BLIT (short story)
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"BLIT" | |
Author | David Langford |
---|---|
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Genre(s) | Science fiction |
Published in | Interzone |
Publication type | magazine |
Publication date | 1988 |
BLIT (which stands for Berryman Logical Image Technique) is a short science-fiction story written by author David Langford. It features a setting where highly dangerous types of images called "basilisks" have been discovered; these images contain patterns within them that exploit flaws in the structure of the human mind to produce a lethal reaction, effectively "crashing" the mind like a badly-programmed computer.
[edit] Coincidences in Literature
- As an interesting coincidence, a very similar theme appears in a short story White Cane 7.25 (1985) by Czech writer Ondřej Neff; in this case, a buffer overflow-like flaw in human brain is used by alien attackers to overwrite the DNA of any human who sees an image sent by a hijacked interstellar probe, thus transforming the victim into a member of the aliens' species.
[edit] References
- BLIT, David Langford, Interzone, 1988.
- comp.basilisk FAQ, David Langford, "Futures," Nature, December 1999.