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"in 1974 I experienced an invasion of my mind by a transcendentally rational mind, as if I had been insane all my life and suddenly I had become sane."
- Philip K. Dick
 |
| Rod of Wrath | ||
| A sword made of light. |
This three-part serial was originally published in 1943. In the story, the device is presented as being a small rod, like a flashlight, which projects an energy beam.
 (The rod of wrath from Gather, Darkness!) Like two ancient swordsmen, then, the warlock and the deacon duelled together. Their weapons were two endless blades of violet incandescence, but their tactics were those of sabreurs - feint, cut, parry, swift riposte. |
| Technovelgy from Gather, Darkness!,
by Fritz Leiber. Published by Astounding Science Fiction in 1943 Additional resources -
|
Sure, go ahead and compare it to the lightsaber from Star Wars and the rod from Fritz Leiber's 1943 novel Gather, Darkness!. See also the entry for flashlight laser, which is essentially an indefinitely long light saber, from Ringworld, by Larry Niven. Niven mentions "light swords" in the book. See also the entry for Force-Field Penknife, from Foundation by Isaac Asimov.
You could also consider the flaming épée from The Mathematics of Magic (1940) by L. Sprague deCamp and Fletcher Pratt:
(The flaming épée from 'The Mathematics of Magic' (1940) by Fletcher Pratt and L. Sprague deCamp)
With the ghostly fingers of the cobwebs clutching at his legs, Shea stood on the stair and thought as he never had before of a spell:"Sword, sword, sword that is now my salvation,
Make me a light to cut through these cobwebs:
Be like Surt's sword to cut through this maze."He could feel the hilt growing warm.
"Help my escape to reach consummation;
In the name of Durandal, help me to be free."It was not outrageously good poetry, but the hilt was so hot. that he snatched it out. A smoky red flame ran. down the blade and dropped from the point, revealing the whole stairwell from wall to wall and as high as Shea stood, filled with a solid mass of the hideous gray material. A man could smother in it easier than not. Busyrane left nothing to chance.
Shea slashed at the stuff with the flaming épée. It shriveled left and right before him, back against the wall with hissing, foul-smelling flames running along the strands.
Thanks to Stephen Jones for pointing this out in Dr. Hermes Retro-Scans. Thanks also to Secret Master of Fandom for the illustration and discussion.
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Tech news articles related to Gather, Darkness!
Tech news articles related to works by Fritz Leiber
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| China's Handheld Electromagnetic Gun |
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