Subject: science fictionary

From: Ranjit Bhatnagar <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 15 May 2003 14:15:42 -0400 (EDT)

I recently spotted a wonderful made-up word in a short sci fi story from
1960, by Margaret St Clair: "ipsissifex."  Can any of you guess what an
ipsissifex does?

What are some other particularly good made-up names for made-up gadgets?
So far I've collected ipsissifex, nuse (from the same story), twonky,
ansible, and interrositer (not sure how to spell that one).

--r.

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From: Elliott Moreton <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 15 May 2003 14:22:37 -0400 (EDT)

> 1960, by Margaret St Clair: "ipsissifex."  Can any of you guess what an

SPOILER SPACE ...

A device that builds very good copies of itself??

> ansible, and interrositer (not sure how to spell that one).

Where are these from?  I only recognize ansible.

em

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From: Ranjit Bhatnagar <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 15 May 2003 14:38:29 -0400 (EDT)

> Where are these from?  I only recognize ansible.

The twonky is from a short story called The Twonky (Lewis Padgett, 1942).
Ursula LeGuin uses ansibles in various stories and novels.  But I have no
idea where the interrositer comes from.

Elliott came pretty close to guessing what an ipsissifex does.  So don't
peek if you want to remain mystified.

> A device that builds very good copies of itself??

It makes very good copies of anything.

There's a horrific exchange in the story, which I'm reproducing from
memory here.  The nuse man, a time travelling salesman, has been buried
alive with many other servitors in the tomb of a sumerian king.

"...so I used the ipsissifex to duplicate myself upwards through the
dirt."

"You mean there's still a copy of you back there in the tomb?"

"Six copies, actually.  But they weren't really alive-- you know how the
ipsissifex is."

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From: James Kushner <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 15 May 2003 16:52:53 -0400

Hello Fictionauts!

>ansible, and interrositer (not sure how to spell that one).

I'm more partial to made-up proper names for made-up gadgets, like the 
Rhennius machine (Zelazny, Doorways in the Sand) and the Hooveschnaub 
machine (novelty song from Rollo & Bolliver; spelling approximate).

--James

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From: Pierre Abbat <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 10:48:58 -0400

> ansible, and interrositer (not sure how to spell that one).

What about the megafferator (sp?)? This is a part of a car that mechanics talk 
about when bamboozling their customers. There's a high-speed megafferator and 
a low-speed megafferator.

phma
-- 
.i toljundi do .ibabo mi'afra tu'a do
.ibabo damba do .ibabo do jinga
.icu'u la ma'atman.