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"We follow the scientists around and look over their shoulders."
- Larry Niven
 |
| Talking Bomb | ||
| A psychological warfare weapon that talks to the enemy. |
In his 1959 novel Starship Troopers, Robert Heinlein refers to talking bombs that speak an alien language (to creatures called "skinny's").
| This was a special bomb, one issued to each of us for this mission with instructions to use them if we found ways to make them effective. The squawking I heard as I threw it was the bomb shouting in skinny talk (free translation): "I'm a thirty second bomb! I'm a thirty second bomb! Twenty-nine! Twenty-eight! Twenty-seven!..." |
| From Starship Troopers,
by Robert Heinlein. Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons in 1959 Additional resources -
|
The closest thing to a talking grenade is the flashbang grenade, created for Britain's Special Air Service for use in anti-terrorist actions. Flashbangs emit a piercing 175 decibel sound along with an actinic flash that blinds victims for about five seconds. Flashbangs were developed in the mid-1970's.
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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 Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
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Okay, sf fans. If you could have some art created from a science fiction sentence, what sentence would you pick?
'There were the cleaners, with large padded feet, who were apparently polishing their way the whole length...'
It's fascinating to me how the Apollo program forced people to think outside their usual boxes.
'Some will combine in place to form more complicated structures, like excavators or centipedes.'
'the hair-fine wire going deep into Owen's brain, down into the pleasure center.'
'There was a dim whirring, and the spheres tipped and began to rotate...'
'The houses are prefabricated units... and they sell at the flat rate of five hundred dollars a room — set up.'
