T - A sound which so frequently slips in between n and c that Esperanto made c mean the ts sound it has in certain out of the way languages.
Taurasi-Thompson Publications - Reorganized remnant of United Publications, soon replaced by Cosmic.
Technocracy - A plan for running North America as an engineering project. It had origin in Thorstein Veblen's distinction between the captains of industry and the engineers who actually made the machinery run. After the World War, a group of scientists are claimed to have made a survey of the continent's production resources and concluded that every adult in the country could have goods equivalent to $20,000 worth per year for his whole life by working 4 hours a day, 165 days a year, from the age of 25 to 45. In addition to this, many goods and services would be free, including basic food.
The present Price System (they eschew stereotyped words like: "Capitalism") is bound to collapse in 1942, because new inventions, despite all repressive tactics by the big men, are making human beings yearly more and more productive. When the Price System collapses, the engineers and Technocrats (Technocracy, Inc. has study groups, elaborately numbered, in all large cities, especially strong in Canada and California) will take over and set up the Technate, according to the blueprints which have already been drawn up. It will be governed by a self-perpetuating oligarchy of scientists (much better than messy politics and incompetent voters). All men will have the same income, social approval or disapproval supplying the stimulus to activity which money now supplies; they will work at what they are best suited for, and exchange energy certificates for goods by a beautifully worked out bookkeeping system.
Technocracy was prominent among the plans offered in the last days of the Hoover administration, and was publicized by Gernsback's managing editor, David Lasser (later of the Workers' Alliance). Under the New Deal it virtually disappeared, but about 1939 came back under Howard Scott. Liberals expressed fears that it was being financed and penetrated by fascists or Communists. After first opposing American intervention in the European war (the organization was suppressed in Canada), it shifted to an all-out Continental Defense slogan.
Technocracy was reintroduced to the fan world in 1939, about the time Michelism was abandoned, by LASFS fans. Ackerman was interested and looked into it, but didn't take up with it. Yerke and Hodgkins (with Fred Shroyer their most outspoken opponent) plugged it enthusiastically, but due to their personality defects made few converts until the Communazi rapprochement of late '39, when several of the Brooklyn Bolsheviki said that the outbreak of war made internationalism useless for the time being, and turned to Technocracy; they were not welcomed by the Angelenoes, however. When Technocracy, Inc. turned war-minded, Yerke quit them.
On the basis of the original manuscript, this article is protested by Hodgkins as being biased and misleading.
TeD - Nickname for Thaddeus Dikty, shortened form of the scientificombination TeDikty.
Temponautical Society - A thing dreamed up by Robert G Thompson, who was going to issue a fanzine devoted exclusively to time-traveling stories and discussions. Somebody formed an Anti-Temponautical Society, and a brief mock war seems to have followed.
tendrils - The most noticeable sign of slanness.
tesseract - A solid of four spacial dimensions. Its characteristics, as the number of sides, edges, etc, are easily worked out by analogy with the generation of a cuboid by a plane. Below are shown two common picturizations of tesseract cubes, with the analogous ways of drawing 3-d cubes:
tetrahedron - A solid bounded by four planes, the smallest number that can enclose a solid; a triangular pyramid. In positions of two such-shaped spaceships set for ramming, a pair of tetrahedrons around a publication's title indicates that it comes from Speer's publishing house.
Tex - Nickname for Earl Singleton, Texas being his native state.
TFG - Terrestrial Fantascience Guild. Name taken in 1935 by the former ISFG. Its General Manager was Wilson Shepherd, outstanding member Donald Wollheim. It faded out within a year or so, leaving its official organ, the Phantagraph. Chief importance historically is its publication in its Bulletin of Wollheim's report of WS's non-payments, which eventuated in the ISA-SFL war. The TFG adopted a code of fair practice and an emblem which pro and fan magazines complying with the code (Square Deal for Fantasy Fiction) would be allowed to display. The TFG would not seem to have had a membership of more than a hundred, maybe much less, altho the General Manager at one time said that it was between 1000 and 2500.
Theodore/Tanya - The thoroly Michelistic names given Elsie Balter's car before and after receiving a new body. Theodore carried the Futurians to Chicago in '40, having a minor wreck on the way. Tanya's body was in part financed by a special auction at the Chicon.
Third Fandom - (Speer) - From September 1940 on. Warring factions in fandom healed their differences or were less in evidence, with the passing of feuds the underlying fraternity of fandom came more into evidence, and a broad balance was found between matters scientifictional and other things that fans were interested in. There was much talk of fandom growing up, becoming more mature, and seeing less of adolescent bickering and feuding for feuding's sake; at the same time there was a flood of digests and bibliografies and indexes of this and that, regarded as a summation and consolidation of past achievements in fandom. A general fan organization was once again much desired, but ran into difficulties as war came to America. Doug Webster applies the term to the younger fans that appeared in wartime Britain, once again interested mainly in such science-fiction as they could get, and supporting the idea of a British fan organization (the BFS), which the sofisticated Second Fandom had outgrown.
thought-variants - (Tremaine) - Originally intended, like Gernsy's "New" policy, to get new ideas, plots, treatment, etc. into stf, the th-v movement developed a particular type of its own, usually involving superscience and some questions like 'What shall a man strive for when he has gained all power?'. With that momentum gone, Campbell thot up mutants.
