photonomous A program that strips out the digital noise signature from a picture file.	Little Brother	Doctorow	2008
Photophone A device that provided a view of the other booth.	The Planeteer	Flint	1918
Photosensitive Pigment Special paint that stays 'blank' until exposed to a scene.	Cry Hope, Cry Fury!	Ballard	1966
Photosight An automotive device that automatically follows a painted white line on the roadway, letting the car drive itself.	The Sign of the Tiger	Nourse (w/Meyer)	1958
Photo-Voltaic Robes Outerwear made from material that absorbs sunlight and outputs electricity.	Snow in the Desert	Asher	2002
Phymech A robotic physician.	Wanted in Surgery	Ellison	1957
Physiognomic Template A method for changing the appearance of your face at will.	Ubik	Dick	1969
Picphone A small telephone that has a screen to show pictures.	Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said	Dick	1974
Pigoon A transgenic pig, bred to grow replacement organs for humans.	Oryx and Crake	Atwood	2003
Pilot Beam A signalling device that space craft in orbit descending to Earth could home in on and land.	Methuselah's Children	Leinster	1941
Pilot-Robot The piloting gear of a space tug.	Collision Orbit	Williamson	1942
Pina2bo A huge cannon that shot shells filled with sulfur high into the atmosphere for the purpose of geoengineering a change in climate.	Termination Shock	Stephenson	2021
Pinlight Thimble-sized photonuclear bomb.	The Game of Rat and Dragon	Smith	1953
Pizzled (Semantic Garble) Use of nonsensical statements to deliberately confuse an artificial intelligence.	Autofac	Dick	1955
Placental Decanters Perfect human bodies with control implants for remote use.	The Girl Who Was Plugged In	Tiptree, Jr.	1974
Planck Juice A continuous pre-quark force-medium with no distinguishing characteristics (it's mostly gluons)	Master of Space and Time	Rucker	1984
Planet Buster A bomb so powerful it could destroy a planet.	Assignment to Aldebaran	Crossen	1953
Planet City A planet the surface of which is entirely covered over, forming one single city.	The Message From Space	Speaker	1930
Planet Rules Regulations governing the behavior of the away team on a new planet.	Drop Dead	Simak	1956
Planetary Computer Network A global data net.	Dialogues	Lem	1957
Planetary Engineering Remaking or modifying an entire planet.	The Cometeers	Williamson	1936
Planetary Globe A craftsman's model of a planet.	Star of Wonder	May	1953
Planetary ID Card Identification for every person on every planet in the solar system.	Doom Over Venus	Hamilton	1940
Planetary Propulsion-Blasts Devices capable of moving and steering planets to new orbits or new stars.	Thundering Worlds	Hamilton	1934
Planetary Telegraphing A method for communicating with dwellers on other planets in the solar system.	In the Deep of Time	Lathrop	1897
Planet-Busting Bomb A munition with sufficient power to destroy an entire planet.	Testing	Ferrat	1956
Planetfall Making a landing on a planet from space.	Quicksands of Youthwardness	Jameson	1940
Planetoid With Earth Gravity	The Soul Eaters	Conover	1944
Planetruck Huge vehicle for planetary surface transport.	The Slave Ship to Andrigo	Rocklynne	1951
Planets Made Habitable A plan to "terraform" a planet to improve its habitability by human beings.	Last and First Men	Stapledon	1930
Planet-Smasher Devices capable of destroying an entire planet.	Propagandist	Leinster	1947
Plani-Glass Transparent and light and has the tensile strength of steel!	Crystalized Thought	Schachner	1937
Planoforming A form of "faster than light" travel allows for interstellar travel.	The Game of Rat and Dragon	Smith	1953
Plasta-Skin Artificial Skin	Star Rangers (The Last Planet)	Norton	1953
Plasteel Extremely tough form of steel, stabilized with stravidium fibers grown into its crystal.	Dune	Herbert	1965
Plastex A combination of plaster and latex, it allows houses to change shape for you.	The Thousand Dreams of Stellavista	Ballard	1962
Plastibulb A squeezable drink container.	The Proud Robot	Padgett	1943
Plastic Constructor (3D Printer) A 3D printer - for spaceships.	Things Pass By	Leinster	1945
Plastic Igloo A heavy plastic shelter for use in airless environments.	Love Among The Robots	McDowell	1946
Plastic-Eating Bacteria Mutated bacteria able to 'eat' or dissolve rubber and plastic.	The Andromeda Strain	Crichton	1969
Plasticocoon Holds a prisoner motionless.	The Space Merchants	Pohl (w/CM Kornbluth)	1952
