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"I'm strictly an ivory-tower person. I can explain things but I can't do things."
- Isaac Asimov
 |
| Dixon Pump | ||
| An temporary mechanical heart to circulate blood. |
Although this is a fairly early sf reference, the first machine to replace the heart in circulating blood to the body was created in 1952 and used successfully in several different procedures. Prototypes used successfully in animals date from 1949.
| He glanced up from his work for a moment. Into the girl's chest he had plugged a Dixon pump; it had taken over temporarily the job of her uneven heart...
"Keep the people back," Parsons said, and resumed work. The throb of the robot pump gave him confidence; it had been inserted very well, and the load had left the girl's circulatory system. |
| From Dr. Futurity,
by Philip K. Dick. Published by Ace Books in 1960 Additional resources -
|
Here's another description, this time detailing the installation process:
Dick implies that the mechanical heart is effectively a robot; it is a self-regulating device.
He punctured the rib cage and plugged the Dixon pump into the vascular system, bypassing the suspended heart. The pump went immediately to work. Blood flowed.
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Then some unknown race had chanced upon the dreamers and decided to "help them out."
'Improving man by bringing him close to Nature, while they combine the sensations of coasting with the interest of seeing the country well...'
Um, how about that pension for the humans who serve as the models for robot behavior?
'...used as surrogates in intense dependency cases.'
'Across the ground something small and metallic came, flashing in the dull sunlight of midday.'
