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"The way you write science fiction is: you sit down at your writing machine and you open your mind to the first thought that comes through."
- Frederik Pohl
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| Artificial Skin | ||
| Tight-fitting material that keeps the heat of the body from escaping into space. |
As far as I know, this is the first reference to the phrase "artificial skin".
| If the artificial skin was impenetrable to cold, any more clothing was superfluous. Still they picked out the stout leather clothes which Waldemar Apel had made for this purpose and packed in the rocket, not for warmth but to protect the artificial skin from any injuries and holes. On their feet they wore heavy boots shod with thick lead plates. That too was necessary, in order to bring their centres of gravity down to their feet. Lastly they fastened on their heads the large diving helmets which Apel had made. These also were completely lined with the substance impermeable to heat. It was done in such a way that this material, which they called the artificial skin, fitted around the neck very snugly to the natural skin...
Now indeed each of them carried with him a little ivory tablet and a pencil for writing on it. Again they became rash, leaving the clumsy leather gloves in the cabin and contenting themselves with the artificial skin, which to be sure was double thickness on the hands. When they needed to exchange their impressions, they used writing instead of speech, which was unknown on the moon. |
| Technovelgy from Between Earth and Moon,
by Otfrid von Hanstein. Published by Wonder Stories Quarterly in 1930 Additional resources -
|
Compare to plastiskin from Unforeseen (1949) by Roger P. Graham and art-derm from Dr. Futurity (1960) by Philip K. Dick.
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'Space-sickness is one of the most unpleasant sensations that a human being can experience. Not all are subject to it...'
'...I saw a nice black heavy-looking cloud sailing by just now, and I can get the electrical machine out in five minutes to draw it down.'
'From a distance it could resolve the cosmic rays reflected from various substances.'
'The answer to the dumb student's prayer.'
'He had travelled the space-lanes of the solar system for the greater part of his life...'
'The dinner was excellent. It was completely vegetarian — grown in specially prepared gardens in this Moon base...'
'Telepaths had their sensitiveness enlarged to an immense range by the pin-sets, which were telepathic amplifiers adapted to the mammal mind.'
'It was a relief to enter one of the comfortable autos, whisper a direction down the tube, and just know that you would be taken to your destination in the quickest, safest, and cheapest manner.'
'But he didn't get very far with it before another noise in his ear radio scattered his thoughts. George winced...'
