Latest By
Category:
Armor
Artificial
Intelligence
Biology
Clothing
Communication
Computers
Culture
Data Storage
Displays
Engineering
Entertainment
Food
Input Devices
Lifestyle
Living Space
Manufacturing
Material
Media
Medical
Miscellaneous
Robotics
Security
Space Tech
Spacecraft
Surveillance
Transportation
Travel
Vehicle
Virtual
Person
Warfare
Weapon
Work
"Modern science fiction is the only form of literature that consistently considers the nature of the changes that face us, the possible consequences, and the possible solutions."
- Isaac Asimov
 |
| Control Screen | ||
| An alien display device. |
Earthman Jan Rodricks had stowed away on one of the Overlord's space ships, hoping to see their world. Sent back to Earth, he watched as the aliens piloted the great spacecraft.
| He stood behind the three pilots (why, he wondered, did they need so many?) watching the patterns come and go on the great screen that dominated the control room. The colors and shapes it showed were meaningless to him: he assumed that they were conveying information which in a vessel designed for men would have been displayed on banks of meters. But sometimes the screen showed the surrounding star fields, and soon, he hoped, it would be showing Earth. |
| From Childhood's End,
by Arthur C. Clarke. Published by Not Known in 1953 Additional resources -
|
Later in the novel, Rodricks is dictating his description of an event to Karellen the Overlord:
"Is this how it talks to you, Karellen, in colors and shapes like these? I remember the control screens on your ship and the patterns that went across them, speaking to you in some visual language which your eyes could read..."
Comment/Join this discussion ( 1 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Childhood's End
More Ideas
and Technology by Arthur C. Clarke
Tech news articles related to Childhood's End
Tech news articles related to works by Arthur C. Clarke
Control Screen-related
news articles:
- Multi-Touch Interaction Overlord Control Screen
| Unfurl The Future! Huawei Mate X versus Galaxy Fold |
| North Focals Smart Glasses Provide Augmented Reality In Style |
| Do You Still Want A Folding Screen Phone? |
| 'Princess Leia Project' Images That Float In The Air |
Want to Contribute an
Item?
It's easy:
Get the name of the item, a
quote, the book's name and the author's name, and Add
it here.
| <Previous | Next> |
|
|
|
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
|
'A paper thin polycarbon screen unfurled silently from the top of the unit and immediately grew rigid.'
'The Dwoskin Morality Rating-Computer could 'spot the slightest tendency to deviation' from the social norm...'
'At least there was no mandatory Whuffie check on the monorail platform...'
'He waved his hand and the circuit switched abruptly.'
'This obelisk is one huge deflector mechanism...'
'...a high-efficiency filter and heat-exchange system.'
'How can you compete with an IBM heavy-duty logomatic analogue?'
