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"...a few centuries of coherent humanist thought, set against a million odd years of evolved killer ape tendency. No-one's going to give you very good odds on humanism, are they?"
- Richard Morgan
 |
| Ray Gun | ||
| A weapon shaped like a handgun that shoots rays of energy. |
This is probably the first occurence of the all-important science fiction phrase "ray gun."
| Soon they saw a hand reaching out with a ray gun; then another hand with a different ray gun, from behind the silent engine; a sudden crash of metal, a groan and quiet. |
| From The Black Star Passes,
by John W. Campbell. Published by Amazing Stories in 1930 Additional resources -
|
Compare to the equally useful blaster from When the Green Star Waned (1925) by Nictzin Dyalhis. See also the stationary automatic blaster from Red Planet (1949) by Robert Heinlein, the neutron disruption blaster from The Complete Paratime (1951) by H. Beam Piper and the meteor blasters from First Contact (1945), by Murray Leinster.
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I can't resist science-fictional elements. Especially when they're real.
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