HOME | DD

Description
The Particle Projection Sidearm -- also called the "Tesla Gauntlet" (or just "The Gauntlet") -- is exactly what it sounds like: a miniaturized charged particle beam projector (based loosely on Tesla's rumored "teleforce" death ray [ gizmodo.com/5587182/why-teslas… ]) wearable on one's arm via this fashionable gauntlet. It's a fictional weapon created for early drafts of "The Edge of Chaos"; whether I'll include it in the final story is something I'm still debating.

Some notes from the drawing:

* Oy vey, the "liquid crystal particle lens [sic]"... Terribly sorry about the misspellings. This was done in 2004, and I've gotten much better at spelling since then. Also: yeah, I know the "liquid crystal" concept has nothing to do with particle beams. I was worse at technobabble than the writers of "Star Trek: Voyager". Had I drawn this today, I would have simply referred to this part of the device as the "focusing lens".

* Note the "recharge ports"? The idea is that the device would blow a lot of energy in one or two blasts and occasionally (re: ALL THE TIME) need recharging. In other words: it isn't a true teleforce device, as Tesla's designs would've used ambient energy somehow.

* The "system display" would've had basic information such as the date and time, how much energy the device had left, and how many more blasts of different types (I had conceived of the device as being able to shoot one continuous particle beam, short particle bursts, or a wide-area "net" of lightning) the wearer would be capable of using before the device either ran out of energy or burnt out entirely. Since smartphones and tablets have become the norm, maybe the thing could have a smart computer with its own separate power supply built in?

* The "access port" is the side port where a technician could open up the device and service its rudimentary computer systems as needed. (If it's like a smartphone or mini-tablet, the workings of such and its separate battery would be accessible there, unless the computer is removable or the parts are more modular.)

* Yes, the device's power cell is visible. It would've glowed brighter when fully charged, and could've had a second form of "you have THIS much energy left" display for the user. (Redundant, I know. I prefer redundancy.) It's actually a good idea to have the power cell easily disconnect-able, if you think about it. What if the device gets damaged and could possibly blow up? Grab the power cell and toss it before it does. Plus, you could set the thing to overload intentionally and use the power cell as an energy grenade.

* The finger treads would've had some form of rudimentary sensors and vibration system set to vibrate at different strengths when the wearer is picking up something, so the wearer would be careful not to accidentally crush whatever they're picking up.

* Yes, I actually specified that the device would have insulation on the inside. Wouldn't want your arm to get cooked while wearing it, would you?

* Notice that the trigger is divided into three parts? Like I said before, three settings: continuous particle beam or short particle bursts (done from the middle button, an actual trigger), running an energy charge over the device (so you could grab a bad guy and give them enough of a shock to knock 'em out, triggered by the left button -- a simple on/off toggle), or a wide-area lightning net (click the right button to toggle the ability on/off, then press and hold the middle button to fire). That plus the overloaded power cell/energy grenade idea technically gives the wearer FIVE different types of attack (six if you count punching/slapping/backhanding/hitting someone while wearing it; the device is very heavy and would probably hurt someone without any energy in its power cell).

It's a nifty little device... I might still use it in the story, or in another story.

Description
The Particle Projection Sidearm -- also called the "Tesla Gauntlet" (or just "The Gauntlet") -- is exactly what it sounds like: a miniaturized charged particle beam projector (based loosely on Tesla's rumored "teleforce" death ray [ gizmodo.com/5587182/why-teslas… ]) wearable on one's arm via this fashionable gauntlet. It's a fictional weapon created for early drafts of "The Edge of Chaos"; whether I'll include it in the final story is something I'm still debating.

Some notes from the drawing:

* Oy vey, the "liquid crystal particle lens [sic]"... Terribly sorry about the misspellings. This was done in 2004, and I've gotten much better at spelling since then. Also: yeah, I know the "liquid crystal" concept has nothing to do with particle beams. I was worse at technobabble than the writers of "Star Trek: Voyager". Had I drawn this today, I would have simply referred to this part of the device as the "focusing lens".

* Note the "recharge ports"? The idea is that the device would blow a lot of energy in one or two blasts and occasionally (re: ALL THE TIME) need recharging. In other words: it isn't a true teleforce device, as Tesla's designs would've used ambient energy somehow.

* The "system display" would've had basic information such as the date and time, how much energy the device had left, and how many more blasts of different types (I had conceived of the device as being able to shoot one continuous particle beam, short particle bursts, or a wide-area "net" of lightning) the wearer would be capable of using before the device either ran out of energy or burnt out entirely. Since smartphones and tablets have become the norm, maybe the thing could have a smart computer with its own separate power supply built in?

* The "access port" is the side port where a technician could open up the device and service its rudimentary computer systems as needed. (If it's like a smartphone or mini-tablet, the workings of such and its separate battery would be accessible there, unless the computer is removable or the parts are more modular.)

* Yes, the device's power cell is visible. It would've glowed brighter when fully charged, and could've had a second form of "you have THIS much energy left" display for the user. (Redundant, I know. I prefer redundancy.) It's actually a good idea to have the power cell easily disconnect-able, if you think about it. What if the device gets damaged and could possibly blow up? Grab the power cell and toss it before it does. Plus, you could set the thing to overload intentionally and use the power cell as an energy grenade.

* The finger treads would've had some form of rudimentary sensors and vibration system set to vibrate at different strengths when the wearer is picking up something, so the wearer would be careful not to accidentally crush whatever they're picking up.

* Yes, I actually specified that the device would have insulation on the inside. Wouldn't want your arm to get cooked while wearing it, would you?

* Notice that the trigger is divided into three parts? Like I said before, three settings: continuous particle beam or short particle bursts (done from the middle button, an actual trigger), running an energy charge over the device (so you could grab a bad guy and give them enough of a shock to knock 'em out, triggered by the left button -- a simple on/off toggle), or a wide-area lightning net (click the right button to toggle the ability on/off, then press and hold the middle button to fire). That plus the overloaded power cell/energy grenade idea technically gives the wearer FIVE different types of attack (six if you count punching/slapping/backhanding/hitting someone while wearing it; the device is very heavy and would probably hurt someone without any energy in its power cell).

It's a nifty little device... I might still use it in the story, or in another story.