Re: TANSTAAFL

Nyrath the nearly wise wrote:

>	  Actually, I believe the basis for those mass drivers
>	  can be found in the much older novel
>	  THE MOON IS A HARSH MISTRESS by Robert Heinlein.
> 
>	  That novel also had a computer making a CGI simulation
>	  of a person, suitable for a videophone.

Also voice synthesis and speech recognition. And an astounding AI that
"just growed" similar to a neural network. Also a description of the
permanent degenerative effects of mini (as opposed to micro-)gravity.
Also a UN that's less than completely benign, with a powerful 3rd World
voting block long before the term existed. Also "There Ain't No Such
Thing As A Free Lunch." (TANSTAAFL)

An interesting piece of trivia is that the description	of "Adam Selene"
alias Mike's CGI character is a dead ringer for Max Headroom.... this is
a book that really deserves to have someone of the calibre of Stanley
Kubrick or JMS make a movie out of it. Finding an outstandingly
talented, Black, One-armed actor who can speak fluent Russian, Cantonese
and Australian English to play a lead role won't be easy though. And the
minigravity SFX would be a right pain, even Kubrick didn't attempt it in
the lunar scenes of 2001.  

Dammit, I'll have to discard one of my stable of passwords - MYCROFTXXX
-  since you've mentioned the book on the net.

My Dad, a Computer Engineer since the late 40s, just before he died,
requested that I get a copy of the book for him to read one last time.
But his heart gave out completely before I could get him one.

Bugger.

(sorry about the profanity, I reserve it for special occasions. But this
is one of them.)
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