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"This is a predictive tool I've used: There are goals we've sought for ten thousand years, and we'll go on seeking them. Instant transport and travel, immortality (or at least longevity and miracle cures.), instant learning …"
- Larry Niven
 |
| One-Man Car | ||
| A small transport vehicle. |
This is one of the essential ideas of the robotaxi era; the notion that, instead of needing to purchase one car that met all your needs, you would call the minimum vehicle for each occasion.
| Farr paid his fare, summoned a one-man car to the dock, jumped in, dialed his destination, and relaxed into the seat...
The hum of the car soothed him. His eyes grew heavy; he started to doze. The car vibrated, jerked, and shunted off the main tube toward the ocean... The door snapped open and an uniformed attendant assisted him to the deck. |
| From The Houses of Iszm,
by Jack Vance. Published by Better Publications in 1954 Additional resources -
|
Compare to the single seat scooter from The Star King (1964) by Jack Vance.
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Okay, sf fans. If you could have some art created from a science fiction sentence, what sentence would you pick?
'There were the cleaners, with large padded feet, who were apparently polishing their way the whole length...'
It's fascinating to me how the Apollo program forced people to think outside their usual boxes.
'Some will combine in place to form more complicated structures, like excavators or centipedes.'
'the hair-fine wire going deep into Owen's brain, down into the pleasure center.'
'There was a dim whirring, and the spheres tipped and began to rotate...'
'The houses are prefabricated units... and they sell at the flat rate of five hundred dollars a room — set up.'
