meat puppet n.
the human body; a physical human being, esp. in contrast to virtual reality or artificial intelligence
[coined by William Gibson, suggested by a (written) reference to the rock band Meat Puppets]
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[1918
L. Frank Baum
bibliography
‘Were the Scarecrow and I alone,’ said the Tin Woodman, ‘we would travel by night as well as by day; but with a meat person in our party, we must halt at night to permit him to rest.’]
Tin Woodman of Oz iii. 43 -
1984
William Gibson
bibliography
Where’s the meat puppet?
Neuromancer 147 -
1991
All those amazing chemical reactions going on inside your body right now to protect you aren’t going to mean a thing when this lumbering, gas-guzzling pile of metal plows into a Kansas cornfield at 600 mph with you strapped inside like the meat puppet you are.
Cyberpunk 101 in L. McCaffery Storming the Reality Studio (1992) 25 -
2003
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Charles Stross
bibliography
Our friend here’s got a problem, no suitable downloadable body. We meat puppets are all too closely tied to our neuronal ultrastructure.
Curator in Asimov’s Science Fiction Dec. 116 -
2005
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Cory Doctorow
bibliography
We like to view ourselves as ambulatory brains, plugged into meat-puppets that lug our precious grey matter from place to place.
When the Singularity is No Longer a Literary Device in Asimov’s Science Fiction June 12/2 -
2008
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Michael Swanwick
bibliography
You must remain a meat puppet for the duration of this mission.
From Babel’s Fall’n Glory We Fled in Asimov’s Science Fiction Feb. 14
Research requirements
antedating 1984
Research History
Bill Mullins submitted a 1918 (bracketed) example for "meat person", from one of L. Frank Baum's "Oz" books.
Last modified 2021-05-15 20:46:52
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entries, HDSF has drawn extensively on corresponding entries
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