Plastifoam Used to seal large leaks in space craft.	Collision Orbit	Williamson	1942
Plastirobe A dress that varies in opacity by distance.	Sales Pitch	Dick	1954
Plastiskin Artificial human skin to cover prosthetics.	Unforeseen	Graham	1949
Plastissue Artificial flesh.	Accidental Flight	Wallace	1952
Plastotek False skin disguise.	Menace From Vega	Randall	1958
Plasto-Textile A fabric that cannot be stained.	Foundation	Asimov	1951
Platform Flyer A small craft suitable for journeys close to the ground.	The Star King	Vance	1964
Platinum Alloy Disc A silvery disc used for data record storage.	Triplanetary	Smith	1934
Pleasure Cap A device that delivers amps of pleasure directly to the brain.	A Planet Named Shayol	Smith	1961
Pleasure Planet A vast world devoted to enjoyment.	After World's End	Williamson	1939
Plexiskin A means of disguise.	A Spaceship Named McGuire	Garrett	1961
Plug-Ups Tiny plastic balls that seal leaks on spacecraft.	Passage at Arms	Cook	1985
Pneumatic Bumpers An inflatable bumper system for ground-based motor vehicles.	The Brain Pirates	Campbell	1938
Pneumatic Suit An airtight spacesuit.	The Shot Into Infinity	Gail	1929
Pneumatic Tube Station Passengers are sealed into a narrow cylinder that is shot through a pressurized tube to their destination.	Exiles of the Moon	Schachner (w. AL Zagat)	1931
Pneumatic-Tube Zone The portion of a city that is served by direct tubes to each dwelling.	Mechanocracy	Breuer	1932
Pneumo-Slacks Pants that make you look beefier.	The Proud Robot	Padgett	1943
Pocket Computer A pocket-sized computer.	The Feeling of Power	Asimov	1958
Pocket Display Projector A pocketsized projector capable of displaying high resolution images so they can be viewed by a group of people.	The Anome	Vance	1971
Pocket Dome Handy easy-to-set-up shelter.	Chindi	McDevitt	2002
Pocket Gravity Nullifier Personal device stops gravity's effect.	The Sky Maniac	Juve	1929
Pocket Nucleo-Bulb A nuclear-powered pocket-sized flashlight.	Foundation	Asimov	1951
Pocket Phone (or pocketphone) A telephone that is not hard wired to the network; a mobile or cell phone.	Assignment in Eternity	Heinlein	1953
Pocket Projector A personal device for replaying media.	Foundation and Empire	Asimov	1952
Pocket Receiver An early visualization of the smartphone.	The Magellanic Cloud	Lem	1955
Pocket Scanner A device that scans for the codes that will open a vehicle's door on command.	Sagramanda	Foster	2006
Pocket Universe A created, separate space within the normal space of the universe.	Pocket Universes	Leinster	1946
Pocket wireless phone An entirely portable, pocket-sized, telephone.	John Jones's Dollar	Keeler	1915
Pocket-Caller Private communication device that fits in your pocket.	The Worlds of Tomorrow	Wellman	1940
Pocket-Planet An asteroid.	The Duel on the Asteroid	Miller (w/D. McDermott)	1932
Pocket-Sized Ad-Blocker A device that prevented targeted advertisements from reaching you.	Sagramanda	Foster	2006
Pocket-Wings Individual powered flight.	A Journey to the Year 2025	Fezandie	1921
Pod-Chair A living chair, grown by the Iszc to perform its function.	The Houses of Iszm	Vance	1954
Poison Snooper A device that checked food and drink for poisons.	Dune	Herbert	1965
Poison Space Cloud (Etheric Poison) A deadly cloud of gas large enough to envelop the solar system.	The Poison Belt	Doyle	1913
Poison Tongue Dart Weapon surgically implanted in the tongue.	The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch	Dick	1965
Poison-Bearing Invisible Glove Membranous apparel for the hands, used to dispense poisons.	Lies, Inc.	Dick	1964
Pokkecon A device tied into a good will network.	Maneki Neko	Sterling	1998
Polar Ice Water ice at the poles of the Moon.	The Ring of Charon	Allen	1990
Polarization Apparatus A device that caused a space ship to repel the Earth and send a space ship on its way.	Slaves of Mercury	Schachner	1932
Polarized Window Rather than curtains, use the window to control the light.	The Houses of Iszm	Vance	1954
Polaron Beam A unique beam of energy that scatters some of its light at right angles to the direction of propagation.	Earthlight (Novella)	Clarke	1951
Polawindow A window-sized polarizer filter that allows changes in light intensity and color.	The Godmakers	Herbert	1972
Poldek Ability to sense life.	The Saga of Pelican West	Russell	1937
Police Control-Override A device that allows police officers to take control of an otherwise normal vehicle.	The Hounds of Hell	Laumer	1964
