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"For the sciences, the way to change science's perception of things is to wait until all the old farts have died off."
- Larry Niven
 |
| Kzinti Lesson - Propulsion As Weapon | ||
| The power of a craft's means of propulsion repurposed as an offensive weapon. |
This is also known as the Kzinti Lesson, as described by Larry Niven:
This is often used as a canonical example because the human beings were trained to be nonviolent; they were incapable of using weapons to harm others. Except for one crew member...
"A reaction drive's efficiency as a weapon is in direct proportion to its efficiency as a drive."
| The Captain hurried, knowing that the Telepath couldn't stand this for long. “How do they power their ship?”
“It's a light-pressure drive powered by incomplete hydrogen fusion. They use an electromagnetic ramscoop to get their own hydrogen from space.” “Clever… Can they get away from us?” “No. Their drive is on idle, ready to go, but it won't help them. It's pitifully weak.” “What kind of weapons do they have?” The Telepath remained silent for a long time... “None at all, sir.” The Kzin's voice became clearer; his hypnotic relaxation was broken by muscle twitches. He twisted as if in a nightmare. “Nothing aboard ship, not even a knife or a club. Wait, they've got cooking knives. But that's all they use them for. They don't fight.” ...
A twist of a large white knob turned the drive on full, and he slipped into the pilot seat before the gentle light pressure could build up.
...
The other ship began to turn away from its tormentor. Its drive end glowed red.
... Someone had steered the ships much closer together. The Kzinti ship was a huge red sphere with ugly projections scattered at seeming random over the hull. The beam had sliced it into two unequal halves, sliced it like an ax through an egg. Steve watched, unable to turn aside, as the big half rotated to show its honeycombed interior. |
| From The Warriors,
by Larry Niven. Published by Worlds of If in 1966 Additional resources -
|
The Warriors was published in 1966, so there are surely earlier examples in science fiction. For example, the Sardaukar used the attitudinal jets on a troop carrier as flame-throwers in Frank Herbert's Dune, published in 1964.
The repellor rays from Armageddon 2419 AD by Philip Frances Nowlan are sometimes cited, but the story distinguishes disintegration rays.
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'THE red tennis robot scooted desperately across the court...'
'The Consul remembered his first glimpse of the kilometer-long treeship...'
'Do you know what window washing used to cost by the hour?'
'Once the target is confirmed, it uses an IR laser to send a coded signal back to the parent, clearing it to attack.'
'I filled your bullet hole with flesh putty and the lattice.'
'... it will be easy to form an alphabet which shall enable us to converse with the inhabitants of the moon.'
'From the tower's huge octagonal base radiate wide silvery strips...'
'It was about five feet long... a black bullet head and red camera eyes.'
'The Law Society has strict rules on the use of pseudo-intelligent software...'
