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Conapt

Entry updated 22 June 2014. Tagged: Theme.

In sf Terminology, an apartment in a high-rise building. Conapts often feature what is effectively a complete life-support system, so that even when they are in a densely populated city their inhabitants are often seen to be isolated from other people. A conapt is often assumed to be in a city consisting of high-rise buildings, each one highly populated, but with the buildings themselves not necessarily crowded together, and sometimes separated by parkland. Probably formed as a contraction of condominium apartment, the term was coined by Philip K Dick, who used it in many of his novels, and was taken up by other sf writers. It is a typical piece of sf shorthand. [PN]

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