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"did I had an extremely expensive wife - she would see a new car that she liked and just buy it... under California law I was bound to buy her debts. I think I turned out 16 novels in five years."
- Philip K. Dick
 |
| 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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More Ideas
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Tech news articles related to Blood on the Sun
Tech news articles related to works by Hal K. Wells
| Robot Gas Station Attendant Pumps Gas For You |
| SnapBot Robots - You Choose Their Legs And They Choose Their Gaits |
| Humanoid Robots Building Humanoid Robots |
| What's The Best Way To Ship And Unpack Humanoid Robots? |
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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.'
