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"I identify with the weak person; this is one reason why my fictional protagonists are essentially antiheroes."
- Philip K. Dick
 |
| Sobriety Ray | ||
| A ray of a particular wavelength and intensity, that conferred instant sobriety on those it shone upon. |
| Two hours later a taxi let Kerry out at his door. He was remarkably drunk...
The radio came forward to meet him. Tentacles, thin, but strong as metal, coiled gently around his body, holding him motionless... From the radio panel a beam of yellow light shot out, blinding the man. It swung down, aimed at his chest. Abruptly a queer taste was perceptible under Kerry's tongue. He was sober. |
| Technovelgy from The Twonky,
by Lewis Padgett. Published by Street and Smith in 1942 Additional resources -
|
Padgett offers an interesting bit of pseudoscience for how it works, based on a false analogy to the manner in which the body manufactures vitamin D.
"The vibrationary equivalent of thiamin chloride... There's vitamin content in sunlight, you know."
Patients with chronic alcoholism or experiencing alcohol withdrawal are at risk of thiamin deficiency and its associated complications, and are given thiamin prior to rehydrating them.
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| 'Whisper Mode' ala Blue Thunder Researched At Bristol |
| Moonwalkers AI-Controlled Electric Shoes |
| Electric Catamaran 'Explorer Eco 40m' Has 'Solar Skin' |
| Harvest Power From Tears And Blinking With Smart Contact Lens |
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'... making the point that their likenesses, every move they made, were being transmitted.'
'But the stars are only atoms in larger space, and in that larger space the star-atoms could combine to form living matter, thinking matter, couldn't they?'
'...to build up a video picture would require, say, ten million decisions every second. Mike, you're so fast I can't even think about it. But you aren't that fast.'
'The area affected was five hundred kilometres across, and perfectly circular.'
'Hasan always pitched a Gauzy - a one-molecule-layer tent, opaque, feather-light, and very tough.'
'And he had been sent with troops, supplies and bombs to command Russia's most trusted post, the Moonbase.'
'What is your population', I asked. 'About eighty millions.'
'THE autobus turned silently down the wide street of Hydropole. Robot-guided, insulated from noise and cold...'
