0Orbit-B, designed in 1973 by Stan Biggendon, was another VGC original like Moore Computer. It adopts a similar slab distribution pattern to Moore Computer (see figure 2-34), but the slabs themselves are slightly narrower and connect to the body of the letter with a steep diagonal rather than a right angle. Its strokes are also proportionally narrower than Moore Computer or Data 70 while its counters are noticeably wider. The numerals in Orbit-B are still quite different from those E-13B, but show more in common than Data 70. Figure 2-35 shows Orbit-B and E-13B side-by-side.10

Figure 2-34. Sample of Orbit-B BT.

A

B

A) Orbit-B’s numerals. B) E-13B.

0Orbit-B is less common than either Moore Computer or Data 70, possibly because its MICR influence is more subtle and less arbitrarily intrusive, but it still appears frequently in and around videogames and in contexts where some intimacy is suggested between humans and computers. For example, Orbit-B appears as display text for a security scanner in the movie Johnny Mnemonic (Figure 2-36), yet another dystopian science fiction narrative expressing a thinly veiled anxiety about the overlap or competition between human and machine intelligence. Orbit-B also makes a significant appearance on the cover of Galactic Empire, a 1979 strategy game which has the distinction of being the first game released the noted game development company, Brøderbund (Falk)⁠. Figure 2-37 shows the 1982 release of the game, with Orbit-B clearly augmenting and invoking an outer-space theme.

Figure 2-36. Orbit-B in use in a screen interface in the film Johnny Mnemonic (Longo)⁠.

Figure 2-37. Orbit-B on the cover of the 1982 release of Brøderbund’s Galactic Empire (Falk)⁠.

• 10. I have not been able to determine the origin of the “B” in “Orbit-B,” but it may be a reference to E-13B. I have so far found no reference to any “Orbit-A.”