Police Detection Robot An automated evidence-gathering robot.	The Unreconstructed M	Dick	1957
Police Robot A fully autonomous, man-shaped robotic police officer.	Arm of the Law	Harrison	1958
Police Sketch Artist Software A tablet-style computer with sketch pad software to help identify suspects.	Runaway	Crichton	1985
Polycarbon Exo Exoskeleton made of a strong, lightweight material.	Mona Lisa Overdrive	Gibson	1988
Polycarbon Phone Screen A telephone that provides videophone capability using a very thin screen that is folded away when not in use.	Count Zero	Gibson	1986
Polyceltron Iconoscope Televisor A portable camera and microphone setup that could broadcast on-the-spot news.	Newscast	Vincent	1939
Polyfrequency Neutralizer Dissolves projected solidographs (holograms).	Gather, Darkness!	Leiber	1943
Poppins An android body imprinted with the personality of a Master Nanny.	Kiln People	Brin	2002
Pork Tree A plant that produces an analog to animal meat.	The Ophiuchi Hotline	Varley	1977
Portable Atomic Heater Compact source of energy.	Misfit	Heinlein	1939
Portable Ident-Plate A small, thin device that will capture biometric data from a person's finger.	Earth	Brin	1990
Portable Telephone The essence of a cell phone.	Space Cadet	Heinlein	1948
Portal Sensory experience of a data network.	True Names	Vinge	1981
Porter Televox-Robot A robot that carries your bags through the passageways of space liners.	On Board the Martian Liner	Breuer	1931
Position Locator Display Screen shows the position of hundreds of aircraft;	Flight of the Eastern Star	Repp	1929
Positive Ray Propulsion (Ion Drive) An ion drive.	The Prince of Space	Williamson	1931
Positron Beam Vast numbers of positrons, the antimatter counterpart of the electron, are beamed around the Earth.	The Great Thirst	Schachner	1934
Positronic Brain A computer CPU with the capacity to rival a human brain.	Reason	Asimov	1941
Positronic Motor A combination of motor and brain; an engine with a cerebellum and a carburetor.	Sally	Asimov	1953
Post Office A vault used to store time capsules left by travelers to the past; not your usual delivery service.	Millennium	Varley	1983
Post-Crime Criminal activities after they have actually happened.	The Minority Report	Dick	1956
Poster TV This display gives new meaning to the term "flat screen."	A World Out of Time	Niven	1976
Powdered Alcohol Alcohol in non-liquid form.	The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge	Harrison	1970
Power Holster Puts the sidearm right in your hand.	Deathworld	Harrison	1960
Power Planet A satellite that supplies the Earth with power.	The Power Planet	Leinster	1931
Power Stilts Platforms that push inundated cities ever higher.	The Human Blend	Foster	2010
Powered Armor (or Powered Suit) An armored suit that magnifies the power of the soldier's muscles, along with other weapons.	Starship Troopers	Heinlein	1959
Powered artificial exoskeleton A robotic device designed to support someone too weak to comfortably move in high gravity.	Between Planets	Heinlein	1951
Powered Print-Book Part computer, part book.	Prelude to Foundation	Asimov	1988
Powered Suit with Trauma Maintenance A powered suit (or powered armor) that is set up to save as much of your body as possible in worse case scenarios.	The Forever War	Haldeman	1974
Powergun A directed energy weapon.	Hammer's Slammers	Drake	1979
Power-Wagon Wagon powered by muscular creature from Etamin 9; uses carbohydrate syrup for fuel.	The Last Castle	Vance	1967
Pray-Machine A kind of energy receiver that could retrieve a soul from the radiation belt surrounding a planet.	Lord of Light	Zelazny	1967
Pray-o-Mat A device that would offer prayers in exchange for a few coins properly deposited.	Lord of Light	Zelazny	1967
Precipitrons Filtration system to remove dust and other particulates from the atmosphere in space stations.	The Beat Cluster	Leiber	1961
Precog A person with precognitive ability (can predict the future).	The Minority Report	Dick	1956
Precog (v) To see the future.	Police Operation	Piper	1948
Precrime A system by which criminal acts are known before they occur.	The Minority Report	Dick	1956
Precrime Analytical Wing Contains the precognitives and the machinery need to hear and analyze their predictions of future crimes.	The Minority Report	Dick	1956
Precrime Sleeve Communicator A device for communication worn as part of the uniform jacket.	Minority Report (Movie)	Spielberg	2002
