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"I feel like I've been very fortunate in that I've stuck like a burr to the dog-leg of the next generation of nerdism. I've been carried into the XXIth century on Bill Gates' pants-cuff."
- William Gibson
 |
| 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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'...Anything was possible in my imaginary environment.'
'Somewhere in space, a chrome and blue automobile raced the green light of Earth.'
'That explains how it was so easy for me to remain motionless in midair...'
'We had discovered that metal was relatively impervious to the telepathic effect.'
'Detailed plans for the construction of the Gundstetter-Halone warp drive were flowing.'
'Do not waste your priceless company on the unappreciative folds of a sleep pod...'
'...so we've promised him a generous pension from the royalties.'
'Hocus-pocus religions and archaic weapons are no substitute for a good blaster at your side.'
