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"I did more research, and realized I almost would rather be a biologist than a writer, because there was incredible stuff going on!"
- Greg Bear
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| Visiphone | ||
| Visual as well as audio communication. |
As far as I know, this is the first use of this clever neologism, certainly as far as conventional science fiction in concerned.
| Beyond a doubt, he was greatly worried for, after muttering to himself a while, he turned to a visiphone which recorded
the image of the party at the other end.
"Section QG32, division KM2937," he called into the instrument. In a moment the face o£ the official in charge of the indicated division appeared in a small disk mounted on top of the phone. "Mentel Prolack AD8C," said the Superintendent Inspector, "you will have a fast inspection flier ready for use at once with a crew of three. Include a Wexton ray machine." |
| Technovelgy from The Message From Space,
by David M. Speaker. Published by Amazing Stories in 1930 Additional resources -
|
This was a popular term; here it is used by 'Doc' Smith in Triplanetary (1934):
A slightly different spelling of this word was used earlier in a variety magazine, The Black Cat, in 1915; see the entry for Visaphone zoom call in a Harry Stephen Keeling short story John Jones's Dollar.
Then, as she sat upon a bench, recovering her strength, he flipped on the lifeboat's visiphone projector and shot its invisible beam up into the control room, where he saw space-armored figures furiously busy at the panels.
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'...the rocket’s landing-arms automatically unfolded.'
'...points and patches of light... sliding all over their faces in a programmed manner that had been designed to foil facial recognition systems.'
'...the combined Wind-Suncatcher, like a spray of tulips mounted fanwise.'
'I went to the control room where the three other men were manipulating their mechanical men.'
'The low-slung monorail car, straddling its single track, bored through the shadows on a slowly rising course.'
'It was a smooth ovoid floating a few inches from the floor...'
'... he thrust in his charging arm to replenish his store of energy.'
'...the terrible Jovian gravity that made each movement an effort.'
