Well, at least in that case, he was a better predictor of the future than in other parts of the story. You can at least still buy a RSM in 2014. In “Death By Ecstasy” he describes the Los Angeles apartment lobby as “modern…chairs without arms, big ashtrays…”. I’m not faulting Niven, I just thought it was funny that something as simple as that would be the ‘prediction’ that was so wrong.
(Yes LA could have repealed anti-smoking laws in 100 years. But, I think in Gil’s world they’d give you the death penalty for smoking. The organ banks always need good lungs-can’t go ruining them.)
Details. I remember seeing the Aliens movie in theatres. (the second movie) In the early scenes, Weaver is smoking. The entire theatre groans about it. In a matter of the two ro 3 years it took to plan and make the movie, urban trendy had gone from “smoking OK” to “smoking not good”.
But yes, good point, smoking does not fit in the future world where simple traffic violations give the death penalty so you can be made an organ donor.
When smoking became so heavily penalized and socially unacceptable, I would make the comment that more people die from heart attacks than lung cancer, so when are we going to face the fat police? (I never smoked, but I don’t have a pathological hatred for it) Looks like the fat police are beginning to arrive.
I think it might be a case of ‘self blindness’. I bet Niven smokes, and just never occurred to him that that behavior can change over time just like sexual mores or fashion tastes.
And talk about blindness-I know both Gil and Bey Schaeffer smoke because of the impact they make on others with their smoking tricks (one with his imaginary hand, the other with his toes) but I think it never occurred to me that others must be smoking as well. I must think subconsciously those two are the only smokers in Known Space!
And IRL, I have been worrying about the Fat Police (they’re inside of my gut!) for years, even since our company health insurance started penalizing smokers. I was against it, because I knew soon they’d come for the motorcycle riders, then the cheeseburger eaters, then the skiers…etc. I may be paranoid, but am I paranoid enough?
Ok you guys I posted on this thread back in 2014, I really do have a legit USSR Sleep Machine that my late father’s first wife who died of bran cancer (maybe cause she actually used the machine) smuggled into the US back in the mid 60s. Idk if it works because I don’t have European plugs and I can’t read the pamphlet as it’s written in Russian, I can’t read Cyrillic at all. If y’all wanna see pics or ask about it or may want it just to mess with contact me at Zebxion@gmail.com
I’ll post pics, I know this was 4 years ago but my dad died couple years ago and we just sold his house and I found it again, forgot about it and forgot I posted on the Straight Dope, another thing my father told me about (he has all of Cecil’s books) so I just googled it again found this and saw someone actually inquired about it. Just email me at Zebxion@gmail.com and I’ll send u a video or pics whatever, it’s pretty cool and was the first series of these machines produced by the USSR, May be old, may be smuggled but hell, it’s an original straight from Moscow.
