Latest By
Category:
Armor
Artificial
Intelligence
Biology
Clothing
Communication
Computers
Culture
Data Storage
Displays
Engineering
Entertainment
Food
Input Devices
Lifestyle
Living Space
Manufacturing
Material
Media
Medical
Miscellaneous
Robotics
Security
Space Tech
Spacecraft
Surveillance
Transportation
Travel
Vehicle
Virtual
Person
Warfare
Weapon
Work
"Retire? Yeah, I want to die with my head in the typewriter. That's my idea of retirement."
- Alfred Bester
 |
| 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.
Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from The Houses of Iszm
More Ideas
and Technology by Jack Vance
Tech news articles related to The Houses of Iszm
Tech news articles related to works by Jack Vance
Tri-Type Record-related
news articles:
- AMOLED E-Passport W/Rotating Mugshot
- World's First 3D Printing 'Photo Booth'
| Twist Bioscience High Density Digital Data On DNA |
| Store One Bit On One Atom |
| DataTraveler Ultimate Generation 2 Terabyte Flashdrive |
| Sandisk 1 Terabyte SD Memory Card Surfaces |
Want to Contribute an
Item?
It's easy:
Get the name of the item, a
quote, the book's name and the author's name, and Add
it here.
| <Previous | Next> |
|
|
|
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.
|
'With his motor in operation, he moves like a diver, head foremost...'
'I start twelve immensely strong wires--naked, not insulated --from a big dynamo...'
'All objects within my panoramic gaze trembled and vibrated like quick motion pictures...'
'Some clad in the insulated space-suits, with their transparent glassite helmets.'
'Its motion was so swift, complex, and perfect that at first I did not see it as a machine, in spite of its metallic glitter.'
Propulsion-assisted orbital decay, brought to you by SpaceX.
'He applied the tip of the instrument to the interior of the wound...'
'...what's to keep me from showing face, Man?'
'The Worldcraft bubble glittered, catching the light...'
'This is Elmer Schmitz, presenting to you the finalists in our Aviation Quiz Program...'