Tizzie - Pet name for Funtasy, pan magazine.
Tommy - Pet name for Tomorrow, de luxe British fanzine.
top fan - An undefined designation, which has been filled in various polls. The IPO polls in the SFFan found Don Wollheim top fan twice; in polls since the World Convention, Forrest J Ackerman has been the #1 Face. The criteria on which different voters base their choices differ seriously, so an effort to lay down the law here may be of some value. In the first place, ideally the list of top fans for one year should be good by and large a year or two later. Choices should be based on probable future value to fandom, estimated of course from past performance. It follows that no stefnist should be considered for one of the top places until he has been active for at least two years; because many may run thru the cycle of activity and make a big noise for a moment, then fizzle out. In addition to beneficial effect on fandom, it is usual to consider prestige and weight carried in organizations and the formation of opinions. It is not a popularity contest. The twenty top fans are probably the ones without whom it is supposed that fandom would not be what it is.
treasurer - In fan organizations often combined with the secretaryship. The general treasury of an organization consists of dues, funds from sale of surplus stock of fanzines, etc, proceeds from auction etc at fan gatherings, and contributions. The treasury ordinarily in well-organized clubs bears the expense of the official organ and other official publications, postage thereon, and also postage etc for other official mail, tho claims from the other officials are seldom made. Fan gatherings staged by the organization may be financed either out of the treasury, or out of members' pockets, in which latter case profits of the convention often go back to the individuals putting it on.
Tripoli - Triple-E, nickname for EEEvans.
tripewriters - (Groveman) - Fans have machine á ecrire of all vintages, possibly even some of the strike-underneath kind. Preference runs to L C Smith & Corona, and Underwood, but we take whatever we can get. The lack of the letter F on Perdue's typewriter gave him his first fame; one time Gillespie stenciled a tirade against Moskowitz on a machine whose z was missing.
Blue-and-red and neotric green-and-brown typeribbons are employed by many fans. The most favored type face is elite, like this before you, but some fans have the somewhat larger pica. Variants include elite with pica spacing, vogue (similar to gothic), and a face like heavy oldfashioned printing. In addition, Ackerman and König have had access to varitypers, which operate on an antediluvian principle which permits the use of plates carrying all sorts of alfabets. In size they've varied from gigantic to teensy (you figure out the point number!), and in style have had italics, gothic, boldface, et autres.
Triumvirs - (Speer) - Three who share authority and rule. The Triumvirate of fandom was Moskowitz, Sykora, and Taurasi, drawn together by enmity toward Wollheim. Sykora's feud with him dated from the dissolution of the ISA in 1937; Moskowitz's originated in W's charge that his account of the Third Convention was full of errors and typical of the shallow fans who will not think, and the exchanges of barrages that followed; while Taurasi had been a neutral up to the breakup of the GNYSFL.
Not long after this last event, Moskowitz got them together, and after a period of conferring they started New Fandom. Following the policy, newly popular, of refusing to engage in feuding, they built up the QSFL and New Fandom, and the widely-circulated Fantasy-News. They successfully staged the First World Science-Fiction Convention, but the X Act alienated such former neutrals as Tucker, Reinsberg, Ackerman, and Hart. With the support of the large Queens SFL, however, and usually of the Phillies against the Futurians, they continued to be strong thru the Philadelphia Conference of 1940.
About this time, Taurasi became less active, talking of going into the Army, and Sykora took over Fantasy-News. Sykora was discredited after the Chicon by the report circulated there that he had been arrested, and released with a warning, in a charge involving a little girl. Moskowitz had set up shop as an author's agent, and became less active before he was drafted. Tho the leader of the Triumvirate during its best period, he had never been the irreconcilable enemy of the Futurians that Sykora was. In the spring of 1940, when the Phillies and Speer visited a QSFL meeting, the Phillies that evening took Foghorn Samuel to the Ivory Tower, and after the Futurians had recovered from the shock, all fraternized. That the Triumvirate was still in existence, however, was shown early next year in the fite at the QSFL.
Tubby - Nickname of T Bruce Yerke.
Bob Tucker - Nickname by which Arthur W Tucker is generally known.
2J4 - Nickname for Joe J Fortier, in imitation of 4sJ.
Twonk's disease - (MFS) - The ultimate in afflictions of any nature.
typewriters - U mean tripewriters?
Data entry by Judy Bemis