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"I do think there is a link in that in both cases, writing fiction or writing a computer program, at any given moment you're focusing on a very specific and particular thing—one word, one line of code, whatever."
- Neal Stephenson
 |
| Moon-Terror | ||
| A syndrome common to people who live in less than half Earth-normal gravity. |
| Moon-terror. (Also, space-slang, gillies!) A disease
common among people living
under less than half normal gravity.
Recurrent attacks, with intervals of
comparative comfort, cause extreme
distress. The syndrome includes
changes in blood- and brain-pressure,
and typical psychopathic symptoms.
Early attempts at treatment, by centrifuge, drugs, and surgery of the inner ear, uniformly failed. Recent success has been claimed, however, for
the psykinetic technique, developed by
Kung, Swedberg, and Haldane. See
PSYKINETICS. — Dictionary of
Planetary Medicine. University of
Mars, 218 C. S.
“The moon-terror is part of the price we have paid for the conquest of space.” With an effort at professional dignity, Haldane drew up his slightly stooped shoulders. “When we hurl ourselves out of the environment that has shaped our bodies and our minds for millions of years, painful adjustments are necessary. “The task of planetary medicine is to assist those adaptations to the conditions of other worlds. I have followed up the pioneer work of my dead teachers, Kung and Swedberg, in developing the psykinetic technique.” |
| Technovelgy from Star of Dreams,
by Jack Williamson. Published by Comet in 1941 Additional resources -
|
Williamson, in his inimitable way, goes into more detail:
“You see,” Haldane explained, “for
millions of years, during the evolution of our ancesters on Earth, they
were never free of the sensation of
weight except when they were falling.
Most falls had a painful ending.
“When one individual falls, and Is
injured, a conditioned reflex is established. But a million generations developed that simple fear-reflex, into a
racial complex. The old behaviorists
discovered, centuries ago, that falling
is one of the only two things that
can frighten a newborn baby.
Compare to space-sick from Ralph 124c 41 + (1911) by Hugo Gernsback.
In my view, the
moon-terror is simply a peculiar psychosis. Naturally, physical methods,
such as drugs and operations and centrifuges, have failed to relieve a disease that is mental...”
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Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Star of Dreams
More Ideas
and Technology by Jack Williamson
Tech news articles related to Star of Dreams
Tech news articles related to works by Jack Williamson
| Cognify - A Prison Of The Mind We've Seen Before In SF |
| Robot Preachers Found To Undermine Religious Commitment |
| Gaia - Why Stop With Just The Earth? |
| Splendid View Of Eclipse From Orbit Visualized And Repurposed By Arthur C. Clarke |
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'What would you do,' Eric asked the robot cabdriver, 'if your wife had turned to stone, your best friend were a toad, and you had lost your job?'
'those suits they wear -- call them 'stillsuits' -- that reclaim the body's own water...'
'Now, except for weight and heat, the same conditions prevail in this chamber as in space.'
'there were so many worms and counterworms loose in the data-net...'
'Now, look, let's start with the three fundamental Rules of Robotics...'
'..the synthetic intellects at the Place of Knowledge had far outstripped the minds of men.'
'But after washing and drying clothes had to be smooth - free from fine lines and wrinkles ...'
