Non-Lethal Weapons

The year is 1997. A group of terrorists is holding hostages inside an American Embassy in Central America, and the President is receiving a Pentagon briefing on various options.

What about hauling out the isotropic radiator? Fired from a conventional weapon, an explosive burst superheats a surrounding gaseous plasma and inspires a laserbright flash. For the terrorists, it’s as if they just came out of a dark room and stared directly up at the sun. But the retinal damage is only temporary. Or how about using infrasound? From banks of speakers driven by highpowered amplifiers, very low frequency sound waves are generated that can easily penetrate most buildings and vehicles. Not only will the terrorists quickly become disoriented, before long they’ll also be vomiting and defecating.

Another option is always VSI – Visual Stimulus and Illusion. A holographic image is projected into the clouds right outside the embassy window. When the terrorists look out, one of their long-lost martyrs simply tells them to let everybody go...