Unusual Scifi weapons

[ld80062]

Selected quotes regarding Sci-fi weaponry (man-portable) from:
http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42797

First, some reference links mentioned, where you can get additional stuff… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_science_fiction_weapons

And http://www.technovelgy.com for “today’s cutting edge”, including military applications.

The original poster from the Herogames thread is mentioned, then the quotation. My words are in the {curly brackets}

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First section: guns.

Tgranjean, quoting from the Wiki:

Reason (weapon system)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Reason is a fictional weapon system from the novel Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. It is a multibarrel needlegun, similar to a Gatling gun, that fires small heavy fragments at super high speeds that will penetrate nearly anything.

Name Plate
The name plate reads:

REASON
Version 1.0B7
Gatling type 3mm hypervelocity railgun system
Ng Security Industries, Inc.
PRERELEASE VERSION-NOT FOR FIELD USE
DO NOT TEST IN A POPULATED AREA
-ULTIMA RATIO REGUM-

Ultima Ratio Regum
Latin for "The Last Argument (literally "reason") of Kings", the phrase Ultima Ratio Regum was engraved on all of Louis XIV's cannon (referred to in Stephenson's The Baroque Cycle). This simple declaratory statement reflects the sentiment that ultimately, in the anarchical world of society between sovereigns, force is the final arbiter when parties cannot agree to adjudicate conflicts or contracts.

Composition
It shoots 3 mm depleted uranium fragments at very high velocities and a very high rate of fire. It is composed of several different pieces:

A large, black, wheeled suitcase weighing somewhere over 300 pounds (140 kg). This contains the ammo for the weapon and becomes considerably lighter as it is used. It also has a control panel inside containing important information such as ammo left and the subsystem statuses.
A set of around two dozen 3 mm barrels around three feet (1 m) in length, attached together in a Gatling gun configuration. This is connected to the suitcase via a wrist-thick set of flexible cables and ammo feeds. These barrels spin so quickly when fired that they become a blur. The barrel system can be mounted to the firer's body to absorb the recoil.
A nuclear isotope power system that is cooled via a large chunk of heatsinks that glow white hot when in the open air. However, when submerged into a large body of water, it cools the system quite well. It is connected to the suitcase via a 3 in (75 mm) flexible cable.
The initial operating system needed a hotpatch, as it crashed in the field at a very critical time. The weapon was new and had not yet been rigorously tested in the field.

Menu System
HELP
Getting ready
Firing Reason
Tactical tips
Maintenance
Resupply
Troubleshooting
Miscellaneous

AmadanNaBriona wrote

First, the pistols carried by the Sandmen in the book version of Logans Run. Dial up your choice from a variety of rocket propelled munitions carried in the gun and have at. The direct ancestor of the Lawgiver from Judge Dredd.
An idea that I used (with variations) repeatedly in my first Star Hero Game, back before Star Hero came out.

Second.... The Spetsdod, from Steve Perry's "Matador" series. A small gas powered dart gun worn on the back of the hand, with the barrel extending down over the index finger. Fired by a contact patchon the underside of the barrel, it's just what the name says... the ultimate point & shoot weapon. When combined with the ammo seen most often in the books, it's always struck me as a brilliant non lethal weapon... Spasm is a bioengineered self replicating viral toxin that locks all voluntary muscles into painful contractions for 6 months. With proper treatment, completely non lethal, but EXPENSIVE to tend to spasm locked victims, and it certainly gives someone a lot of time to consider if violence is REALLY the best course of action for their life. The perfect non lethal revolutionaries weapon.

Von D-Man wrote:

For sheer look and feel, let alone the anti-matter rounds in the top barrel, I'd have to go with the Blaster from Blade Runner.

http://www.brmovie.com/Images/Things/blaster_02.jpg

AlHazred wrote:

I'll add the AM-280 rifle from Chapter 39 of Gerrold's A Matter For Men. A needler, it has a fantastic multi-frequency laser sight built in. When the sight is tuned with the same code key as the accompanying helmet, the laser changes frequency randomly and unpredictably several times a minute, with the helmet changing frequency of pickup in time with it. So, you can see the beam as a steady beam, but alien species that can see some unusual frequencies shouldn't be able to see the beam most of the time. Better for stealth.

