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"...a market economy is essentially a genetic algorithm for solving resource allocation problems..."
- Charles Stross
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| Celestial Armamentarium | ||
| A small crystal planetarium, in which the stars and planets surrounding Aerlith are seen. |
The humans on Aerlith have little technology, having been stranded there and cut off from whatever remains of human civilization in the galaxy. Some artifacts remain, however; is it a crystal ball or a planetarium?
| "I examined this globe, and indeed it seemed to hold all of space; within it floated stars and planets, all the bodies of the cluster. "Look well," said Joaz Banbeck, "you will neer see the like of this anywhere. It was built by the olden men and brought to Aerlith when our people first arrived..." "It is a celestial armamentarium," said Joaz. "It depicts all the nearby stars, and their positions at any time I choose to specify." |
| Technovelgy from The Dragon Masters,
by Jack Vance. Published by Galaxy in 1962 Additional resources -
|
Using this device, Joaz Banbeck (the novel's protagonist) is able to predict that the Basics, a race of aliens with superior technology, might soon be paying them a visit.
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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.'
