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
"Bureaucracies hide their mistakes, because people's careers are tied to those mistakes. Therefore, bureaucracies are a perfect mechanism for perpetuating mistakes."
- Frank Herbert
 |
| Monitored In-Home Security Camera | ||
| Security cameras mounted inside your home that are monitored by a person outside your house, and not a member of your family. |
In the world of Todos Santos, the vast arcology that forms the centerpiece of the novel, residents don't mind being in public spaces that are constantly monitored by the guards. In fact, they don't mind that the inside rooms of their homes are also monitored by guards, as shown in this excerpt situated in a guard room full of monitors.
| "...I guess I wouldn't want cameras in my bathroom, either."
"Oh, we've got them there," Blake said. "But they don't go on without authorization - there's one now." The TV screen flicked to show a kitchen. A small boy was pulling things out of cabinets, scattering flour on the floor... Blake reached forward to a button under the screen... "Ma'am, this is Central Security. Somebody pushed the panic button in the kitchen and I think you'd better have a look..." He waited. On the screen above, a woman... came into the kitchen, looked down in horror, and shouted "Peter!" Then she looked up with a smile and moved closer to the camera. "Thank you, Officer," she said. |
| From Oath of Fealty,
by Jerry Pournelle (w/L. Niven). Published by Timescape in 1981 Additional resources -
|
Compare this use of surveillance with the telescreen from George Orwell's classic 1948 novel 1984.
Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Oath of Fealty
More Ideas
and Technology by Jerry Pournelle (w/L. Niven)
Tech news articles related to Oath of Fealty
Tech news articles related to works by Jerry Pournelle (w/L. Niven)
| Zephyr Solar-Electric Stratospheric Drone |
| Robot Hummingbird Hovers Biomimetically |
| Capitalist Big Brother Co-Opts Regular Big Brother |
| Juggalo Face Paint Disrupts Facial Recognition |
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 Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
|
'A vast circle of scarlet stars came up into the greenish desert dusk.'
'He had constructed an organ, a brain, of metal, entirely inorganic and lifeless...'
'I shall never forget the sight... when the yellow gleam of the precious metal appeared under the star dust.'
Oh, and now I suppose someone will develop the robotic porch pirate.
'This thing will start at one end of ...a house and build it complete to the other end, following drawings only.'
'In contrast to the airless desolation outside, the interior of this five-acre greenhouse was the one most desirable place to be.'
'It was cheaper to pay the refugees to go without up-to-the-minute equipment.'
'Evidently they have never had a planet of their own...'
