Before we discuss how Ansible started, we should quickly discuss the origin of the name. The term Ansible was penned by science fiction novelist Ursula K. Le Guin; it was first used in her novel Rocannon's World, first published in 1966. In the context of the story, an Ansible is a fictional device that is able to send and receive messages faster than light.
The term has since been used by several other notable authors within the genre to describe communication devices that are capable ...