Distraction by Bruce Sterling:
Science Fiction Inventions, Technology and Ideas

This future Earth novel is set in 2044, and most of the government and social institutions that we think are eternal and unchangeable have gone to the dogs. Global warming, cheap computer power, increasingly irrelevant government - sound familiar? See at least one set of logical conclusions in this book. Select an invention:

Bambakias Hotel - help it come into being
A hotel that wants to exist! It just needs a little help.

Bugged Money - money rigged for surveillance
American cash with embedded listening devices.

Infowar Operation
Making use of various means to disrupt the enemy's military and civilian information networks.

Junkbot - spamachine
An automated email program that specializes in sending junk mail (spam)

Netwar - communications warfare
Making use of various means to disrupt the enemy's military and civilian information networks.

Profile Sniffers - sifting the web
A software device that sifts Internet access records for patterns associate with particular personality types.

Smart Bike
A motorcycle with sophisticated systems for steering and balance.

Talking Tape - smart as a brick
Adhesive-backed network connection, global positioning, voice synthesis and speakers.

 

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Science Fiction
in the News

NEO Brain Computer Interface (BCI)
re: Iain M. Banks
(6/19/2026)

Did Frank Herbert Predict E-Ink Displays?
re: Frank Herbert
(6/17/2026)

Monolith One Giant Industrial Metal 3D-printer
re: Philip K. Dick
(6/15/2026)

'Mooncrete' Lunar Regolith Concrete (LRC)
re: William Gibson
(6/13/2026)

China's 'Magpie Drone' Ornithopter
re: Greg Bear
(6/11/2026)

MAI-Voice-2 Microsoft Text-To-Speech
re: Nat Schachner
(6/9/2026)

Tumblin' Tumbleweed Rovers To Eplore Mars
re: Clifford Simak
(6/5/2026)

Tentacled Robot Captures Space Debris
re: Makoto Yukimura
(6/3/2026)

Prufrock-MB2 Ready In Nashville
re: Paul Ernst
(6/1/2026)

DIY Robotic Content Farming
re: Schachner and Zagat
(5/29/2026)

Reflect Orbital Sunlight On Demand
re: Theodore Sturgeon
(5/27/2026)

The Amazing Lightfoot Electric Scooter With Solar Assist
re: Robert Heinlein
(5/25/2026)

Fully Electric, Fully Automated Vegetable‑growing Agribots
re: John W. Campbell
(5/23/2026)

Vero Robotic Dog With Vacuum Cleaner Feet
re: Ray Bradbury
(5/21/2026)

More SF in the News

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