Inu wrote:

Originally Posted by LordGhee
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />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.
</font>[/QUOTE]Nyrath wrote:

Good answers, all. Not familiar with Harry Harrison's Pyran gun, but it sounds interesting; maybe I'll have to check them out.

http://www.projectrho.com/rocket/rocket3l.html

Quote:
The colonist on the planet Pyrrus have the ultimate quick draw in a gadget called the "power-holster." The holster is strapped to your forearm. When you arrange your hand in "holding-a-pistol" posture, a mechanical actuator slams the gun out of the holster and into your hand.

From Deathworld by Harry Harrison

"Every gun is fitted to its owner and would be useless on anyone else," Brucco said. "I'll show you why." He led Jason to an armory jammed with deadly weapons. "Put your arm in this while I make the adjustments."

It was a box-like machine with a pistol grip on the side. Jason clutched the grip and rested his elbow on a metal loop. Brucco fixed pointers that touched his arm, then copied the results from the meters. Reading the figures from his list, he selected various components from bins and quickly assembled a power holster and gun. With the holster strapped to his forearm and the gun in his hand, Jason noticed for the first time they were connected by a flexible cable. The gun fitted his hand perfectly.

"This is the secret of the power holster," Brucco said, tapping the flexible cable. "It is perfectly loose while you are using the weapon. But when you want it returned to the holster-" Brucco made an adjustment and the cable became a stiff rod that whipped the gun from Jason's hand and suspended it in midair.

"Then the return." The rod cable whirred and snapped the gun back into the holster. "The drawing action is the opposite of this, of course."

"A great gadget," Jason said. "But how do I draw? Do I whistle or something for the gun to pop out?"

"No, it is not sonic control," Brucco answered with a sober face. "It is much more precise than that. Here, take your left hand and grasp an imaginary gunbutt. Tense your trigger finger. Do you notice the pattern of the tendons in the wrist? Sensitive actuators touch the tendons in your right wrist. They ignore all patterns except the one that says hand ready to receive gun. After a time the mechanism becomes completely automatic. When you want the gun, it is in your hand. When you don't, it is in the holster."

Jason made grasping motions with his right hand, crooked his index finger. There was a sudden, smashing pain against his hand and a loud roar. The gun was in his hand-half the fingers were numb-and smoke curled up from the barrel.

"Of course, there are only blank charges in the gun until you learn control. Guns are always loaded. There is no safety. Notice the lack of a trigger guard. That enables you to bend your trigger finger a slight bit more when drawing so the gun will fire the instant it touches your hand."

It was without doubt the most murderous weapon Jason had ever handled, as well as being the hardest to manage. Working against the muscle burning ache of high gravity, he fought to control the devilish device. It had an infuriating way of vanishing into the holster just as he was about to pull the trigger. Even worse was the tendency to leap out before he was quite ready. The gun went to the position where his hand should be. If the fingers weren't correctly placed, they were crashed aside. Jason only stopped the practice when his entire hand was one livid bruise.

Complete mastery would come with time, but he could already understand why the Pyrrans never removed their guns. It would be like removing a part of your own body. The movement of gun from holster to hand was too fast for him to detect. It was certainly faster than the neural current that shaped the hand into the gun-holding position. For all apparent purposes it was like having a lightning bolt in your fingertip. Point the finger and blamm, there's the explosion.

 

[ld80062]

More guns from the same discussion at:
http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42797


Major Tom wrote:

How about the rapid-fire plasma pistol (at least I think it was a plasma pistol) from the movie I Come In Peace?

Dale A. Ward wrote:

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!

Hypnotoad wrote:

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?

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?

BobGreenwade wrote:

For an "Honorable Mention" I'll suggest the disintegrator used by Duck Dodgers -- and brother, when it disintegrates, it disintegrates!

Nyrath wrote:

Originally Posted by keithcurtis
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />I kind of like the Radium Pistols/Rifles from Barsoom. The ammunition is pretty unique. It's an opaque bullet filled with a powder that explodes on contact with light. (Carter uses the term Radium because, well frankly he has an INT of 5)
If the bullet doesn't penetrate, it explodes instead. Sometimes it does both.
If a battle takes place at night, the battlefield is spectacularly dangerous in the morning, when all the missed ammo starts going up when touched by sunlight.

