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"SF looks towards an imaginary future, while fantasy, by and large, looks towards an imaginary past."
- Frederik Pohl
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| Robot Pope | ||
| An artificially intelligent robotic cardinal ascends to the Throne of St. Peter. |
It can often be difficult to choose a new pope; factions within the Vatican argue with passion. Sometimes, a compromise candidate is the only answer.
| "If he's elected," says Rabbi Mueller, "he plans an immediate time-sharing agreement with the Dalai Lama and a reciprocal plug-in with the head programmer of the Greek Orthodox church, just for starters..."
"What does he look like?" Miss Harshaw asks. Rabbi Mueller removes his sunglasses... "I can tell you that his Eminency is tall and distinguished, with a fine voice and a gentle smile..." "But he's mounted on wheels, isn't he?" Kenneth persists. "On treads," replies the rabbi, giving Kenneth a fiery, devastating look. "Treads, like a tractor has. But I don't think treads are spiritually inferior to feet, or, for that matter, to wheels..." |
| Technovelgy from Good News From the Vatican,
by Robert Silverberg. Published by Unknown in 1971 Additional resources -
|
Some people hope that a robot pope will encourage technologically-minded young people to join the Church.
Compare to the padre booth from Galactic Pot-Healer (1960) by Philip K. Dick and the proselytizing robot from Cities in Flight (1951) by James Blish.
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Tech news articles related to Good News From the Vatican
Tech news articles related to works by Robert Silverberg
Robot Pope-related
news articles:
- Robot 'Minister' Performs Wedding Ceremony
- I-Fairy Robot Minister Performs Wedding Ceremony
- Texas Couple Married By Computer
- Robots Converse, But Should They Count In A Minyan?
- Minister Wants To Convert Artificial Intelligences To Christianity
- BlessU-2 Robot Priest Celebrates 500th Reformation Anniversary
| Robot Gas Station Attendant Pumps Gas For You |
| SnapBot Robots - You Choose Their Legs And They Choose Their Gaits |
| Humanoid Robots Building Humanoid Robots |
| What's The Best Way To Ship And Unpack Humanoid Robots? |
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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.'
