Thursday, 31 January 2019

A Future City

Poul Anderson, Shield (New York, 1970), I, p. 5:

megalopolis; (scroll down)
haze-reddened setting sun;
a "Center" on the horizon;
glittering aircraft;
unitized sub-cities;
company towers;
warehouses;
factories;
tenements;
soaring, gleaming tubeways;
streets;
belts;
monorails;
lights;
cars;
trains.

The viewpoint character, Koskinen, looks through the "viewall" (scroll down) in his hundredth-story hotel room. Switched off, the viewall displays randomly flowing pastel colors. Koskinen can listen to Hawaiian turf or Parisian cabaret.

We gather that we are in a city in the future.

1 comment:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

One point to remember about SHIELD is that Anderson wrote it at a time when some SF writers were still hoping life would be found on Mars.

Aircars? Where are OUR aircars? I'm still pining for our promised flying cars! (Smiles)

But the recent introduction of self driving cars intrigues me. I recall SF stories where cars, flying or not, were programmed to go where the passengers wanted to be taken.

Sean