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"Science fiction writers foresee the inevitable, and although problems and catastrophes may be inevitable, solutions are not."
- Isaac Asimov
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| 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.
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'A worker replaced by a nubot... had to be compensated.'
'... forcing the energy transfer which allowed him to regrow his lost fingers.'
'The car surged and lifted, clearing its top by a negligible margin.'
Science fiction authors are serious about sleep, too.
'I had explained," said Nessus, "that our civilisation was dying in its own waste heat.'
'Just what did I want Flexible Frank to do? - any work a human being does around a house.'
SF writers have thought about this since the 19th century.
