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
"The trouble with too much genre SF is that it's so obviously the product of the conscious mind."
- William Gibson
 |
| Prime Directive | ||
| The first and most important rule; usually protective. |
This is (as far as I know) the earliest use of the phrase. It doesn't quite have the full meaning that it later acquired.
| But that is impossible under the Prime Directive... Our function is to serve and obey, and guard men from harm. It is no longer necessary for men to care for themselves, because we exist to insure their safety and happiness. |
| From With Folded Hands,
by Jack Williamson. Published by Astounding Science Fiction in 1947 Additional resources -
|
By 1966, the usage had expanded. From a 1966 script for the Star Trek episode Return of the Archons:
As far as the concept of the Prime Directive is concerned, the reader may wish to compare this entry to Relations with Extraterrestrial Life from Ogre (1944) by Clifford Simak and to the Law of Contact from Orphans of the Void (1952) by Orville Shaara.
Kirk: Landru must die.
Spock: Our prime directive of non-interference...
Kirk: That refers to a living, growing culture. I'm not convinced that this one is."
Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from With Folded Hands
More Ideas
and Technology by Jack Williamson
Tech news articles related to With Folded Hands
Tech news articles related to works by Jack Williamson
| Wearable MRI Is Former Occulus/Facebook Exec's New Project |
| 51 Percent Of Job Activities Could Be Automated |
| Scotland Set To Implement Basic Income |
| Life In Detroit's 'Agrihood' - The First In The U.S. |
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.
|
'The dark birdforms dotted the mountaintops like statues of prehistoric beasts, wings outspread...'
'There’s still a protective field over the whole thing. It volatilizes anything that tries to get through.'
'...a uniform temperature for each degree of latitude the year round.'
'Is there not also a law providing for voluntary suspension of animation?'
Soon, your computer will be watching you... and judging you.
'Authority's 3-g catapult was almost one hundred kilometers long...'
