Called it! On a quantum level, it may be possible to reassemble photons given enough energy, but past audio is a bit of a stretch. Perhaps the drone reads lips, also the drone would have to stay anchored in our present, or perhaps just outside of “time” as we understand it. Still, Smith’s equipment would have to generate a couple of Terrawatts of electricity focused to a single point to achieve this. Of course, it would also have to calculate the precise position of the entire solar system with particular attention on the Sun, the position and rotation of Earth would also have to be taken into account. It’s still science fiction… For now.
A literary apparatus that allows the writer/artists to go back and dredge up the old, supposedly dead, bad guys (and gals?) from the strip’s long, long history… ;-)
1-DT: Can I use your thing to kill Flattop again? I’d pay money to do that.
2-DOIT: Settle down, Tracy. Have a Calmgar (patent pending) …
3-…No, my VCR Device only records past events. Once I’ve made a few million of these, your head will suddenly be filled with memories of them buzzing around like they were flies on a big pile of …
DT: That will spell the end of civilization!!!
DOIT: Because playing with this will be a bigger time waster than Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat etc combined?
DT: Oh. No. I was thinking about the time we would all spend in front of a mirror making sure we look great 24/7. Could you limit the resolution and make it black and white instead of color?
I worry that Diet doesn’t realize that this “time drone” business is potentially disastrous. Sending a flying object — however small — into the past can wreak unexpected havoc with the present… as seen in the 1962 Lee & Ditko story. “Those Who Change.”
One of my favorite sci-fi short stories is Isaac Asimov’s “The Dead Past,” about a near-future society where technology that can view the past has been invented but its nature is kept secret and its use is heavily restricted by the government, and a group of heroic historians and scientists manage to reinvent it and publish the plans worldwide, only to realize too late that a machine that can see 1,000 years into the past can also see 30 seconds into the past and they’ve just eliminated privacy for everyone, everywhere, forever. Dick is going to be thrilled to hear about this invention, in other words.
So far, we only know that this device can go into the past and record past events. It does not appear to be able to change the past that we know of. But, Diet Smith’s goal when he started all of this was to resurrect his dead son, Brilliant. In order to do that, his invention would have to be able to change the past and prevent Big Frost from killing Brilliant.
Uh oh, this is just going to be a constant excuse for dredging up characters from the 40s and 50s when Gould was at his height. It will go a long way in preventing anything creative happening regarding characters or stories from these current “storytellers”..Sad
I posted these two comments to Neil this morning in yesterday’s comment thread, but they are relevant for general discussion on this topic of viewing the past. . .
. . .it might be hard to see inside (the Space Coupe that Diet sent to Jupiter)
Which brings up another interesting puzzle. This is supposed to be a devise that allows them to view the past. Well, whatever happened inside that space coupe happened in the past. So did everything else in the world right up to a nano-second ago. How will Smith direct his drone, both as to when and where?
. . .if you ask Tracy, he’ll tell you about how he was in the Navy during World War II.
When Gould retired in the late 70s, my Dad, a WWII vet, was in his mid to late 50s. So it was still reasonable at that time to consider the passage of time in the strip as being approximately equal to real time. However, writers going forward after Gould chose not to be too specific about Tracy’s past, I think. I had no access to the strip from around 1980 until I bought my first computer in 2011 and found this site, but I think they referred to Tracy being a Navy vet in general terms, without mentioning what era. This whole “view the past” thing is going to open up an extremely knotty problem for the writers.
Given that we are clearly in the realm of science fiction here, I’m not going to speculate on the possibilities for this story arc using real scientific findings. I will say that being able to view the past could be helpful to Tracy in solving crimes.
Just spitballing here, but wouldn’t it be a surprise if, after all the preemptive grumbles about bringing back Flattop, his only appearance turns out to be the demonstration we’ve just seen and the Time Drone story proceeds elsewhere?
I always thought Diet Smith was based on the original John D.Rockefeller(1839-1937).
He may have lived until 98,but he had such miserable stomach trouble that he once said he’dtrade all his millions so he could enjoy a meal like a normal person.
Also—Rockefeller is buried in the same Cleveland,Ohio cemetary as Elliott Ness.
