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"Cyberspace is a metaphor that allows us to grasp this place where since about the time of the second world war we've increasingly done so many of the things that we think of as civilization."
- William Gibson
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| Flashlight Laser | ||
| Small cylindrical device that generates a green beam of variable intensity and focal length; can illuminate or cut. |
At this point in the novel, Louis Wu and his companions are exploring the Ringworld.
| Louis aimed the implement high.
The figurine which was his target jutted from the tower's roof. It was like a modernized, surrealistic gargoyle. Louis' thumb moved, and the gargoyle glowed yellow-white. His index finger shifted, and the beam narrowed to a pencil of green light. The gargoyle sprouted a white-hot navel. |
| Technovelgy from Ringworld,
by Larry Niven. Published by Ballantine in 1970 Additional resources -
|
The flashlight-laser is like the ultimate Maglite flashlight. From simple illumination to cutting tool, the flashlight-laser does it all. Now where is that power setting on my Maglite...
This item is very reminiscent of the pencil heat ray from a 1931 novel by Ray Cummings. See also the cutteray an industrial strength laser-based cutting tool from Dune, by Frank Herbert.
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- Almost Niven's Flashlight Laser
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'You couldn't have the capstone without the pyramid to hold it up.'
'the unobtrusive inspections with tiny remote-cast snoopers...'
I'm hoping that this procedure becomes a normal part of medical practice!
'... nothing was perfected until M. Pantalon announced the completion of his automatic valet.'
'...its streets were of remarkable width, with few or no buildings so high as mosques, churches, State-offices, or palaces in Tellurian cities.'
'...it was all composed of tiny, identical cubes, carefully laid to form a tilelike surface.'
