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"Science fiction represents the modern heresy and the cutting edge of speculative imagination as it grapples with Mysterious Time---linear or non-linear time."
- Frank Herbert
 |
| Construct | ||
| An artificial being, a pastiche of living and robotic pieces. |
As far as I know, this is the first use of this expression in science fiction.
| There was a sharp click! a whirring and clattering, a stir of
massive forms all across the gloomy chamber. Magnan yipped and leaped back as a construct the size of
a fork-lift stirred into motion,
turned, creaking, and surveyed
him with a pair of what were indisputably glowing amber eyes.
"We're surrounded," Magna chirped faintly. "And they told us the planet was uninhabited'!" "It is," Retief said, as more giant shapes moved forward, accompanied by the squeak of unlubricated metal.
 (Construct from 'Retief, the Long-Awaited Master' by Keith Laumer) "Then what are these?" Magnan came back sharply. "Oversized spooks?" "Close, but not kewpie doll," Retief said. "This. is the city garage, and these are maintenance robots." "R-r-robots?" "Our coming in must have triggered them to come to alert status." They moved along the row of giant machines, each equipped with a variety of limbs, organs, and sensors. |
| Technovelgy from Retief, the Long-Awaited Master,
by Keith Laumer. Published by Worlds of IF in 1969 Additional resources -
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'Their only check on the growth and development of Vulcan 3 lay in two clues: the amount of rock thrown up to the surface... and the amount of the raw materials and tools and parts which the computer requested.'
'I guess there's nobody round this table who doesn't have a Crosswell [tapeworm] working for him in the small intestine.'
'Figments of his mind in one sense, of course, for he had shaped them...'
'So the parent drone carries a spotter that it launches...'
'...nurse drones that would cruise around dumping large amounts of power into randomly selected pods.'
'It's done with a flip of the third joint of the tentacle on the down beat.'
'...for months Grantline bores had dug into the cliff.'
'I hope all those other cars are on automatic,' he said anxiously.
'It’s smart enough to go wrong in very complicated ways, but not smart enough to help us find out what’s wrong.'