In these Sunday pages, Diet Smith’s son Brilliant has invented closed-circuit TV surveillence and what would become the modern security camera. All of this was amazing science fiction in 1948 but became old-hat reality by 2021.
Er, don’t we already have sound & visual recordings from the past — newspapers, news photos, radio recordings, newsreels, TV news footage … not to mention all the photographs, home movies, slides, & pictures taken with modern day smartphones by ordinary people? Back to the drawing board, Diet.
I look forward to hearing details about the Time Drone. Do we unleash it in our time, and it materializes back in time and take pictures then? Did anyone in the past ever notice a TD taking pictures? (Was this the origin of UFO stories?) Does it head for the target area, in our time, and then somehow use its powers to take pictures of the past in that area? SF fans, accustomed to explanations (however flimsy or far-fetched), want to know!
AnyFace about 3 years ago
Neil Wick about 3 years ago
Good morning™, everyone!
I have a feeling that the “Time Drone” is going to be the main star of this story line. It’s small, but not totally invisible.
(The little red and green lights all around it have turned a dull grey today. The MC sure likes grey!)
Ashmael about 3 years ago
This recalls to mind an old Asimov’s story, “The dead past”, where a device showed scenes from recent past
Ashmael about 3 years ago
We are in Science Fiction territory definitely
Ashmael about 3 years ago
How Diet is planning to make money with that?
IvanB.Cohen about 3 years ago
Don’t tell me…somebody is going to hijack the time drome. Heaven forbid Tracy gets sent back in time with a different outcome.
IvanB.Cohen about 3 years ago
Diet Smith has too much time on his hands.
Ida No about 3 years ago
Isn’t that what record companies call duping stations?
IvanB.Cohen about 3 years ago
Close the research and development labs and send the staff on vacation to the Caribbean.
IvanB.Cohen about 3 years ago
Can Tracy arrest Diet Smith for bothering him with this trivia?
IvanB.Cohen about 3 years ago
Good old Diet Smith, one foot in the 21st Century, the other on a banana peel.
retropop about 3 years ago
“…Happened Long Ago” – The element of time in a strip with a sliding timeline, and a compacted timeline!
artsyguy65 about 3 years ago
It’s a cute little drone now, but Smith and Tracy don’t realize in time (see what I did there?) it’ll grow up and want to “EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!”
Major Matt Mason Premium Member about 3 years ago
“Can I use it to watch Jack Benny?” – some little old lady
Gweedo -it's legal here- Murray about 3 years ago
Good morning™, Amazing new devices !
Who will try to steal the little flying saucer with the gray nubs on it ?
jonahhex1 about 3 years ago
I wonder what catastrophic event that “time drone” will trigger, forcing Diet Smith to put his toy permanently on ice….?
jonahhex1 about 3 years ago
Presumably you can use it to solve cold case crimes, but good luck showing the results as evidence in a court of law….
avenger09 about 3 years ago
Stolen from Michael Creighton’s Timelines. Great book, terrible movie.
Cheers.
iggyman about 3 years ago
Interesting!
Jab Jr 1957 about 3 years ago
I wonder if the drone records in 4K Ultra and 60 fps.
hablano about 3 years ago
Diet, when you come up with a drone that reports stuff from the future, call me. Until then, just leave me alone.
Space_cat about 3 years ago
Called it! On a quantum level, it may be possible to reassemble photons given enough energy, but past audio is a bit of a stretch. Perhaps the drone reads lips, also the drone would have to stay anchored in our present, or perhaps just outside of “time” as we understand it. Still, Smith’s equipment would have to generate a couple of Terrawatts of electricity focused to a single point to achieve this. Of course, it would also have to calculate the precise position of the entire solar system with particular attention on the Sun, the position and rotation of Earth would also have to be taken into account. It’s still science fiction… For now.
Binky about 3 years ago
Ouuu… that’s interesting! Let’s see where this goes (.)
crobinson019 about 3 years ago
Time Drone, as opposed to Diet’s Voice Drone….
William Bednar Premium Member about 3 years ago
Looks more like an old Star Wars Stormtrooper’s Helmet.