And the Green Barsoomian women, who were the tribal barber-surgeons, had (by hard trial-and-error) developed a technique for extracting bullets from wounded warriors without exposing the bullet to light.</font>[/QUOTE]AlHazred wrote:

Sure, except that the radium rifles are something like twelve or fourteen feet long! Good luck aiming those! And the radium pistol ammo always gives out right when it's dramatically appropriate...

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wcw43921 wrote:

Originally Posted by Dracheneisen
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />My favorite weapon from a sci-fi movie is the .45 Thompson sub-machine guns with drum clips from King Kong. Lots of shots, lots of noise, cool looks, what's not to like?

And in zero-gravity it can serve as an alternate form of propulsion. </font>[/QUOTE]Yansuf wrote:

For non-military use, I have to agree with the "Star Trek" (original) phaser. For military small arms the gauss rifle or grav gun would be my favorite. Unless you are will to put up with some lack of reliability, in which case the "dally-gun" from "Tactics of Mistake" is great.

Marketeer wrote:

Although they wouldn't be my favorite sci-fi weapons, Warhammer 40k lasguns just feel right for the universe: cheaply made, effective, mass-produced like blazes, and designed so that they can be recharged from pretty much any power source.

They give the right tone for a universe where the Imperium of Man is so sprawling that things need to be simple and highly adaptable to local conditions.

 

[ld80062]

More quotes from:
http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42797

Categories:
Lightsabers, swords, and one tool:

Zeropoint wrote:

"I think they'll listen to Reason." -- one of my favorite lines from Snow Crash.

My vote for my favorite sci-fi weapon would be the Tenkian Shuriken from Neal Asher's "Gridlinked".

Tenkian was a weapons designer who viewed his creations as works of art. As such, they are each unique, and as beautiful as they are deadly. The Shuriken is the last and greatest of his works. It possesses five retractable blades made of chainglass, a substance with the hardness of diamond and the tensile strength of high-alloy steel. Cut radius with the blades fully extended is 25 cm. The Shuriken is normally housed in a holster on the right arm, but when activated, flies and spins at high speeds under its own power. It has limited artificial intelligence, and is capable of both following orders and proactively intervening to protect its owner. It also seems to be capable of learning through experience.

Dauntless wrote:

My favorite sci-fi weapon isn't really a weapon at all. In fact, it's a defensive weapon. It's the shield from Dune. This one technological gadget perfectly rationalized the return of sword and other melee fighting in a high tech world. The more energy an object has, the greater the resilience of the shield. Hence, you had to learn how to fight with archaic weapons again.

{snipped a few comments on the spiritual benefits of archaic weapons:
Nifty quote: "The true benefit of power armor is that it allows the spirit to keep pace with the physical." from Dragonstar Rising }

Bazza wrote:

As a kid I fell in love with the sword(lightsaber)/pistol combo that Ulysses 31 wielded.

see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Ulysees_31_DVD_cover.jpg for the graphic

Nyrath wrote:

Captain Harlock had a laser rifle that was shaped like a sword or foil.
Go to
http://www.cornponeflicks.org/harlock/pirateships.html
and scroll to the bottom.

Nyrath again wrote:

The Lightsabre of course and all the variations from other fictional sources, such as the Blood Swords from Margaret Weis Star of the Guardians series.
How would the Blood Sword be coded in the Hero system?
(for those who have not read the Star of the Guardians series, it is a hideous species of light-sabre. When the user picks it up, five needles insert themselves into their palm. You see, the blasted thing runs on human blood. As you fight the blood loss makes you weaker and weaker, so don't waste time.)

Curufea wrote:

Sounds like the borrowed the idea {sic}of the Harlequin's Kiss from the first edition of Warhammer 40K. Where a wrist-mounted housing had an almost katar-like spike. It was jammed through armour (or a hole or joint) and a whiplike monofilament would then be injected and whipped around inside the armour at high speed. The usual result being that when the armour was opened later, the wearer would pour out.

