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"For the sciences, the way to change science's perception of things is to wait until all the old farts have died off."
- Larry Niven
 |
| Time Scoop | ||
| Retrieved objects from other points in time. |
| There, beyond the steel door, was the time scoop. He recognized it at once. The mirror. The long metal rods, ending in claws. Like Berkowski's theoretical model - only this was real.
 (Time Scoop from 'Paycheck' by Philip K. Dick) |
| Technovelgy from Paycheck,
by Philip K. Dick. Published by Imagination in 1953 Additional resources -
|
Here's a description of what happens when it is used:
From the dark circle a claw appeared, a metal claw, joined to a shimmering rod. The claw dropped, swinging in a wide arc. The claw swept the paper from Kelly's fingers. It hesitated for a second. Then it drew itself up again, disappearing with the paper, into the circle of black. Then, silently, the claw and the rod and the circle blanked out. There was nothing. Nothing at all.
Perhaps the earliest use of this general idea can be found in a 1939 story by Edmond Hamilton published in Startling Stories:
In the space above them something moved. A dark space formed, A circle. The space stirred. Kelly and Rethrick stared up, frozen.
('The Space Visitors' by Edmond Hamilton)
Compare to the time dredge from Time Dredge (1942) by Robert Arthur.
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'...there's a narrow belt where the climate is moderate.'
'... with the Master-operator all you have to do is push one! A remarkable achievement!'
'Not like me. A T-1000, advanced prototype. A mimetic poly-alloy. Liquid metal.'
'It was riddled with holes that were the mouths of tunnels.'
'The massive feet working the pedals, arms and hands flashing and glinting...'
'There were cubic miles of it, and it glistened like a silvery Christmas tree...'
'Jason had been guiding the caravan of cars as usual...'
"The robot solemnly hit a ball against the wall, picked it up and teed it, hit it again, over and again...'
