Guest Post on io9: “The Tragic Demise of Science Fiction’s Greatest Idea”

In which I espouse my theory that matter transmitters are awesome – of course!

Here’s a glimpse:

“The first attempts on the life of the matter transmitter were made in the 1930s, thanks to the film serials Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. The trope survived, but it was only a delay of execution. In the early 1960s, Doctor Who and the Outer Limits both took pot shots and in 1966 Star Trek delivered the fatal blow. “Beam me up, Scotty” killed the matter transmitter dead at the grand old age of 89.

“Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating . . . but only slightly.”

Thanks to the wonderfolk at io9 for giving this sadly neglected trope a voice.