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"I believe in limited government, and the 20th century has been the century of government. The data is uniform. The government has failed at every single task it has set out to do, with the exception of waging war."
- Bart Kosko
 |
| Biot | ||
| A biological robot. |
When the explorers reach the interior of Rama, and the vast structure approaches the Sun, a vast number of biological robots - biots - perform various functions.
| ...now life, with all its infinite possibilities, had come to Rama. If the biological robots were not living creatures, they were certainly very good imitations.
No one knew who invented the word "biot"; it seemed to come into instant use, by a kind of spontaneous generation. From his vantage point on the hub, Rousseau was Biot Watcher in Chief, and he was beginning, so he believed, to understand some of their behavior patterns. |
| From Rendezvous With Rama,
by Arthur C. Clarke. Published by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich in 1972 Additional resources -
|
As far as I know, Clarke coined the word "biot."
Read a lot more details about biots in the article for spider tripod robots, taken from the same novel.
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Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Rendezvous With Rama
More Ideas
and Technology by Arthur C. Clarke
Tech news articles related to Rendezvous With Rama
Tech news articles related to works by Arthur C. Clarke
Biot-related
news articles:
- Tiny Bio-Bots Take Big Steps Forward
- Researchers Say 'Biohybrid Robot' - Clarke Said 'Biot'
- 3D Print Tiny Bio-Bots
- Researchers Create Bowls, Coils, Ripples Of Living Tissue
- New Lifelike Material Powered By Artificial Metabolism
| EELS Exobiology Extant Life Surveyor For Enceladus |
| Helpful Robots In Science Fiction |
| SayCan with PaLM - Google's Robot Helper |
| Robot Gas Station Attendant Fills Tank - Which I Saw In 1962 |
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'The Consul remembered his first glimpse of the kilometer-long treeship...'
'Do you know what window washing used to cost by the hour?'
'Once the target is confirmed, it uses an IR laser to send a coded signal back to the parent, clearing it to attack.'
'I filled your bullet hole with flesh putty and the lattice.'
'... it will be easy to form an alphabet which shall enable us to converse with the inhabitants of the moon.'
'From the tower's huge octagonal base radiate wide silvery strips...'
'It was about five feet long... a black bullet head and red camera eyes.'
'The Law Society has strict rules on the use of pseudo-intelligent software...'
