Re: Books (was Re: [Epic] Nukes in Epic universe)

From: Dan Lobb <danlobb_at_...>
Date: Tue, 28 Jan 1997 02:48:35 -0800

Michael the Liu wrote:
>
> >>Okay, then what about that three eyed navigator deal? You certainly can't
> >>claim that navigators having three eyes to see obstacles in the ship's path
> >>is a common idea! :P
>
> >You got me here. I good test of whether an idea is an archetypal/stock idea
> >is the amount of explanation required. I bet you knew what a lasgun was as
> >soon as you heard the name. Now, obviously someone came up with the idea
> >first, but to figure that out you need to do an extensive literature search
> >to determine where it first appeared. Have fun. Herbert was obviuosly NOT
> >the first one to think of using lasers as weapons.
>
> Yes, but where else have you ever heard the word "lasgun" before? I was a
> little confused the first time I played Epic and saw the word sitting there,
> and the guy who was teaching me was correcting my pronunciation. Except for
> Epic and Dune (which I read after I started playing Epic) I've never ever
> seen that word before.
>
> >Temp
>
> Michael who is of Liu ancestry
Your joking aren't you? The old SciFi pulp novels and even the stuff
from the sixties use that term frequently. It later replaced by
"blasters" which allowed hack writers to assume and advanced weapon
technology without requiring them to be creative enough to invent one.
Oops! I'm preaching again. Sorry about that.

danlobb_at_...
Received on Tue Jan 28 1997 - 10:48:35 UTC