Durak Premium Member about 3 years ago
Of all the things he could have watched, he watches Flattop disembarck from a train and ask directions. Talk about pandering to the audience.
magusjosh Premium Member about 3 years ago
Yeah, this’ll end well…
tripwire45 about 3 years ago
As long as it just brings images and sounds from the past and not dead bad guys (which would definitely mess up the timespace continuum).
sheilag about 3 years ago
A literary apparatus that allows the writer/artists to go back and dredge up the old, supposedly dead, bad guys (and gals?) from the strip’s long, long history… ;-)
Another Take about 3 years ago
AND Tracy remains clueless. “FLATTOP IS ALIVE!”
Another Take about 3 years ago
1-DT: Can I use your thing to kill Flattop again? I’d pay money to do that.
2-DOIT: Settle down, Tracy. Have a Calmgar (patent pending) …
3-…No, my VCR Device only records past events. Once I’ve made a few million of these, your head will suddenly be filled with memories of them buzzing around like they were flies on a big pile of …
DT: That will spell the end of civilization!!!
DOIT: Because playing with this will be a bigger time waster than Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat etc combined?
DT: Oh. No. I was thinking about the time we would all spend in front of a mirror making sure we look great 24/7. Could you limit the resolution and make it black and white instead of color?
DOIT: No.
Outcault Premium Member about 3 years ago
I worry that Diet doesn’t realize that this “time drone” business is potentially disastrous. Sending a flying object — however small — into the past can wreak unexpected havoc with the present… as seen in the 1962 Lee & Ditko story. “Those Who Change.”
tcayer about 3 years ago
Diet has never heard of Photoshop…
Doctor Strange about 3 years ago
Perhaps some ufos we see today are time drones from the future.
David P. McLaughlin about 3 years ago
Deep fake VIDEOS are here NOW, so science fiction was needed to give a reason for a story line.
Civanfan about 3 years ago
I get the feeling this is another invention Diet’s gonna regret.
David Rickard Premium Member about 3 years ago
From today’s Comics Curmudgeon:
One of my favorite sci-fi short stories is Isaac Asimov’s “The Dead Past,” about a near-future society where technology that can view the past has been invented but its nature is kept secret and its use is heavily restricted by the government, and a group of heroic historians and scientists manage to reinvent it and publish the plans worldwide, only to realize too late that a machine that can see 1,000 years into the past can also see 30 seconds into the past and they’ve just eliminated privacy for everyone, everywhere, forever. Dick is going to be thrilled to hear about this invention, in other words.
timbob2313 Premium Member about 3 years ago
IMO DT will be using this as a short cut to finding out who the criminal is in the upcoming story.
MuddyUSA Premium Member about 3 years ago
HOLY CRAP!
Ray Toler about 3 years ago
So far, we only know that this device can go into the past and record past events. It does not appear to be able to change the past that we know of. But, Diet Smith’s goal when he started all of this was to resurrect his dead son, Brilliant. In order to do that, his invention would have to be able to change the past and prevent Big Frost from killing Brilliant.
Wichita1.0 about 3 years ago
“Like this convenient footage of Young Dick Tracy stealing a candy bar. I’m thinking ‘new extension on the lab’.”
buckman-j about 3 years ago
Uh oh, this is just going to be a constant excuse for dredging up characters from the 40s and 50s when Gould was at his height. It will go a long way in preventing anything creative happening regarding characters or stories from these current “storytellers”..Sad
Ken in Ohio about 3 years ago
I posted these two comments to Neil this morning in yesterday’s comment thread, but they are relevant for general discussion on this topic of viewing the past. . .
. . .it might be hard to see inside (the Space Coupe that Diet sent to Jupiter)
Which brings up another interesting puzzle. This is supposed to be a devise that allows them to view the past. Well, whatever happened inside that space coupe happened in the past. So did everything else in the world right up to a nano-second ago. How will Smith direct his drone, both as to when and where?
. . .if you ask Tracy, he’ll tell you about how he was in the Navy during World War II.
When Gould retired in the late 70s, my Dad, a WWII vet, was in his mid to late 50s. So it was still reasonable at that time to consider the passage of time in the strip as being approximately equal to real time. However, writers going forward after Gould chose not to be too specific about Tracy’s past, I think. I had no access to the strip from around 1980 until I bought my first computer in 2011 and found this site, but I think they referred to Tracy being a Navy vet in general terms, without mentioning what era. This whole “view the past” thing is going to open up an extremely knotty problem for the writers.
