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Lazarus Long
Lazarus Long is a fictional character featured in a number of science fiction novels by Robert A. Heinlein. Born in 1912 in the third generation of a selective breeding experiment run by the Ira Howard Foundation, Lazarus (birth name Woodrow Wilson Smith) becomes unusually long-lived, living well over two thousand years with the aid of occasional rejuvenation treatments. Heinlein "patterned" Long on science fiction writer Edward E. Smith, mixed with Jack Williamson's fictional Giles Habibula. His exact (natural) life span is never revealed. In his introduction at the beginning of ''Methuselah's Children'', he claims he is 213 years old. Approximately 75 years pass during the course of the novel, but because large amounts of this time are spent traveling close to the speed of light, the 75-year measurement is an expression of the time elapsed on Earth, rather than time seen from his perspective. At one point, he estimates his natural life span to be around 250 years, but this nu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Howard Families
The Howard Families are a fictional group of people created by the author Robert A. Heinlein. According to Heinlein, the Howard Foundation was started in the 19th century by Ira Howard, a millionaire dying of old age in his forties, for the purpose of extending human lifespan. Howard himself did not live to see the outcome; he simply endowed the experiment with his own fortune, and the trustees of the Howard Foundation used the limited scientific knowledge of the time to create a selective breeding human program to encourage, financially, people of long-lived ancestry to have children together. The Howard Foundation is greatly enriched during the Great Depression by knowledge gained through time travel so that they get out of the stock market before the crash and invest in gold rather than cash and are able to reinvest in stocks that rebound after the crash.''To Sail Beyond the Sunset'' The novel ''Methuselah's Children'' is focused on the Howard Families and their quest for accep ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World As Myth
''Future History'' is a series of stories created by Robert A. Heinlein. It describes a projected future of the human race from the middle of the 20th century through the early 23rd century. The term ''Future History'' was coined by John W. Campbell Jr. in the February 1941 issue of ''Astounding Science Fiction''. Campbell published an early draft of Heinlein's chart of the series in the May 1941 issue. Heinlein wrote most of the ''Future History'' stories early in his career, between 1939 and 1941 and between 1945 and 1950. Most of the ''Future History'' stories written prior to 1967 are collected in ''The Past Through Tomorrow'', which also contains the final version of the chart. That collection does not include ''Universe'' and ''Common Sense''; they were published separately as ''Orphans of the Sky''. Groff Conklin called ''Future History'' "the greatest of all histories of tomorrow". It was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best All-Time Series in 1966, along with the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Solar System
The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar System" and "solar system" structures in theinaming guidelines document. The name is commonly rendered in lower case ('solar system'), as, for example, in the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' an''Merriam-Webster's 11th Collegiate Dictionary''. is the gravity, gravitationally bound system of the Sun and the objects that orbit it. It Formation and evolution of the Solar System, formed 4.6 billion years ago from the gravitational collapse of a giant interstellar molecular cloud. The solar mass, vast majority (99.86%) of the system's mass is in the Sun, with most of the Jupiter mass, remaining mass contained in the planet Jupiter. The four inner Solar System, inner system planets—Mercury (planet), Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars—are terrest ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andrew Jackson Libby
Andrew Jackson " Slipstick" Libby is a fictional character featured in the "Future History" series of science fiction novels by Robert A. Heinlein Robert Anson Heinlein (; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accu .... He is an enormously talented and intuitive mathematician, but received little formal education. His talent was first appreciated in the short story " Misfit", where he helps guide an asteroid into the correct orbit after the guidance computer has failed. p. 25. In later stories, his consciousness is transferred into a clone body, called Elizabeth Andrew Jackson Libby, (it was discovered that Libby was a hermaphrodite and he was given the choice to be male or female when he woke up). References Characters in written science fiction Fictional mathematicians Fictional transgender ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Civil Liberty
Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties may include the freedom of conscience, freedom of press, freedom of religion, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, the right to security and liberty, freedom of speech, the right to privacy, the right to equal treatment under the law and due process, the right to a fair trial, and the right to life. Other civil liberties include the right to own property, the right to defend oneself, and the right to bodily integrity. Within the distinctions between civil liberties and other types of liberty, distinctions exist between positive liberty/positive rights and negative liberty/negative rights. Overview Many contemporary nations have a constitution, a bill of rights, or similar constitutional documents that enumerate and seek to guarante ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Notebooks Of Lazarus Long
''The Notebooks of Lazarus Long'' is a 1978 collection of aphorisms by Robert A. Heinlein, Robert Heinlein's main character, "Lazarus Long", excerpted from his 1973 novel ''Time Enough for Love''. The aphorisms were originally published as two "intermission" sections in the novel. In the context of the novel, the quotes were selected from Long's much longer memoirs (which make up a significant portion of the novel). Some of the quotes are humorous or ironic, some philosophical, and some merely quirky. They range in length from one sentence to multiple paragraphs. For example: Always store beer in a cold, dark place. Cheops law, Cheops' Law: Nothing ''ever'' gets built on schedule or within budget. Anyone who cannot cope with mathematics is not fully human. At best he is a tolerable subhuman who has learned to wear shoes, bathe, and not make messes in the house. Rub her feet. If the universe has any purpose more important than topping a woman you love and making a baby with he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1987 In Literature