Sundog wrote:

Morgaine's Sword (it has a name, but I can't think of it just now) from the Chronicles of Morgaine. It has a warp gate of extremely tiny dimensions in it's tip.

As long as it's in it's scabbard, it's perfectly safe. But as soon as it's pulled out, the gate starts sucking everything in. Everything. Worse, at one point she intimates that the gate doesn't actually go anywhere - just away.

If the blade is pointed at you, there's no way to retaliate - anything pointed her way goes into the gate. And unless you run away right quick, that'll include you...

AlHazred wrote:

Rereading the old Ringworld RPG from Chaosium reminded me of one of my favorite sci-fi weapons: the flashlight laser http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/content.asp?Bnum=397 (image here http://www.sloan3d.com/chmeee/fl_laser.jpg ). Set it on wide-beam, and it's a handy flashlight. Narrow the beam and it becomes a high-powered laser, capable of cutting through stone with little effort. It's an invention of the Puppeteers - not surprising that such a cowardly people would come up with a gadget that combines tool and weapon, and looks innocuous to boot!

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Nerve disruptors:

Kaven Kor wrote:

Nerve Disruptor from the Miles books.

It is like a (slightly unpredictable) remote control for people -- and it only has an off button.

For those who haven't read the books (or haven't heard me blabbering about it on here already), the Nerve Disruptor is some sort of electrical weapon which fires a bolt described in the book as "crackling purple lightning." It has no affect on most materials, however, if it strikes a person...

Those struck by this weapon are in trouble. The bolt completely fries the nervous system of its victims. Near misses cause numbness or "pins and needles" like the area had "fallen asleep." Glancing blows can cause permanent nerve damage in the location struck, repairable only by artificially replacing the nerves. A solid shot... you are dead. Or, if not dead, a paraplegic or total vegetable. Head shots are the worst -- as with most weapons -- since if you live you'll have permanent and severe brain damage.

They are very popular for fighting on ships and space stations as they cause no structural damage. They are also a far more effective deterrent or "threat" than stunners or conventional firearms.

BobGreenwade

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

Quote: </font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />
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.

</font>[/QUOTE]**************************
Addiction/Pleasure:

Publius wrote:

Niven's Tasp. Hit somebody with it and their brain overloads on instant ecstacy. Hit them with it often enough and they become an addict. The very threat of one can bring down a Kzin...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ringworld </font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />
The puppeteer addressed himself to Speaker-to-Animals.
"You understand that I will use the tasp every time you force me to. I will use it if attempt to use violence too often, or if you startle me too much; you will soon become dependent upon the tasp; if you kill me, you will still be ignobly bound by the tasp itself."

"Very astute," said Speaker. "Brilliantly unorthodox tactics. I will trouble you no more."

"The puppeteer is right," said Speaker. "I would not risk the tasp again. Too many jolts of pleasure would leave me his willing slave. I, a kzin, enslaved to a herbivore

</font>[/QUOTE]====
tkdguy wrote:

I like the Pacifier gun that appeared in Doctor Who (Tom Baker's run). Instead of causing damage, it temporarily removed all the target's aggression, making him/her a happy camper for a few hours.

 

[mbrinkhues]

From Kenneth Bullmers "Ryder Hook" the Gel-Weapons.

Basically a small launcher of a Gelatine-like bullet. Upon contact with flesh, the person hit starts to dissolve, leaving a dirty puddle. Most likely a Nano-Based thing. The weapons are muscle-controlled and worn on the wrist (typically left - right is your credit-card implant)


From Perry Rhodan (German SciFi) the Arkon-Bomb.

Named after it's developers it causes a rapid nuclear reaction between all elements of a set order number or lower, consuming all of the target. The beast is about man-sized and can destroy a whole planet. Beat that, Darth Vader.

The prefered deployment system is a 1m tall, psionic alien (Teleportation, Telepathy, Telekinesis) that looks like a cross-breed between Mouse and Beaver


The HM-4 beam pistol from Space Patrol. Just because it looks funny to have a fold-out pistol that is held with the barrel below the hand


Pulsers from Honor Harrington. A high-speed, rapid fire gauss weapon. The Shrapnel-gun (basically a Grenade-Launcher/Shotgun crossbreed) sounds also nice. Oh, and a TreeCat.


