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"Bureaucracies hide their mistakes, because people's careers are tied to those mistakes. Therefore, bureaucracies are a perfect mechanism for perpetuating mistakes."
- Frank Herbert
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| Wearable White-Noise Generator | ||
| A device worn when the wearer preferred not to be the subject of audio recordings. |
Normal means paranoid, in Gibson's works; always assume that the other guy has better tech than you, but use what you've got just in case. Just hope your lawyer doesn't advise you to get one, as Laney had on his last day at work.
| It had been a weeknight, a Wednesday, when Laney had last seen Kathy... She'd stood there in the Cage, screaming as he cleared out his locker... He knew that she was screaming because her mouth was open, but the syllables of her rage couldn't penetrate the seamless hissing surf of the white-noise generator provided by his lawyers. He'd been advised to wear the generator at all times, during this last visit to the Slitscan offices. He'd been instructed to make no statement. Certainly he could hear none. |
| Technovelgy from Idoru,
by William Gibson. Published by Putnam in 1996 Additional resources -
|
As far as I know, this is the only mention in the book; certainly, it infuriates those who have choice words for him. Gibson is an expert at urban nomadics. He knows what today's city dweller needs. And can you get a personal white noise generator? Yes you can; see the AI-680 Active White Noise Generator at EnsurePrivacy. This device gives you the added bonus of protecting yourself from laser transmitters aimed at your windows. As they say at EnsurePrivacy:
Speaking with confidence and knowing your private conversations are private has never been easier when you are equipped with our White Noise Generator.
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'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?'
'those suits they wear -- call them 'stillsuits' -- that reclaim the body's own water...'
'Now, except for weight and heat, the same conditions prevail in this chamber as in space.'
'there were so many worms and counterworms loose in the data-net...'
'Now, look, let's start with the three fundamental Rules of Robotics...'
'..the synthetic intellects at the Place of Knowledge had far outstripped the minds of men.'
'But after washing and drying clothes had to be smooth - free from fine lines and wrinkles ...'
