Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
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
"The bottom line in the Dune trilogy is: beware of heroes. Much better to rely on your own judgment, and your own mistakes."
- Frank Herbert
 |
| Life Blanket | ||
| Sentient moss which, when draped over the shoulders of a human being, becomes fully self-aware, providing valuable services. |
On a distant planet circling Sigma Draco, vegetation strained towards self-awareness.
| For the aeons before the human beings came to this twilight world, the life blankets had dragged out a humdrum existence...
When the humans came, however, the blankets finally clicked. Between them and the men of Earth grew up a perfect mutual agreement, a highly profitable and agreeable form of symbiosis... For the man who wore one of them, like a cloak around his shoulders, need never worry where a meal was coming from; knew furthermore, that he would be fed correctly, with a scientific precision that automatically counterbalanced any upset of metabolism that might be brought about by alien conditions... The moment one of the blankets wrapped itself around a man it became, in a sense, the double of that man. It shared his intelligence and emotions... |
| Technovelgy from Ogre,
by Clifford Simak. Published by Astounding Science-Fiction in 1944 Additional resources -
|
Here's what its like for the life blankets when they are left to their own devices, with no human being to care for:
Life blankets had other useful properties, like being able to heal some wounds in their hosts. They could also communicate with other plants to some extent.
These were predecessors of the hunting robes from his more famous 1961 novel Time is the Simplest Thing.
...he waddled out of the trading post upon his own high lonesome, flapping awkwardly along, like a sheet billowing in the breeze.
Comment/Join this discussion ( 1 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Ogre
More Ideas
and Technology by Clifford Simak
Tech news articles related to Ogre
Tech news articles related to works by Clifford Simak
| Black Fungus Blocks Radiation |
| Lunar Biorepository Proposed For Cryo-Preservation Of Earth Species |
| Let's Make Slaver Sunflowers! Engineering Plants To Reflect Light |
| Machete-Wielding Philodendron Isn't Going To Take It Anymore |
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 Science Fiction Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
|
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
'...there's a narrow belt where the climate is moderate.'
'... with the Master-operator all you have to do is push one! A remarkable achievement!'
'Not like me. A T-1000, advanced prototype. A mimetic poly-alloy. Liquid metal.'
'It was riddled with holes that were the mouths of tunnels.'
'The massive feet working the pedals, arms and hands flashing and glinting...'
'There were cubic miles of it, and it glistened like a silvery Christmas tree...'
'Jason had been guiding the caravan of cars as usual...'
"The robot solemnly hit a ball against the wall, picked it up and teed it, hit it again, over and again...'