The whole set of weapons from Webers "The Fury". Including the Cybernetic Improvements and the PA's


Carter from SG-1. Just add something explosive.

 

[ld80062]

It's my last cut & paste from:
http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42797

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Man-portable nasty pieces of work:

keithcurtis wrote:

If we're going to tout Doomsday weapons, my favorite is Ice-9. A tiny sliver of it is totally harmless in a little glass bottle. Put it into the ocean and you destroy the world. Instantly.

Keith "Well, destroy it in any meaningful, useful sense" Curtis

AlHazred wrote:

Originally Posted by Arkham </font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />
Surprised it hasn't been mentioned, but I would have to go with the Lens...

True, it could be used as a weapon of immense power. Somewhere, I thought someone'd done a writeup of it, but a quick search shows me that all those threads where it was discussed eventually degenerated into a discussion of women in the Lensman Universe.

It killed a wearer who wasn't its owner, right? Magnified innate telepathic powers? Acted to decrypt and make understandable all forms of communication? </font>[/QUOTE]**********************************
Non-portable intimidation/torture weapons:

wcw43921 wrote:

The Secret Disintegrator Button from the "Mirror, Mirror" universe in Star Trek.

That's the one where Kirk can open a panel in his quarters, spy on anyone undetectably--and wipe them out of existence with the touch of a button.

Yes--I believe it was called the Tantalus Field.

{Addendum: The Agony Booth, from the Mirror Mirror universe of Star Trek. (also, see: http://www.agonybooth.com, on awful Trek)
Or, use the version from the game "Sid Meiser's Alpha Centauri", the Punishment Sphere. The Game

It is not uncommon to see patients undergo permanent psychological trauma in the presence of the Sphere, before the nerve stapler has even been strapped into position. Its effect on the general consciousness of the culture is profound: husbands have seen wives go inside, and mothers their children. Dr. Xynan left the surface of the sphere semitranslucent for a reason. You can hear them in there; you can see them. It is a thing of terrible beauty.

Baron Klim
"The Music of the Spheres"

http://www.generationterrorists.com/quotes/smac.html - a great list of sci-fi quotes, used in the game. (Some are fictional) }

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Non-manportable guns:

Sinanju wrote:

Don't forget the "unstoppable missiles" the primitive (1943 or so) humans on earth were lobbing at the alien invaders' spaceships parked in Europe in Turtledove's "World War" novels. The alien spacecraft, of course, had anti-missile defenses--not that they expected to need them.

Then their radar detected incoming missiles. Fire anti-missiles. NO EFFECT. One warship utterly destroyed. A few minutes later, another missile shows up on radar. Another ship destroyed when the incoming bogey proves invulnerable to anti-missile fire.

Alas for the humans, by then the aliens figured out that what they thought was a missile was actually a multi-ton explosive shell fired from "Big Bertha" (an artillery piece mounted on a railroad car. Too big, too tough and too damn stupid for sophisticated anti-missile defenses to stop it. The third "missile" never got launched as the aliens eradicated the artillery position with extreme prejudice....

Curufea

I quite liked the Thor missile system from the wargame Renegade Legion: Centurion.

Semi guided crowbars dropped from orbit.

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Non-manportable bombs

Inu

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)

{From the movie,”Dark Star”:
http://www2.english.uiuc.edu/cybercinema/bomb20.htm for full details of this Unfortunate Incident.}


Lemurion wrote:

I thought I'd already put it in this thread-- but EE "Doc" Smith's Sunbeam. 14.7 million tons of disintegrating matter per second focused on whatever you want.

After that, Heinlein's 30-second bomb from Starship Troopers (the novel). The one that goes, "I'm a thirty-second bomb, twenty-nine, twenty-eight...." and continues the spiel until it detonates.

Kaeto wrote:

Or the Psyc warfare version that does the countdown and right when it's supposed to explode it goes. "I lied".

