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"The SF approach: an awareness that things could have been different, that this is one of many possible worlds, that if you came to this world from some other planet, this would be a science fiction world."
- Neal Stephenson
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| Alibi Archive | ||
| A recording made of transmissions from a personal implant that perceived everything that happened to that individual. |
On this alternate Earth, everyone had a Companion implant that constantly transmitted the minutia of your life to an archive.
| "Since the day you were born, you've had a personal recording cube in the alibi-archive pavilion adjacent to this very Council building. And it has recorded everything you've done, every moment of your life, as transmitted by your Companion. "And ... every day of your life, you enjoy the peace and safety made possible by that very recording... You know that as you walk at night, the chances of you being the victim of robbery or murder ... are almost zero, because there's no way to get away with such a crime." |
| From Hominids (Neanderthal Parallax),
by Robert J. Sawyer. Published by Analog Science Fiction in 2003 Additional resources -
|
The images and other data flowing from an implant into the alibi-archive could also be "tapped" or viewed by someone else.
Thanks to Chris Johnston for pointing this one out.
"...the transmissions from Scholar Huld's Companion are being monitored directly by a living, breathing human being as they are received at the alibi-archive pavillion..."
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'Employees... were implanted with advanced microprocessors...'
'... sweating, heat-blistered engineers at every interplanetary radiograph station on three planets.'
'The huge plow... seemed to shake itself - and began to move back southward.'
'... he went to the hall closet to get his pith helmet and his mandatory cooling-unit.'
'We still use people at the main gates, but here it's an automated sentry.'
