science fictionary

[Ranjit Bhatnagar]

Elliott wrote:
> > So far I've collected ipsissifex, nuse (from the same story), twonky,
> > ansible, and interrositer (not sure how to spell that one).
>
> 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.

> SPOILER SPACE ...
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> A device that builds very good copies of itself??
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> em


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."