**********************************
additional quotes regarding high-tech bombs, on rec.arts.sf.written:

From Bill Snyder

"Can you read the bomb's mind to see if it's hostile?"
"I don't sense any hostility... but it's ignoring me and quoting the book of Genesis, is that a bad sign?"
"I'm not sure about hostile, but it's definitely suicidal. That's just as bad, right?"
"Well, I suppose that depends on your religious convictions--"
"Never mind, just get me a Bomb Psychologist on the line. (I can't believe I just said that...)."

ObSF: John Varley's "Bagatelle." ( '"I am rated at fifty kilotons,"the bomb said with a trace of pride.')

Nyrath wrote:

The old role-playing game TRAVELLER postulated spaceships with non-bulletproof walls. This prompts the oddity of racks for cutlasses next to the airlocks.

There was also a cartoon: over a spaceship porthole
showing the vacuum of space was a sign reading
"IN CASE OF FIRE, BREAK GLASS"

 

[Klaus]

How about the needlegun from the novel "Salt"

A lump of metal is heated to molten then squirted out a linear accelerator. The size of the projectile shard is dependent on how long the trigger is depressed.

Or the vibe cannon from "Broken Angels" by Richard Morgan.

Guess it's a sonic weapon. Takeshi Kovacs uses it to liquify his former mercenary comrades (about 100 dead in 1 second).

 

[archhealer]

I rather like the Needlers from Halo. I know Halo is super overdone, but there are some neat weapons in there. Rapid fire homing needles that don't do much damage... till they explode.

I also loved the absurd gun in Fifth Element. The one Zorg was trading to the alien mercenaries (And the then blew themselves up with). Flamethrower, homing rounds, net launcher, rocket launcher, arrows with exploding or poison gas heads, a freeze ray-ish thing, and a big red button that makes the whole thing go 'boom'.

 

[stofsk]

Larry Niven's tasp device. You shoot it at someone and they become super-content. It's like shooting darts of crack cocaine at people. Which would make them happy rather than angry. So it MUST be evil and immoral.

The Randomiser Beam. Shoot it at someone; anything can happen. Will they be atomised? Or will their gender change? Find out! Hilarious results, or your money back!

I would also say the Lightsabre is unusual. Weightless bladed weapon that can cut through anything. If you used it you have to be careful because you might slice your own face off.

The handheld nuke has always been one of the more... unusual devices in science fiction.

 

[Black Globe Generator]

RAH's "talking bomb" from ST: "I'm a thirty-second bomb! I'm a thirty-second bomb! Twenty-nine! Twenty-eight! ..." Maximum property damage, minimum loss of life.

 

[Keklas Rekobah]

I forget the title of the story...

The weapon was about the size of a Buck Rogers disintegrator pistol, and included a specially-wound solenoid on a “Handwavium” (Hw) alloy core, an electrolytic battery, and a normally-open momentary switch under the trigger.

Pulling the trigger initiated a flow of current through the solenoid, which interacted with the core and produced a “bullet” of force that had the same effect on a target as a 9mm round. It had something to do with an inductor’s inherent resistance to any change in the current flowing through it coupled with some obscure property of the Hw alloy.

(I'd call it a "Pulse Gun" -- HKR)

The drawback was that when the trigger was released, the weapon’s temperature would drop. After firing a dozen or so shots, frost would form on the barrel. A few more shots, and the weapon would freeze to the user’s unprotected hand. After still a few more shots, the battery would be rendered useless due to its internal temperature dropping too low for its chemical reactions to occur.

A variation of the weapon’s design allowed the protagonist to construct a “Reactionless” thruster, around which he then built a spaceship. This spaceship allowed him and some friends (including his girlfriend) to travel to an ancient battle station in the asteroid belt and fend off an Earth-shattering attack from an unknown alien force.

An example of pure pulp Sci-Fi at its best!

 

[mctesla]

I've always been fond of the Deathwand in Dan Simmons Hyperion Cantos-

The deathwand had been Web technology for centuries-- designed by the Core and limited to FORCE personnel and a few specialized security forces such as Government House's and Gladstone's Praetorians. It did not burn, blast, shoot, slag, or incinerate. It made no sound and projected no visible ray or sonic footprint. It simply made the target die.
If the target were human, that is. A deathwand's range was limited-- no more than 50 meters-- but within that range, a targeted human died, while other animals and property were totally safe. Autopsies showed scrambled synapses but no other damage. Deathwands merely made one cease to be.

