In _David Starr: Space Ranger_, The first of Isaac Asimov=92s series of
juveniles following the adventures of David =93Lucky=94 Starr, ace
troubleshooter for the Council of Science, Starr travels covertly to
Mars to investigate a series of sudden deaths involving Mars-grown
foodstuffs. Seeking to trace the problem to its source, he takes a job
as an agricultural technician, or =93farmboy=94 as they call themselves.
These people race across the surface in groundcars and fliers,
monitoring conditions and repairing machinery as needed; the situation
is rather reminiscent of Luke Skywalker=92s work on Tatooine, except
that the farms are cor****ate rather than family owned. Starr observes
that the farmboys=92 garb is quite utilitarian, except for the color
schemes on their boots:
=93Quiet, Griswold,=94 said the man in front. He was pudgy, not too tall,
and the soft skin on his cheeks and on the back of his neck was sleek
and smooth. His overall was typical Mars, of course, but it was of
much finer material than that of any of the other farmboys in the
room. His hip-high boots were spiraled in pink and rose.
In all his later travels on Mars, David Starr never saw two pairs of
boots of identical design, never saw boots that were other than
garish. It was THE mark of individuality among the farmboys.=94
This past winter, fifty years after the book was published, Asimov=92s
prediction has been realized. The boots are calf-high rather than hip-
high, and they are worn by girls rather than farmboys, but the garish
colors and patterns are much as a cover artist for _Space Ranger_
might have drawn them.
http://shoes.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=3Dhttp://www.funky%2Dwell=
ington%2Dboots.co.uk
http://www.chookaboot.com/rainboots1.html
Each pattern is of course mass produced, but there are enough
different patterns from the various manufacturers that you are
unlikely to see two identical pairs at the same time.
Peter Wezeman
Anti-social Darwinist
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