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"The first thing that's wrong with being a science-fiction writer today is that the present has caught up with the future and surpassed it."
- Peter Watts
 |
| Virtual Punishment | ||
| It seems like decades in prison. |
Charlie Draper has been found guilty; and he accepts virtual punishment. He is forced to undergo a century of subjective prison life, in the prison of his own mind.
| "We went over the pluses and minuses before you opted for virtual punishment."
"So I serve a hundred years in one day -" "Less than a day. Overnight." ... She looked over at Draper, lying on the gurney next to hers. His black helmet was more complicated, a thick cable and lots of small wires... |
| From Complete Sentence,
by Joe Haldeman. Published by Technology Review in 2011 Additional resources -
|
Draper and his lawyer meet together in a virtual reality space similar to that shown in this virtual reality ceremony from Alexander Besher's 1994 novel Rim.
Compare also with moratorium from Philip K. Dick's 1969 novel Ubik and to personality death from Harry Harrison's 1959 short story Robot Justice.
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Tech news articles related to Complete Sentence
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Virtual Punishment-related
news articles:
- Biotech Prisons - Serve A Thousand Years In a Day
| Flimmer Navy Drone Flies And Swims |
| Indian Court Says Brain Scan Proves Murder |
| Background Draw-a-Secret (BDAS) Makes Graphical Passwords |
| ID-U Biometrics Eye Tracking Signature |
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'Employees... were implanted with advanced microprocessors...'
'... sweating, heat-blistered engineers at every interplanetary radiograph station on three planets.'
'The huge plow... seemed to shake itself - and began to move back southward.'
'... he went to the hall closet to get his pith helmet and his mandatory cooling-unit.'
'We still use people at the main gates, but here it's an automated sentry.'
