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"As a writer, I don't want to chew my cud. I don't want to have to spit out and regurgitate the same stuff again."
- Harlan Ellison
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| Purza the Pukha | ||
| A toy with sensors used to monitor children in hospitals. |
Pukhas are described in the novel as "specially programmed stabilizing surrogate devices."
| Pukhas, deriving their name from the imaginary companions discovered by needful children, had become widely used in pediatrics. They could be programmed for a variety of uses, but more often were used in surgical and long-term care with great effect and as surrogates for intense dependency cases. ...thought had been given to its programming: its long soft hair was composed of receptors, monitoring the child's physical and psychic health. It could, receiving danger signals from the Rowan, initiate pacifying sentiments, encourage conversation and, of paramount importance, moderate the little girl's mental "voice." It also responded with its soothing, rumbling purr when the little girl became restless or distressed. |
| Technovelgy from The Rowan,
by Anne McCaffrey. Published by Penguin Putnam in 1990 Additional resources -
|
This does not appear to be a robotic device capable of independent movement.
Compare to the electric sheep and other pets in Philip K. Dick's 1968 novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?.
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'...Anything was possible in my imaginary environment.'
'Somewhere in space, a chrome and blue automobile raced the green light of Earth.'
'That explains how it was so easy for me to remain motionless in midair...'
'We had discovered that metal was relatively impervious to the telepathic effect.'
'Detailed plans for the construction of the Gundstetter-Halone warp drive were flowing.'
'Do not waste your priceless company on the unappreciative folds of a sleep pod...'
'...so we've promised him a generous pension from the royalties.'
'Hocus-pocus religions and archaic weapons are no substitute for a good blaster at your side.'
