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"The first thing that's wrong with being a science-fiction writer today is that the present has caught up with the future and surpassed it."
- Peter Watts
 |
| Tri-Type Record | ||
| A printed card that stores information about a person, including a perfect three-dimensional representation. |
Aile Farr, traveler to Iszm, is under some suspicion due to his profession; he is a botanist. The Iszic provide house trees to the rest of the galaxy and guard their expertise jealously.
| "If the Sainh pleases - his tri-type for our records."
Farr patiently stood on the disk of gray metal. "Palms forward, eyes wide." Farr stood quietly. Feeler-planes brushed down his body. "Thank you, Sainh." Farr stepped up to the counter. "That's a different type than the one at Jhespiano. Let's see it." The clerk showed him a transparent card with a man-like brownish splotch on its middle. "Not much of a likeness," said Farr. The Szecr dropped the card into a slot. On the counter-top appeared a three-dimensional replica of Farr. It could be expanded a hundred times, revealing finger-prints, cheek-pores, ear and retinal configuration. |
| From The Houses of Iszm,
by Jack Vance. Published by Better Publications in 1954 Additional resources -
|
A hologram - the picture itself - doesn't look like much, either.
Compare to the personal metallic record disk from The Ancient Brain (1929) by A.G. Stangland.
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