Science Fiction
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"The SF approach: an awareness that things could have been different, that this is one of many possible worlds, that if you came to this world from some other planet, this would be a science fiction world."
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This is such a great phrase; it only occurs once in the short story.
It appears that the first use of this term is in the syndicated TV show Science Fiction Theatre in an episode titled "Barrier of Silence" written by Lou Huston and first airing September 3, 1955.
This piece of technovelgy is also used to great effect in Dune, Herbert's greatest novel. In the following excerpt, the evil Baron Vladimir Harkonnen and the imperial assassin Count Fenring are having a private conversation at a reception for a gladiatorial contest:
The Count moved up beside the Baron, and they turned, facing the wall so their lips could not be read.
This is an idea that has found some practical applications. Many people use noise reduction equipment or noise suppression earphones or headsets while traveling on jets. I'm not aware of any devices of this kind that provide a space in which noise is suppressed. I don't think anything was available to consumers in 1965.
For those who remember 1960's television, the series Get Smart actually featured a device called a "cone of silence" that looked like a pair of linked bubbles; in keeping with the comedic style of the show, it never worked.
You might want to check out a similar idea - a "hush corner" - published by Robert Heinlein about two years earlier in Double Star, as well as the Fenton Silencer from an early Arthur C. Clarke story. Also, the isolation barrage from Wandl, The Invader (1939) by Ray Cummings.
Special thanks to Bob Bogle, who wrote in with the earlier Cease Fire reference. Comment/Join this discussion ( 6 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This | Additional
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Science Fiction
Timeline
Brin's 1990 Novel Earth Still Full Of Ideas
'... making the point that their likenesses, every move they made, were being transmitted.'
Gaia - Why Stop With Just The Earth?
'But the stars are only atoms in larger space, and in that larger space the star-atoms could combine to form living matter, thinking matter, couldn't they?'
Microsoft VASA-1 Creates Personal Video From A Photo
'...to build up a video picture would require, say, ten million decisions every second. Mike, you're so fast I can't even think about it. But you aren't that fast.'
Splendid View Of Eclipse From Orbit Visualized And Repurposed By Arthur C. Clarke
'The area affected was five hundred kilometres across, and perfectly circular.'
Goldene - A Two-Dimensional Sheet Of Gold One Atom Thick
'Hasan always pitched a Gauzy - a one-molecule-layer tent, opaque, feather-light, and very tough.'
SpaceX Wants A Moonbase Alpha
'And he had been sent with troops, supplies and bombs to command Russia's most trusted post, the Moonbase.'
Vast Apartment Living Will Get Even More Vast
'What is your population', I asked. 'About eighty millions.'
NASA Wants Self-Driving Or Remote-Controlled Vehicles For Lunar Astronauts
'THE autobus turned silently down the wide street of Hydropole. Robot-guided, insulated from noise and cold...'
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