instant-by-instant

Updated: May 8, 2025

Although narrow-waisted and, for his heft, broad-shouldered, he was built for speed and maneuverability, not to haul freight. Watching a hundred lights and half that many instruments, listening to two phone circuits, one with each ear, and hands moving from switches to rheostats to buttons and levers, he was completely informed as to the instant-by-instant status of everything in his department.

E. E. (Edward Elmer) Smith - Subspace Survivors