The Book Lightwalker Files

Last year we saw how the Astraeus crew hoped to travel to Titan, but were thwarted by Beverly Barlowe’s evil spy consortium. They kidnapped the crew and placed them in pod beds, giving them a virtual Eureka. There they would invent things which the Consortium could promptly steal for their own purposes. But with Allison Blake in the mix, things started to go wrong. Holly Marten watched a wound on her forearm return before her eyes, so she dutifully reported to Sheriff Jack Carter...

Part 3 of 6 on The Wizard of Oz.

Androids were not very common in the generation that produced and first enjoyed The Wizard of Oz. You could scarcely find a sci-fi story of the era that included them. More books than movies about androids had come out since the late 19th century, while filmed mechanical characters were more like Robbie the Robot in The Forbidden Planet.

So it was quite a departure for MGM Studios to invent the Tin Ma...

SIDE NOTE: Friday marks my second anniversary of writing Lightwalker’s View. As of this post, I have 1,291 hits recorded on the site; I suspect I would have gained more had I not lost two weeks. Also, a total of 27 site members have signed on—a bit more than double from last year. At least I’m not losing ground. Now for today’s blog.

Has it really been half a century? In the 1960s, if you used the word “compu...

Part 8 of 8 in a series on androids and robots.

This series would not be complete without visiting the most famous robot of all. When John Robinson and his “space family Robinson”—as it was billed—took off in the Jupiter II, their mechanical companion was a standard environmental control robot. He could dispassionately follow orders, speak in monotone, and test the air, soil, and any edible plants they might find.

His appear...

Part 7 of 8 in a series on androids and robots.

For this week’s blog entry, I have asked my good friend and fellow Christian author, Liberty Speidel, to be my guest. Last week I talked about the Borg on Star Trek: the Next Generation, so building on that theme today, Liberty will discuss Seven of Nine from Star Trek: Voyager.

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First, I’d like to thank Victor for the opportunit...

Part 6 of 8 in a series on androids and robots.

I believe the idea started way back in the original Star Trek episode “I, Mudd.” Harcourt Fenton Mudd had settled on a planet populated by lookalike androids, manufactured in several series. He named the world after himself and proceeded to have special ones made to his preference—particularly the Alice series. The only way to tell one android from another were the small numeric badges they wore, which...

Part 5 of 8 in a series on androids and robots.

Married geologists Ivan and Marlene Bekey work with Oscar Goldman’s team to test the San Adrian fault in hopes of predicting the next big earthquake. On the shore of a lake, they plant sensing devices, only to be invaded by a giant simian beast and kidnapped. Tom Raintree, an Indian who’s also on Goldman’s team, identifies the footprint it leaves behind.

“There’s only one t...

Part 4 of 8 in a series on androids and robots.

“Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to make the world’s first bionic man. Steve Austin will be that man. Better than he was before. Better … stronger … faster.”

All this after we watch Austin’s test plane crash in a plume of sand and dust, and while surgeons bend over an operating table. Also comes a surrealistic montage of a...

Part 3 of 8 in a series on androids and robots.

Lieutenant Commander Data is on trial, but not for anything he did wrong. A gung-ho senior officer, Commander Bruce Maddox, wants to transfer Data to Starbase 173, where he can dismantle the android, see how he ticks, and eventually make a whole army of Datas under Starfleet’s command. He consistently refers to Data as “it” and scarcely speaks to him during the initial briefing. Data is intrigued by the ...

Part 2 of 8 in a series on androids and robots.

“Delos is the vacation of the future, today. At Delos, you get your choice of the vacation you want. There's Medieval World, Roman World, and of course, Westworld. … Why don't you make arrangements to take our hovercraft to Medieval World, Roman World, and Westworld. Contact us today, or see your travel agent. Boy, have we got a vacation for you!”

So babbles the interviewer who opens t...