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"I've taken some stick for passages in Altered Carbon which people complained had sickened them, but then violence should be sickening."
- Richard Morgan
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| Hostage Gas | ||
| A gas sprayed over a population; to survive, those who breathe it must report to centers for the antidote. |
| What is the enemy trying to accomplish with this gas?"
"It weakens any human who breathes it," Dr. Taka answered. "There was a broadcast an hour ago. The invader announced that affected humans must receive the antidote within one week, or die. Of course they are offering the antidote only in urban areas." "Hostage gas!" Athaclena whispered. "They want all the planet's humans as pawns." "Exactly. We must ingather or drop dead in six days." Athaclena's corona sparked anger. Hostage gas was an irresponsible weapon, even if it was legal under "certain limited types of war. |
| From The Uplift War,
by David Brin. Published by Not Known in 1987 Additional resources -
|
This is a very clever idea; maybe too clever. If not for the documented problems in sucessfully laying down poison gas, I'd be worried that someone might actually try this one.
This idea is reminiscent of the residual poison developed by Piter de Vries in Frank Herbert's novel Dune.
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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...'
