![]() |
Science Fiction
Dictionary Latest By
"I prefer working by artificial light."
|
![]() |
![]()
Frank Herbert uses the idea of these artificial eyes to great effect in various stories, including Dune Messiah. The devices themselves are metallic, almost insectile in appearance. There is always the sense of distrust for technology that is often seen in Herbert's work.
The Tleilaxu themselves are never seen in the original book; it is not stated whether the eye surgery is done on the host planet.
At present, there are no artificial or replacement eyes. However, scientists at the Space Vacuum Epitaxy Centre
(SVEC) (University of
Houston, Texas), have developed, tiny ceramic photocells that could
detect incoming light and so
‘repair’ malfunctioning human eyes.
At the back of each of your eyes are about 120 million rods and around
six million cones. They convert light into electrical
impulses which travel along
the optic nerve to your brain. If these cells are damaged, the result is a loss of eyesight.
The first generation of artificial
retinas constructed at SVEC
consist of 100,000 tiny ceramic
microdetectors, each one
twentieth the size of a human hair. The arrays are
attached to a polymer film one
millimetre by one millimetre in size, large enough to be placed by the surgeon.
The film is designed to dissolve
after a couple weeks, leaving the
array in position on the retina.
Find out more at bionic eye surgery.
Elsewhere in the novel, the Tleilaxu are described as producing not artifacts, but tools and services. Even war and poverty could be manufactured, and could be considered as either a destructive tool (poverty could wreck a rival's power) or a useful tool (war can focus the attention of a population, and can be used to cull unwanted population). The Tleilaxu are an interesting vision of what a corporation might look like in 10,000 years. Comment/Join this discussion ( 8 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This | Additional
resources: Tleilaxu Eyes (Metal Eyes)-related
news articles:
Want to Contribute an
Item?
It's easy:
|
![]() |
Science Fiction
Timeline
Chaffeur Robot Musashi Will Drive Your Regular Car
'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?'
Space Exporers! Now, You Can Drink Your Own Urine
'those suits they wear -- call them 'stillsuits' -- that reclaim the body's own water...'
SpaceX EVA Spacesuit Tested By Polaris Dawn Crew
'Now, except for weight and heat, the same conditions prevail in this chamber as in space.'
Automatic Bot Traffic Is 38 Percent Of HTTP Requests
'there were so many worms and counterworms loose in the data-net...'
Shanghai Guidelines For Humanoid Robots
'Now, look, let's start with the three fundamental Rules of Robotics...'
Virtual Rat Predicts Actual Rat Neural Activity
'..the synthetic intellects at the Place of Knowledge had far outstripped the minds of men.'
Rizon 4 Ironing Robot
'But after washing and drying clothes had to be smooth - free from fine lines and wrinkles ...'
|
![]() |
![]() |
Home | Glossary
| Science Fiction Timeline | Category | New | Contact
Us | FAQ | Advertise | ![]() Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction™ Copyright© Technovelgy LLC; all rights reserved. |
![]() |