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Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon


AlHazred

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Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon

 

EE "Doc" Smith's Lensman

 

The Planetary Nut Cracker:

 

Take two worlds moving in opposite relative directions, and slap inertial dampeners on 'em. Then, move them aside another world and shut the dampeners off.

 

WHAMMO!

 

Also, if we are branching out, I don't want to have a ray gun as much as I want a flying robot that is basically a ball turret, like VINCENT from the Black Hole.

 

 

Well then, on the branching out note, yet another mention from me of "Doctor Device."

 

http://everything2.net/index.pl?node_id=1180530

 

A nasty weapon. It sets up a spherical field wherein atoms can no longer share electrons. It breaks down matter. Literally, it makes all the atoms in the target go on seperate vacations as the old saying goes.

 

What is worse, the field "propagates" -- any matter it encounters sets up a new spherical field, and any matter that field encounters... you get the idea. A fleet of ships packed too close together will die to a single shot.

 

Use it on a planet... :eek:

 

M. D. Device "Doctor Device":

RKA 1d6, Limited Power Cannot be used in atmosphere -- ANY mass will propagate the field (+0), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Uncontrolled (+1/2), Sticky (+1/2), Invisible Power Effects, SFX Only (Fully Invisible; +1/2), MegaScale (1" = 10 km; +1/2), Can Be Scaled Down 1" = 1km (+1/4), Area Of Effect (9" Radius; +1), Continuous (+1), AVLD (Power Defense; +1 1/2) (109 Active Points)

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Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon

 

I've mentioned the unstoppable Slow Bullet from K.W. Jeter's Death Arms in another thread, so here I'll go for the throwaway gag of Captain Jack's pistol from the recent series of Doctor Who. It creates square holes because it has a digital blast pattern.

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Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon

 

I've mentioned the unstoppable Slow Bullet from K.W. Jeter's Death Arms in another thread' date=' so here I'll go for the throwaway gag of Captain Jack's pistol from the recent series of [i']Doctor Who.[/i] It creates square holes because it has a digital blast pattern.

Plus it has lots of other features :)

 

Such as disintegrating, then re-integrating. Knowing Jack, it possibly also vibrates ;-p

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Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon

 

Quoting The Munchkin's Guide to Powergaming as best I can:

 

"The smaller the particle the torpedo is named after, the bigger the explosion. So, for instance, an order to 'Fire the Dolph Lundgren's Brain Torpedo!' should result in quite the impressive blast."

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Guest Major Tom

Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon

 

How about the rapid-fire plasma pistol (at least I think it was a plasma

pistol) from the movie I Come In Peace? Or, for that matter, the Gatling

shotguns from Split Second?

 

 

Major Tom :eg:

Long Life through Superior Firepower - Personal motto of Carl Lyons,

leader of Able Team.

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Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon

 

Have to go with lightsaber. Though if we start counting self aware machines' date=' I agree on the coolness of Android No. 18.[/quote']

If we're going with intelligent weapons, you CANNOT go past Bomb #20. ^_^

 

Bomb#20: In the beginning, there was darkness. And the darkness was without form, and void.

Boiler: What the hell is he talking about?

Bomb#20: And in addition to the darkness there was also me. And I moved upon the face of the darkness. And I saw that I was alone. Let there be light.

 

(Quote cut&pasted from imdb)

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Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon

 

I liked the ideal of the smart gun as scripted and in the novelation.

 

it was a belt fed pistol using the same round as the standard Marine weapon. mounted on a gimbel armed with a tv sight attacted to the weapon. this worked like an attack helocopter gun sigth, where you look it points this allowed for fast action and most importantly the ability to look and shoot around corners. Very important to clear a ship or building in a safe way.

Something our troops would like now.

Oh, very much. The Colonial Marines Technical Manual did a nice article on the smartgun. :) Had a nice quote, with one soldier saying that the auto-targetting was just spooky, and TOO good. That most of the bad guys dropped in one engagement looked like they'd been shot exactly once... with all the bullets going through the same entry point. ;)

 

And as with most of the tech in Aliens, it's more than just pretty or a nice idea... it's fully thought through. The mount's mobile enough to lift up to fire over cover, and it can even fire while prone, though that's a little tricky. Increases firepower while decreasing movement only minimally.