Predator Wrist Display A wrist bracelet with a variety of useful functions.	Predator	McTiernan	1987
Predictable Crime A criminal act that computers were able to foresee in advance.	All the Troubles in the World	Asimov	1958
Predictions Registry An organization that keeps track of predictions made by individuals.	Earth	Brin	1990
Predictograph Capable combining and projecting hundreds of complex curves into the future.	Futility	Meek	1929
Preserved Brains Preserving a brain, and then communicating with it.	Murder in the Void	Hamilton	1938
Preserving Machine A device that would create a unique animal from a piece of classical music.	The Preserving Machine	Dick	1953
Pressor (Pressor Beam) A force-field beam that pushes, rather than pulls.	Spacehounds of IPC	Smith	1931
Pressor Field A force field that pressed against anything that encountered it.	The Forever War	Haldeman	1974
Pressure Curtain A force field that creates a barrier that people can pass through but air cannot - an airlock in a spacecraft.	The Mote in God's Eye	Niven (w/J. Pournelle)	1974
Pressurized Penthouse A stratospheric perch - if buildings are tall enough, you'll need this.	Bread Overhead!	Leiber	1958
Prethink The ability to predict the future in a routine perceptual manner.	The Golden Man	Dick	1954
Prime Directive The first and most important rule; usually protective.	With Folded Hands	Williamson	1947
Prime Radiant A projector that puts all of a vast collection of writings on the wall of a special conference room. You could interact with it by writing on the wall; changes were stored.	Second Foundation	Asimov	1953
Primer A special software program that teaches basic language skills.	The Diamond Age	Stephenson	1995
Print-Book You’ve seen them.	Prelude to Foundation	Asimov	1988
Prism Window A device for getting a better view of the ground from inside an airplane.	The Space Merchants	Pohl (w/CM Kornbluth)	1952
Privacy Screen A device that shields occupants from all possible forms of electronic intrusion and surveillance.	Neuromancer	Gibson	1984
Private Flyer A privately-owned air vehicle that used no control surfaces for maneuvering.	Childhood's End	Clarke	1953
Private Space Cruiser A fully space-worthy ship under private ownership.	Crashing Suns	Hamilton	1928
Probability Time Wave Tube A device that allows the user to see every possible event.	Elimination	Campbell	1936
Probe Screen Hood A device that blocks attempts to see into the contents of the brain mind.	The Hood Maker ('Immunity')	Dick	1955
Procreative Stump A woman's torso, kept alive for the purpose of using the womb as an incubator.	Hellstrom's Hive	Herbert	1972
Production Prescription A file that can be used to reproduce an object.	The Magellanic Cloud	Lem	1955
Profile Sniffers A software device that sifts Internet access records for patterns associate with particular personality types.	Distraction	Sterling	1998
Project Scoop A space craft feature that collects dust for study.	The Andromeda Strain	Crichton	1969
Project X A device that produces sound rays that are intolerable to living things.	Atlas Shrugged	Rand	1957
Projectile-Vehicle A projectile, or shot, capable of enclosing passengers and being safely hurled to the moon by an enormous cannon.	From the Earth to the Moon	Verne	1867
Projection A means of projecting your image to a distant place.	The Computer Connection	Bester	1974
Projection Commercials A three-dimensional advertisement that is placed in your path in a public place like a bar.	The Computer Connection	Bester	1974
Projection Rig A portable holographic projector.	Mona Lisa Overdrive	Gibson	1988
Propulsion Gun What can you push against in space?	Venus Mines, Incorporated	Schachner (w. AL Zagat)	1931
Proselytizing Robot A robotic preacher; designed for use where believers are unwelcome.	Cities in Flight	Blish	1957
Prosthetic Robotic Arm (Thought-Attuned) A detachable robotic arm, controlled directly through neural linkage.	Bleekman's Planet	Jorgensen	1957
Prosthetic Yachting Gloves Robotic gloves for sailors.	Mare Nostrum	Sterling	2022
Protective Energy Halo A device that cast a hemisphere of protective beams.	The Scarab	Gallun	1936
Protective Field (Safety Field) An static energy field used to protect a city.	The Man in the Maze	Silverberg	1969
Protective Shield An energy shield for one person.	Triplanetary	Smith	1934