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1987. Events *January 2 – Golliwogs in Enid Blyton children's books are replaced by the British publisher with gnomes after complaints of a racial offence implication. *April – K. W. Jeter coins the term "Steampunk" in a letter published in '' Locus: the magazine of the science fiction & fantasy field''. *June – Virago Press of London publishes ''Down the Road, Worlds Away'', a collection of short stories ostensibly by Rahila Khan, a young Muslim woman living in England. Three weeks later, Toby Forward, an Anglican clergyman, admits to writing them and the publisher withdraws the book. "He, unlike the editors at Virago, had grown up in precisely the kind of area and social conditions that the book described.... Although the book never claimed to be other than a work of fiction, the publishers destroyed the stock still in the warehouse and recalled all unsold copies from the bookshops, thus turni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
To Sail Beyond The Sunset
''To Sail Beyond the Sunset'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, published in 1987. It was the last novel published before his death in 1988. The title is taken from the poem "Ulysses", by Alfred Tennyson. The stanza of which it is a part, quoted by a character in the novel, is as follows: ... my purpose holds To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths Of all the western stars, until I die. It is the final part of the "Lazarus Long" cycle of stories, involving time travel, parallel dimensions, free love, voluntary incest, and a concept that Heinlein named pantheistic solipsism, or 'World as Myth': the theory that universes are created by the act of imagining them, so that somewhere (for example) the Land of Oz is real. Other books in the cycle include ''Methuselah's Children'', ''Time Enough for Love'', '' The Number of the Beast'', and ''The Cat Who Walks Through Walls''. Plot The book is a memoir of Maureen Johnson Smith Long, mother, lover, an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1985 In Literature
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1985. Events * February 25 – Sue Limb's parodic pastiche of the Lake Poets, ''The Wordsmiths at Gorsemere'', begins broadcasting on BBC Radio 4 in the U.K. *March 1 – The GNU Manifesto by Richard Stallman is published for the first time, and becomes a fundamental philosophical source within the free software movement. * August 11 – A memorial to the poet Hugh MacDiarmid is unveiled near his home at Langholm, Scotland. *''unknown dates'' – Three notable novels in English by female authors are published during the year: Margaret Atwood's ''The Handmaid's Tale'', Jilly Cooper's '' Riders'', the first of the Rutshire Chronicles, and Jeanette Winterson's ''Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit''. New books Fiction * Isaac Asimov – ''Robots and Empire'' * Margaret Atwood – ''The Handmaid's Tale'' *Jean M. Auel – ''The Mammoth Hunters'' *Iain Banks – ''Walking on Glass'' *Clive Barker – '' The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Cat Who Walks Through Walls
''The Cat Who Walks Through Walls'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, published in 1985. Like many of his later novels, it features Lazarus Long and Jubal Harshaw as supporting characters. Plot summary A writer seated at the best restaurant of the space habitat "Golden Rule" is approached by a man who urges him that "Tolliver must die" and is himself shot before the writer's eyes. The writer—Colonel Colin Campbell, living under a number of aliases including his pen name "Richard Ames"—is joined by a beautiful and sophisticated lady, Gwendolyn Novak, who helps him flee to Luna with a bonsai maple and a would-be murderer ("Bill"). After escaping to the Moon, Gwen claims to have been present during the revolt described in ''The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress''. Still pursued by assassins, Campbell and Novak are rescued by an organization known as the Time Corps under the leadership of Lazarus Long. After giving Campbell a new foot to replace one lost i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1980 In Literature
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1980. Events *March 6 – Marguerite Yourcenar becomes the first woman elected to the Académie française. * June 5 **The Royal Shakespeare Company opens a production at the Aldwych Theatre, London, of ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby'', adapted from Charles Dickens's novel by David Edgar. **Willy Russell's comedy ''Educating Rita'' opens in a Royal Shakespeare Company production with Julie Walters in the title rôle, at The Warehouse in London. *August 25 – Pramoedya Ananta Toer's '' This Earth of Mankind (Bumi Manusia)'', the first of a tetralogy of historical novels, the Buru Quartet, is published in Indonesia after Toer's release from ten years' political imprisonment. It is banned in the country the following year. *September – A production of Shakespeare's '' Macbeth'' with Peter O'Toole in the lead opens at the Old Vic Theatre, London. It is often seen one of the disast ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Number Of The Beast (novel)
''The Number of the Beast'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, published in 1980. Excerpts from the novel were serialized in the magazine '' Omni'' (1979 October, November). Plot The book is a series of diary entries primarily by each of the four main characters: Zebadiah "Zeb" John Carter, programmer Dejah Thoris "Deety" Burroughs Carter, her mathematics professor father Jacob Burroughs, and off-campus socialite Hilda Corners. The names "Dejah Thoris", "Burroughs", and "Carter" are overt references to John Carter and Dejah Thoris, the protagonists of the Barsoom novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs. In the opening, Deety is dancing with Zeb at a party at Hilda's mansion. Deety is trying to get Zeb to meet her father to discuss what she thinks is an article Zeb wrote about n-dimensional space, even going so far as to offer herself. Zeb figures out and explains to Deety that he is not the one who wrote the article but a relative with a similar name. Aft ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
