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"I'm a fairly visual thinker. In doing science, I think in terms of pictures of things happening, and then do the mathematics."
- Gregory Benford
 |
| Platform Flyer | ||
| A small craft suitable for journeys close to the ground. |
| "Gersen dressed himself in an airsuit, left the ship. Opening the forward hatch, he winched down the little platform flyer,... set out...skimming low to the ground,the thin atmosphere keening over the windshield." |
| Technovelgy from The Star King,
by Jack Vance. Published by Berkeley in 1964 Additional resources -
|
Compare to the flitter from 'Doc Smith's 1941 story Vortex Blaster, which is one of the earliest implementations of this idea.
Thanks to an anonymous reader for contributing this item in comments.
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More Ideas
and Technology from The Star King
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Tech news articles related to The Star King
Tech news articles related to works by Jack Vance
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| Caterpillar Electric Mining Loader Not Yet Ready For Moon |
| Engineer Creates Crazy Motorized Track Hospital Bed |
| Xiaomi Self-Driving Self-Balancing Scooter |
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'Their only check on the growth and development of Vulcan 3 lay in two clues: the amount of rock thrown up to the surface... and the amount of the raw materials and tools and parts which the computer requested.'
'I guess there's nobody round this table who doesn't have a Crosswell [tapeworm] working for him in the small intestine.'
'Figments of his mind in one sense, of course, for he had shaped them...'
'So the parent drone carries a spotter that it launches...'
'...nurse drones that would cruise around dumping large amounts of power into randomly selected pods.'
'It's done with a flip of the third joint of the tentacle on the down beat.'
'...for months Grantline bores had dug into the cliff.'
'I hope all those other cars are on automatic,' he said anxiously.
'It’s smart enough to go wrong in very complicated ways, but not smart enough to help us find out what’s wrong.'
