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"But the problem with reincarnation is that it's hard to imagine what the storage medium for past lives would be. Not to mention the input-output device. I hesitate to rule it out completely, but I'd need pretty definite proof."
- Arthur C. Clarke
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| Atoplane | ||
| An airplane powered by nuclear energy, capable of tremendous speed and distance. |
| The atoplanes were capable of indefinite flight, and the swiftest of them could go two thousand miles an hour. Gargantuan atolincrs made daily roundtrips from both Europe and America. Ships had practically vanished from the seas, and railroads from the land. Atomobiles, Speeding along hard-surfaced roads that radiated everywhere, transported passengers and some of the lighter freight. Most of the passenger travel, however, was in small, privately owned atoplanes which had a speed of about five hundred miles an hour. Every city had its atofield, and many of the older houses and nearly all of the office and industrial buildings had been covered with flat-topped structures affording landing stages, while all of the new buildings were being constructed on this plan. Elevators, opening on the roofs, provided descent into the structures. Equipped with super-helicopters, the machines needed only their own displacement in which to land or rise. Atoheat supplied warmth in all buildings, while all but the smaller dwellings used atolight for illumination.
 The principal metamorphosis caused by the development of the atoplane had to do with the redistribution of population in nearly all countries. The population of the large cities had decreased in keeping with the growth of suburban life, while new communities had sprung up like mushrooms, especially on the sides of mountains, the residents flying to and from the cities which were still the centers of industry, education, science, art and amusement. |
| Technovelgy from The Moon of Doom,
by Earl L. Bell. Published by Amazing Stories Quarterly in 1928 Additional resources -
|
Because of the disaster enfolding both planets, it was possible to pilot atoplanes directly to the Moon!
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| GoSun EV Solar Charger Drapes Onto Your Car |
| 'Autonomous' Waymo Improves Driving With Remote Human Operators |
| Heinlein’s Controlway - Connected and Automated Vehicle (CAV) Corridor In Michigan |
| CyberCab - Tesla Renames The Robotaxi |
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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 ...'
