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"By the time I can take people out to where Hubble is looking, they won't be human anymore, by a long way."
- Larry Niven
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| Architectural Coral | ||
| A structure grown to a specific shape using small coral-like organisms. |
| It was a great sprawling bungalow, laid out in a rough cross, with the bulging walls typical of architectural coral. No attempt had been made to disguise its origin. Matt had never before seen a house which was not painted, but he had to admire the effect. The remnants of the shaping balloon, which gave all architectural coral buildings their telltale bulge, had been carefully scraped away. The exposed walls had been polished to a shining pink sheen. Even after sunset the house glowed softly...
Architectural coral was another gift of the ramrobots. A genetic manipulation of ordinary sea coral, it was the cheapest building material known. The only real cost was in the plastic balloon that guided the growth of the coral and enclosed the coral's special air-borne food. |
| From A Gift From Earth,
by Larry Niven. Published by Del Rey in 1968 Additional resources -
|
Compare to the house trees from The Houses of Iszm (1954) by Jack Vance.
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and Technology from A Gift From Earth
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and Technology by Larry Niven
Tech news articles related to A Gift From Earth
Tech news articles related to works by Larry Niven
Architectural Coral-related
news articles:
- Concrete Canvas - Inflatable Concrete Buildings
- Mycotectural Buildings Made Of Fungus
- Binishells Graceful Housing
- City Made Of Bone
- Engineered Living Building Materials
- Your Martian Dream Home, Made By Fungi
| The Dune Ornithopter, Movie And Book |
| Two Towns Linked By Sculpture Portal In Real Time |
| Plasma Window Technology, Pressure Cushions and Deflector Doors |
| Giant Telescope Lenses Made In Space |
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'The wings were at full spread-rest, their delicate metal interleavings extended.'
'A record that wouldn't get lost and couldn't be destroyed.'
'LET ME TELL YOU HOW MUCH I'VE COME TO HATE YOU SINCE I BEGAN TO LIVE.'
'What he got was indeed a kiss. It was disconcerting. No kissing lips were visible.'
'I shall introduce myself. I am R. Daneel Olivaw... I am a robot. Were you not told?'
