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"I've come across more and more people who've actually tried reading science fiction and can't make it make sense."
- Samuel R. Delany
 |
| Tiny Robot Planes | ||
| A swarm of very small independently maneuverable unmanned aerial vehicles. |
This is a very early reference to the idea of a swarm of UAVs.
| “There come bomb-planes!” Merky exclaimed. “Right out of sun!”
Amber and Barnes looked up. There was a small black speck just beyond the sun’s disc. The speck became a smudge, then expanded to a small cloud. It hurtled on down with inconceivable speed until it was visible as thousands of tiny robot planes, each one so packed with detonite that it was little more than a power-driven bomb. |
| Technovelgy from Blood on the Sun,
by Hal K. Wells. Published by Startling Stories in 1942 Additional resources -
|
There was a defense against this menace!
Every plane those beams touched exploded. The firmament seemed a solid mass of rippling flame and crashing detonations. The beams thrust with the fluid swiftness and accuracy of giant rapiers, but there were too few Ancients to hope to get every robot-bomb.
Either the Ancients were late in detecting the menace flashing toward them out of the fiery glare of the sun, or their weapons were designed for close range defense only. The first of the rocketing robot planes were within a few thousand feet of the crater’s floor when pale beams lanced skyward.
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Tech news articles related to Blood on the Sun
Tech news articles related to works by Hal K. Wells
| Proof Of Robothood - Not A Person |
| Dancing Robots Taught Dance Moves |
| Factory Humanoid Robots Built By Humanoid Robots |
| Mornine Sales Robot |
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'The observation vehicle was of that peculiar variety used in conveying a large number of people across rough terrain.'
'The real border was defended by... a swarm of quasi-independent aerostats.'
'I ... set my automatic astronomical instruments to searching for a habitable planet.'
'...haven't you a section of the factory where only robot labor is employed?'
'... oblongs were all over the floor and surfaces.'
