From: Eugene Leitl (eugene@liposome.genebee.msu.su)
Date: Fri Jul 24 1998 - 04:30:47 MDT
Bradley Felton writes:
> All the "ADVANCED" and "EXTROPIC" people I know defend themselves with
> disintegration rays, or, if they can't afford disintegration rays, they use
> particle beam weapons. Anyone who is truly "ADVANCED" would rather die
> than use a primitive "gun"--that would label them for life as a backward
> hick....
A weapon is not advanced or primitive, it is either functional or not.
(Btw, for the record: I would be rather a bruised, but living
hillbilly, than a stone dead futurist).
A capsicaine spray or a taser are less effective than even a crude DIY
electrically ignited graphite/kevlar muzzle loader [lead azide
rocket rounds?] with a laser pointer as aiming aid. If that's too low
tech for you, consider using a power NIR laser diode array to
blind your opponent (he must face you then with his eyes open, then,
and you could easily blind yourself by a reflex if not equipped
with selective absorption goggles/LED shutter mirrorshades), or
make a one-time pyrodriven few-ml aluminum trialkyle dispenser
(_not_ a good thing to fire in a room, or from a close distance).
All more-or-less higher tech than a gun, but somewhat difficult
to build, unproven, and thus possibly unreliable, and certainly
dangerous to operate.
Disintegration rays? What's that? A particle beam weapon?
A _wearable_ one? At ambient air pressure? Get serious.
In any case it is difficult to match operation reliability and
ergonomical characteristics of a well designed mainstream gun,
especially if you're trained in its use. A high-velocity pellet is
still the most efficient way to deliver energy to the target, and
in terms of energy density and release characteristics, a pyrocharge
is still the most convenient energy conserve. Against targets other
than soft or armor you could use giant microwave bursts, but these are
likely to be hardened against EMP, and the generator is certainly not
wearable.
'gene
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