"This machine has the ability to inflict limitless, unbearable pain" // October 2, 2007
You need to read this article that my brother-in-law sent me. Its about a machine that is being developed that is a literal ray gun. Basically, it has one purpose - to cause pain. I'll give you some of the highlights:
"I was told people can take it for a second, maximum. No way, not for a wimp like me.
I try it again. It is a bit like touching a red-hot wire, but there is no heat, only the sensation of heat. There is no burn mark or blister.
Its makers claim this infernal machine is the modern face of warfare. It has a nice, friendly sounding name, Silent Guardian.
I am told not to call it a ray-gun, though that is precisely what it is (the term "pain gun" is maybe better, but I suppose they would like that even less).
The field model is a square transmitter as big as a plasma TV screen mounted on the back of a Jeep.
When turned on, it emits an invisible, focused beam of radiation - similar to the microwaves in a domestic cooker - that are tuned to a precise frequency to stimulate human nerve endings.
It can throw a wave of agony nearly half a mile.
Because the beam penetrates skin only to a depth of 1/64th of an inch, it cannot, says Raytheon, cause visible, permanent injury.
But anyone in the beam's path will feel, over their entire body, the agonizing sensation I've just felt on my fingertip. The prospect doesn't bear thinking about.
And, to be fair, the machine is not designed to vaporise, shred, atomise, dismember or otherwise cause permanent harm.
This machine has the ability to inflict limitless, unbearable pain.
"I was told people can take it for a second, maximum. No way, not for a wimp like me.
I try it again. It is a bit like touching a red-hot wire, but there is no heat, only the sensation of heat. There is no burn mark or blister.
Its makers claim this infernal machine is the modern face of warfare. It has a nice, friendly sounding name, Silent Guardian.
I am told not to call it a ray-gun, though that is precisely what it is (the term "pain gun" is maybe better, but I suppose they would like that even less).
The field model is a square transmitter as big as a plasma TV screen mounted on the back of a Jeep.
When turned on, it emits an invisible, focused beam of radiation - similar to the microwaves in a domestic cooker - that are tuned to a precise frequency to stimulate human nerve endings.
It can throw a wave of agony nearly half a mile.
Because the beam penetrates skin only to a depth of 1/64th of an inch, it cannot, says Raytheon, cause visible, permanent injury.
But anyone in the beam's path will feel, over their entire body, the agonizing sensation I've just felt on my fingertip. The prospect doesn't bear thinking about.
And, to be fair, the machine is not designed to vaporise, shred, atomise, dismember or otherwise cause permanent harm.
This machine has the ability to inflict limitless, unbearable pain.
But anyone in the beam's path will feel, over their entire body, the agonising sensation I've just felt on my fingertip. The prospect doesn't bear thinking about."
The prospect of a machine that can cause incredible pain without leaving a mark - the possibilities for ethical and moral violations are endless. I guess the question that has to be asked here is, "what makes a weapon ethical?" "CAN a weapon be ethical or moral?" Is not the very existence of a weapon an ethical/moral violation?
The prospect of a machine that can cause incredible pain without leaving a mark - the possibilities for ethical and moral violations are endless. I guess the question that has to be asked here is, "what makes a weapon ethical?" "CAN a weapon be ethical or moral?" Is not the very existence of a weapon an ethical/moral violation?
Categories
General Interest Military Stuff , Interesting Articles , Reflections
Chaplain Jon Fisher
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