LAFITZGERALD about 3 years ago
We can hardly wait for the outcomes (as in results)!!
jim_pem about 3 years ago
Given that we are clearly in the realm of science fiction here, I’m not going to speculate on the possibilities for this story arc using real scientific findings. I will say that being able to view the past could be helpful to Tracy in solving crimes.
Ragnar13 about 3 years ago
Minority Report. Where is Tom Cruise?
mark spieller Premium Member about 3 years ago
Do Diet or Tracy have a particular time and place to send it? Has Time Drone brought back a Gould era Tracy/Flattop story?
orbenjawell Premium Member about 3 years ago
Oooooooooo!! I. WANT. ONE!!
Batster about 3 years ago
Just spitballing here, but wouldn’t it be a surprise if, after all the preemptive grumbles about bringing back Flattop, his only appearance turns out to be the demonstration we’ve just seen and the Time Drone story proceeds elsewhere?
198.23.5.11 about 3 years ago
Let’s go back and see the day Dick and Tess got married.They did it off camera on Christmas Eve and we readers got royally stiffed!!
198.23.5.11 about 3 years ago
I always thought Diet Smith was based on the original John D.Rockefeller(1839-1937).
He may have lived until 98,but he had such miserable stomach trouble that he once said he’dtrade all his millions so he could enjoy a meal like a normal person.
Also—Rockefeller is buried in the same Cleveland,Ohio cemetary as Elliott Ness.
Ray Toler about 3 years ago
In these Sunday pages, Diet Smith’s son Brilliant has invented closed-circuit TV surveillence and what would become the modern security camera. All of this was amazing science fiction in 1948 but became old-hat reality by 2021.
https://i.postimg.cc/G2V1VpmK/Dick-Tracy-480926-T-TILT.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/4dmgWcsn/Dick-Tracy-481003-F-TILT.jpg
Kip Williams about 3 years ago
1830: “I’ll do it… with the power of GRAVITY!”
1850: “I’ll do it… with the power of MAGNETISM!"
1870: “I’ll do it… with the power of STEAM”
1900: “I’ll do it… with the power of ELECTRICITY!”
1920: “I’ll do it… with the power of RADIUM!”
1950: “I’ll do it… with the power of PLUTONIUM!”
1960: “I’ll do it… with the power of TRANSISTORS!”
1970: “I’ll do it… with the power of COMPUTERS!”
1980: “I’ll do it… with the power of COLD FUSION!"
1990: “I’ll do it… with the power of CLONING!”
2021: “I’ll do it… with the power of DRONES!”
Lord Flatulence Premium Member about 3 years ago
Diet Smith: I’ve developed this amazing technology that allows us to view images from the past!
Dick Tracy: Wow! What is it?
Diet Smith: It’s called “photography!”
STACEY MARSHALL Premium Member about 3 years ago
Diet Pepsi has invented the Time Drone!
BreathlessMahoney77 about 3 years ago
Er, don’t we already have sound & visual recordings from the past — newspapers, news photos, radio recordings, newsreels, TV news footage … not to mention all the photographs, home movies, slides, & pictures taken with modern day smartphones by ordinary people? Back to the drawing board, Diet.
Sisyphos about 3 years ago
Oooo-kay. A Time Drone, ehh? Diet, you got some ‘splainin’ to do!
For what insights into the past will the Time Drone actually be used? There is infinite variety and infinite complexity from which to choose!
I have a feeling, as of we’re going to concentrate on criminals and criminal activities from Tracy’s past. 90th Anniversary, ya know?
cherns Premium Member about 3 years ago
I look forward to hearing details about the Time Drone. Do we unleash it in our time, and it materializes back in time and take pictures then? Did anyone in the past ever notice a TD taking pictures? (Was this the origin of UFO stories?) Does it head for the target area, in our time, and then somehow use its powers to take pictures of the past in that area? SF fans, accustomed to explanations (however flimsy or far-fetched), want to know!
RonBerg13 Premium Member about 3 years ago
That ‘drone’ looks like a UFO.
hmmm…. I wonder?