 

I LOVE the tech in Aliens. Great-looking, functional, inventive. Improvements over real-world tech and logical extensions of it at the same time.

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Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon

 

We're getting away from the man-portable element I mentioned in my first post. Sure, I'd love to carry around a couple of planets in my pocket (a la Men in Black), but the delivery system would take quite a lot of work for me not to be caught in my own attack.

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Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon

 

And to be totally honest, having tested out just about every man-portable weapon in the arsenal of video-games, for some reason I still have much love for the Aliens pulse-rifle. It was a cool design, it made a great noise, and it splattered aliens on the wall. The Predator had some GREAT toys, but the Pulse Rifle has always epitomized gritty sci-fi to me. And I do love me my gritty.

 

And that's officially 1,000 posts. And I'm going to bed. :D

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Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon

 

And there's Winona

Winona (from Farscape is cool in its (her?) own way. Especially when Crighton did the "Dirty Harry" riff.

 

But I still like the High guard force-lances (from Andromeda) better. You guys who talk about other weapons being a "Swiss Army knife of weapons" have evidently not taken this thing into consideration.

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Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon

 

For reference, here's the description (accurate AFAICR, though a bit in need of editing for grammar) of the force-lance from Wikipedia:

 

The most distinctive (and probably signature) personal weapon of the show is the "force-lance" also called the F-Lance.

 

It looks like a harmless metallic tube approximately 1/3 meter in length but (according to the Andromeda site) "can be extended into a quarterstaff almost two meters long. When used in a melee, the F-Lance can be charged with an electrical current, shocking anyone it hits into unconsciousness...It can also fire a plasma beam, in both the extended and retracted position, which can be used in ranged combat, or as a cutting tool or light source." It can also be programmed to one's own DNA. If someone tries to use your lance without your DNA, that person will be tasered.

 

The F-Lance can launch a number of self-guided tiny attack drones (called "effectors") that both target opponents and intercept incoming bullets and missiles. It can be used in ranged combat, or as a cutting tool or light source. It has a grappling hook function. Finally it can be used as a bomb as well.

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Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon

 

The F-Lance can launch a number of self-guided tiny attack drones (called "effectors") that both target opponents and intercept incoming bullets and missiles. It can be used in ranged combat' date=' or as a cutting tool or light source. It has a grappling hook function. Finally it can be used as a bomb as well.[/quote']

 

And presumably that's why it's called an F-Lance. As soon as you see somebody armed with one coming at you, your initial response is going to be, "Oh, F---!"

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Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon

 

The one weapon that inspired many blank stares of awe as I considered it was the...

 

PhulePruf Munitions "Rolling Thunder" full auto, belt-fed, 12-ga. shotgun - from Robert Asprin's novel Phule's Company. The rate of fire is so rapid that you can't hear individual shots... hell, after the first second of continuous fire, you're lucky you can hear ANYTHING! It is man-portable, having a full body sling... but only a very strong man can successfully hold it on target for more than the first few rounds. Fortunately, with this weapon, you don't need accuracy!

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Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon

 

Oh, very much. The Colonial Marines Technical Manual did a nice article on the smartgun. :) Had a nice quote, with one soldier saying that the auto-targetting was just spooky, and TOO good. That most of the bad guys dropped in one engagement looked like they'd been shot exactly once... with all the bullets going through the same entry point. ;)

In John Ringo's Princess of Wands, the title-character was on a range, zeroing-in a new pistol and shooting cloverleaf patterns. When asked why not shoot for bullseyes, she replied that if you train to hit the same spot all the time you will tend to do the same in combat. Spreading out the damage to other vulnerable spots might take your target down faster.

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Re: Favorite Sci-Fi Weapon

 

Well for me it comes down to a couple of weapons that really tickle my fancy.

 

The first is the Zat from "Stargate SG-1". I don't know why I like it so much, but I think it's introduction is what really touched me, especially after Teal'c used it in a shocking way...

 

O'NIELL: First shot stuns, second shot kills, third shot..?

 

TEAL'C: Disintegrates.

 

O'NIELL: And you didn't think this was important to tell me WHY?

 

That, and it makes a nifty sound when used.

 

The second weapon is not so man-portable--the "stop that" cannon from Robert Asperin's "Illegal Aliens". No mass destruction, no blood spray, just pull the trigger, and...

 

STOP THAT!

 

And they do. What could be better?

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