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"Science fiction is what scientists would do if they could - if they had enough grant money, enough time, and enough brains to do the wonderful things they would like to do."
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This is probably the first instance of the word; the concept is implicit in other, earlier stories.
This idea had been used before; in H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds (1898), the Martians seem to be making parts of the Earth over for their own use.
The idea of terraforming is used explicitly in Olaf Stapledon's Last and First Men, a 1930 novel, which describes human beings terraforming Venus. See planets made habitable from Last and First Men (1930) by Stapledon.
Another notable instance occurs in reverse in David Gerold's War Against the Chtorr series (1983); aliens are said to be "chtorriforming" the Earth.
Most sf fans will recall the Genesis device from Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (1982) which can quickly and easily terraform planets devoid of life. It can also be used to do a "make over" of inhabited planets, the existing life being folded into the Genesis matrix. Dr. McCoy was particularly offended by this kind of use, saying "According to myth, the Earth was created in 6 days. Now, watch out! Here comes Genesis. We'll do it for you in 6 minutes!"
Compare to planetary engineering from The Cometeers (1936) also by Williamson. Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This | Additional
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Science Fiction
Timeline
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'The field-minder finished turning the top-soil of a two-thousand-acre field.'
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'You had to live -- did live, from habit that became instinct -- in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard...'
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''OVERRIDE,' the City Fathers said suddenly, without being asked anything at all.'
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'... they could plug in your wire whenever they wanted to.'
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'... the expressionless face before me was therefore that of the golem-wrestler, Rolem, a creature that could be set for five times the strength of a human being.'
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'Waldo put his arms into the primary pair before him; all three pairs, including the secondary pair mounted before the machine, came to life.'
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'... the glittering little rocket bolted to the black iron behind him.'
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