Ask Lemmy

Simplified: It's a crystal ball that allows you to see through space. However, the target can also see you.

Think of it like one of those ~~crying~~ scrying (ducking autocorrect) balls from the Disney movies. Or a two-way-camera setup.

Can't wait for some terminally online dork with a python script to figure out that the god password for Palantir is "StudMuffin1234" and dump everything online, thus making the two-way aspect a reality...

EDIT: Just for the record, it's been over 30 years since I read the books. I may remember it incorrectly.

Thiel doesn't see himself like Sauron, but like the Great and Good Kings of old, of the Númenor Empire...Numenorians lived hundreds of years and were good and noble, and most important, white.

They had the Palantirs, orbs that could connect the distant realms of the Empire...imagine colonial England with palantirs and Lords that lived hundreds of years.

Númeror was sunk by God (big G) because of the hubris of this Aryans that thought they could set sail to the land of the gods (small g's)

With time, most of the Palantirs were lost. Most people didn't even knew they existed. (Most people don't know about Thiel and palantir either.)

Both Gondor and Isengard (city/fortress) had one.

And has other lemming has said, the palantirs work both ways.

So both Saruman (Isengard) and Denethor (Gondor) thought they could use the "power" of the palantirs to subjugate and rule.

But Sauron had one. And more power and knowledge about them.
So he used the 2 way channel of the palantirs to corrupt them whenever one of them connected with the orb. (Like Russia used the social media apps to corrupt discontent people into turning more and more to the right.)

So.

Like I said at the beginning.
Thiel doesn't see himself has Sauron. I think.

He seems himself has one of the great kings of the ancient white Empire that lost the pride and diluted the blood, all because of foreigners... (Aragon has numenorian blood...but diluted...so in the films your are seeing a 80 year old man. But he will not reach the hundreds of years that his ancestors lived.)

Thiel wants to live forever, believes in eugenics and dynasties, and has a company called Palantir to spy on the whole world...

He must see himself has Aragon reforging Narsil and remaking the old white Empire.

Edit: I know Aragon is good. I'm saying Thiel thinks he is good too. The irony is that he is the last days of Númenor, and not really the glory of the good old days.

In addition to the other comments, when Gandalf, known for being among the wisest at the time, sees the lost seeing stone, he is immediately suspicious and wary.

Maybe you watched the movies and remember that scene where saruman doodles around with a sort of flaming crystal ball. Thats the thing. A two way spy/communications device specifically used by the bad guys.

Essentially they named their project after the totalitarian spy device of the worst guy and his corrupted (by that very device) sidekick in lotr**. Apparently that is aspirational to these people

**yes, i know sauron is not the actual bbeg but for the sake of someone who knows the movies at best i skipped last that.

Basically it's really great to have this card out for yourself, and pretty horrible if it's on your opponent's side.

It's Skype Middle Earth Edition™.

I mean, the artifact in LotR is magical. Reading too much into the name would be a mistake.