Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
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
"I am first of all not a science fiction writer … I write, I suppose, what the Latin Americans call magic realism."
- Harlan Ellison
 |
| Alien Life Form | ||
| Living organisms of non-Earth origin. |
This is likely the first use of this great phrase.
| As in the past, I have tried not to invent things that are too far removed from life as we know it on this Earth. The weird ‘whip’, for instance, has its Earthly counterpart not only in the ant-eater, but in the sphinx-moth,which sports a hoselike tongue a good deal longer than its own body. Cousins to the ‘Venusian buzzard’ can be found under any microscope in the biology lab. While the Murri, of course, finds its obvious image in the Proboscis Monkey‥. I do this because I feel that if a reader has some basis of comparison, when reading about alien life forms, he will be able to visualize the story more clearly and perhaps give himself an added measure of enjoyment and appreciation. |
| From The Hothouse Planet,
by Arthur K. Barnes. Published by Thrilling Wonder Stories in 1937 Additional resources -
|
Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from The Hothouse Planet
More Ideas
and Technology by Arthur K. Barnes
Tech news articles related to The Hothouse Planet
Tech news articles related to works by Arthur K. Barnes
| Baubotanik - Construction Botany - Builds Bridges |
| Mice Gestate In Mechanical Womb |
| Worlds With Underground Oceans More Conducive To Life |
| Monkey Gets A Bigger Brain, Thanks To Human Gene |
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 Science Fiction Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
|
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
'... the two pairs of waldoes in the screen followed in exact, simultaneous parallelism.'
'THE SPACE VESSEL was traveling swiftly… For over five thousand years they had Voyaged on and on.’
'They circled the vast audiences, dancing, twittering, chirping...'
'The sun-quilt was a patchwork of colors and materials on the inward side, but silvered on the outward side...'
'Jim, I saw them reduce four of my doctors and nurses into those little cubes!'
'Fats Jordan was hanging in the center of the Big Glass Balloon, hugging his guitar to his massive black belly above his purple shorts..'
'When confronted by hills, or rough terrain, it did not stop, but simply slowed until the task demanded equaled its steady power output.'
'... the brain is no longer subjected to the accustomed pull, and it expands slightly in all directions.'
