Latest By
Category:
Armor
Artificial
Intelligence
Biology
Clothing
Communication
Computers
Culture
Data Storage
Displays
Engineering
Entertainment
Food
Input Devices
Lifestyle
Living Space
Manufacturing
Material
Media
Medical
Miscellaneous
Robotics
Security
Space Tech
Spacecraft
Surveillance
Transportation
Travel
Vehicle
Virtual
Person
Warfare
Weapon
Work
"The primary attraction [of writing sf] is the sheer pleasure of creating something from whole cloth."
- Dan Simmons
 |
| Time Dredge | ||
| A device that randomly scoops up tons of material from the past, and returns it to the present. |
| ...on the far side of the room, satin covers on the wide bed. Lush wine-colored drapes. Thick multi-colored carpet which he knew at once had been pilfered from the Middle Eastern past. Someone had used the time dredge to its best advantage, furnishing the apartment in excellent taste. |
| From Dr. Futurity,
by Philip K. Dick. Published by Ace Books in 1960 Additional resources -
|
Parsons has moved forward in time; his hosts do their best to see to his comfort.
"This is fine," Parsons said...
Loris, seating herself opposite, said, "And we've brought magazines forward. And clothing. And a variety of objects, some of which we can't identify. Chance plays quite a role, as you might guess. The time dredge scoops up more than three tons; we often get mere debris, however, especially in the earlier stages."
The phrase is of course based on the word "dredge," which refers to an excavation device used to scrape a seabed or river bed, usually to keep waterways navigable. It can also be used with the specific purpose of obtaining material, which can be used for land reclamation. Dredging has also played an important role in gold mining.
Dick first uses this idea in his 1954 short story The Meddler; he calls it the Dip.
"What about a beer?" Helmar said. "We have several beers from your period, all ice cold."
Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Dr. Futurity
More Ideas
and Technology by Philip K. Dick
Tech news articles related to Dr. Futurity
Tech news articles related to works by Philip K. Dick
| Project Soli Radar Gesture Chip Now FCC Approved |
| Implosion Fabrication Shrinks 3D Objects To Nanoscale |
| ODYSSEUS Solar-Powered Stratospheric Plane Flies Forever |
| Phil Nuyttnn's City Under The Sea |
Want to Contribute an
Item?
It's easy:
Get the name of the item, a
quote, the book's name and the author's name, and Add
it here.
| <Previous | Next> |
|
|
|
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
|
'A paper thin polycarbon screen unfurled silently from the top of the unit and immediately grew rigid.'
'The Dwoskin Morality Rating-Computer could 'spot the slightest tendency to deviation' from the social norm...'
'At least there was no mandatory Whuffie check on the monorail platform...'
'He waved his hand and the circuit switched abruptly.'
'This obelisk is one huge deflector mechanism...'
'...a high-efficiency filter and heat-exchange system.'
'How can you compete with an IBM heavy-duty logomatic analogue?'