Talk about a fun toy for Grandfather to leave for some unsuspecting players to stumble on....

 

[jasper]

SPLAT guns from schlock mercanary.

 

[mbrinkhues]

Originally posted by jasper:
SPLAT guns from schlock mercanary.

Far more deadly:

ELF from Shlock Mercenary

http://www.schlockmercenary.com/d/20060503.html

http://www.schlockmercenary.com/d/20060504.html

 

[Darkhstarr]

I designed for my wife's pirate character the RGSMG-Rotary Gauss Submachine Gun. A 4-barrelled gauss mini-gatling firing Darts, Acid point rounds, HE & HEAP. The original design had a pistol grip & a top mounted grip large enough for a vacc suit or battledress & an oversized donut magazine. When years later I saw Mouse's SMG in the Matrix I saw a better idea so the current version on my sight looks like Mouse's gun with 4 barrels. Because the weight its used with a harness or with battledress. Bette uses as a kick down the door & neutralize the room/deck weapon. Its common nickname is the 'Deck Wrecker'. Usually used with HE since HEAP tends to damage hulls & bulkheads. My stats probably need work since I'm guessing is firepower based off Traveller stats.

I also came up with the Neivher round, a slick armour piercing round that dissolves in the body's internal fluids. In the history of this material is that it starting as bodyarmor that tending in field condition degraded due to sweat after wearing it for 2D weeks. Useless as armour it became valuable as a way to fire tranq rounds against armored opponents.

 

[Whipsnade]

Pournelle's Project Thor idea; i.e. orbiting crowbars, doesn't work. I read a Lawrence Livermore study dismissing their utility a few years back. Loads of problems ranging from a very poor 'bang for the buck', limited kinetic energy due to terminal velocity issues, poor aiming, and a call for fire response time that can be measured in hours. Reads good on paper, sucks in practice.

A relatively new sci-fi author named John Scalzi has two books in the same setting. Earth and a few colony worlds are ruled over by a Colonial Union in a decidely hostile universe. Scalzi puts together a lot of ideas; personality transfers, cloning, geneering, nanotech, etc., to present a transhuman-ish style of warfare.

The infantry in the two books; Old Man's War and The Ghost Brigades, carry a rifle called an "Empee" (Empee is short for MP-something). The rifle makes whatever sort of ammo it needs from a block of metal via nanites. The soldiers control the rifle via a mindlink called a 'BrainPal'. Your rifle is your's and your's alone, thanks to the 'BrainPal' no one else can even fire it.

The books aren't great but they'll get you through a weekend.


Have fun,
Bill

 

[Todg]

Alas for the humans, by then the aliens figured out that what they thought was a missile was actually a multi-ton explosive shell fired from "Big Bertha" (an artillery piece mounted on a railroad car. Too big, too tough and too damn stupid for sophisticated anti-missile defenses to stop it. The third "missile" never got launched as the aliens eradicated the artillery position with extreme prejudice....

Too bad the original poster got their facts wrong - and possibly Turtledove too - I can't recall his exact words. But the Big Bertha guns were 42cm howitzers and were not rail mounted. They were also WWI era guns.

They were frequently confused with the Paris Gun, a 21cm railway gun, also of WWI vintage.

The Biggest German railway guns of the second world war, and the best know, were Gustav and Frau Dora, 80cm monsters used in the siege of sabastopol.

 

[mbrinkhues]

Actually the "Paris Gun" (Kaiser Willhelm Geschütz) was not a railway gun, it used a fixed mounting, not a railroad track.

Alternates would be the (far more sensible) K5 Railway guns. Two of those made up "Anzio Annie". These could use railroad tracks for movement (and did to hide from allied air) or the "Thor" series tracked mortars.

 

[Todg]

Correct. Transported by rail, but a fixed mounting. I stand corrected.

 

[signless]

Actually, this is probably the coolest sci-fi weapon of all time:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lazy_Gun

I'm trying to work it in to one of my adventures.

 

[mike wightman]

The plasma pistol in "A gift from the Culture" is pretty neat too.