Protine A mutant algae that can be engineered to look and taste similar to normal food.	Solar Lottery	Dick	1955
Protolectric Gun Fires twin beams of protons and electrons.	Electronic Siege	Campbell	1932
Proton Pack The business end of a mobile particle accelerator.	Ghostbusters	Ramis	1984
Proton Pistol (Proton Beam) A device that unleashed a 'protonic storm' of energy.	A Menace in Miniature	Gallun	1937
Protonite Radioactive fuel for spacecraft.	Twelve Hours To Live	Williamson	1931
Protophason Amplifier Detects brain activity of those in half-life.	Ubik	Dick	1969
Protoplast Artificial life, tougher than protoplasm.	Dawn of the Demigods	Gallun	1954
Provigil A medication that makes the user 'untired' - not just more awake.	When the Devil Dances	Ringo	2002
Provigil-C A special drug that promotes wakefulness in troops.	A Hymn Before Battle	Ringo	2000
Proxy Robot A remote-controlled floating telepresence robot, for use by aliens who cannot share an atmosphere.	Hotel Cosmos	Gallun	1938
Pry-Vie (Robotic Detective) A robotic private eye; autonomic detection services.	Clans of the Alphane Moon	Dick	1964
Pseudoflesh Meat (protein) that is produced apart from an animal; great steaks without rumination.	Whipping Star	Herbert	1969
Pseudogravity Gravity produced by artifice, rather than by a suitably large mass.	Common Sense	Heinlein	1941
Pseudo-Insects (Synsects) A swarm of self-guided, programmed microarmies.	One Human Minute	Lem	1984
Psychic Probe A device capable of discerning truthful information in a living human brain.	Foundation and Empire	Asimov	1952
Psychode A device that enables communication by thought alone.	The Infinite Enemy	Williamson	1938
Psychohistory Branch of mathematics describes the behavior of human beings en masses.	Foundation	Asimov	1951
Psycho-History The application of psychology to historical data.	Beyond All Weapons	Russell	1941
Psycho-Lease Encephalic Gadget A device that provided the conviction that a faked scene was, in fact, real.	Galactic Pot-Healer	Dick	1969
Psychophone A device that allows the user to tune their mind to a future reality - a time-traveling device.	The Mechanical Mice	Hugi	1941
Psycho-Phone A device that recorded and played back the thoughts of the user.	A Biological Experiment	Keller	1928
Psychophonic Nurse A child-care robot - a nanny bot.	The Psychophonic Nurse	Keller	1928
Psychoprobe Get to the truth.	Satellite Five	Barnes	1938
Psychoscanner A device capable of taking impressions, feelings and memories from living brains; it can be used on animals as well.	Propagandist	Leinster	1947
Psychotropic House Buildings designed to sense, and mirror, the psychological state of their owners.	The Thousand Dreams of Stellavista	Ballard	1962
Psypyx A way of gathering and recording mental impressions.	Earth Made of Glass	Barnes	1998
P-Terminal Implant A device consisting of implanted power pack, control and electrodes placed near pleasure centers of the brain.	The Terminal Man	Crichton	1972
Public Eye A floating, free-roaming surveillance camera.	Friday	Heinlein	1982
Public Iris Scanner A device that uses iris-scanning for identification, and does not require subject awareness.	Minority Report (Movie)	Spielberg	2002
Public Urine Collection Arcologies offer public latrines, then collect for reclamation.	The Water Knife	Bacigalupi	2015
Public Vehicle Tube Underground transportation tubes.	The Houses of Iszm	Vance	1954
Puddinged A poorly formed 3D printed copy, with an interior that was a mass of malformed material.	Pay for the Printer	Dick	1956
Puff (Puff Balls) Material that is used to help Skyrines dropped to the surface of Mars get rid of some of that excess velocity.	War Dogs	Bear	2014
Puff-Pipe Pipe with lighting built in.	Flamingo: A Drama of A.D. 1950	Heller	1930
Pulse-Timer A watch that uses your visual cortex for a read-out device.	Heretics of Dune	Herbert	1984
Punishment Sphere Used to bring disruptive elements of society into line.	Alpha Centauri	Meier	1999
Purple Wage Guaranteed subsidy paid to every citizen.	Riders of the Purple Wage	Farmer	1967
Purza the Pukha A toy with sensors used to monitor children in hospitals.	The Rowan	McCaffrey	1990
Pushpot An independent rocket motor that can attach itself to an object bound for space.	Space Tug	Leinster	1953
PyrE A thermonuclear explosive that is detonated by thought alone.	The Stars My Destination	Bester	1956

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