An ansible is a kind of fictional device or technology. Ansibles can communicate faster than light. It can send and receive messages to and from a corresponding device over any distance or obstacle whatsoever with no delay, even between star systems. As a name for such a device, the word "ansible" first appeared in a 1966 novel "Rocannon's World" by Ursula K. Le Guin The word shortened from "answerable." It allowed users to receive answers to their messages quickly, even over interstellar distances. 