Technology has advanced to the point that high quality robotics are commonplace, everyone's got a cyberbrain, and a trip to the Crab Nebula is a good five minutes in your jalopy spaceship. Why then, do so many mooks come equipped with laser weaponry that fires projectiles so much slower than, you know, bullets?
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Pointless Question #16
Technology has advanced to the point that high quality robotics are commonplace, everyone's got a cyberbrain, and a trip to the Crab Nebula is a good five minutes in your jalopy spaceship. Why then, do so many mooks come equipped with laser weaponry that fires projectiles so much slower than, you know, bullets?
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11 comments:
Because bullets can pierce the hull, and flashy light-zaps don't (because I say they don't)?
Also, they're mooks. Give 'em a break.
Pure nostalgia value, of course. Everyone wanted the future to be like Star Wars, so naturally it ended up that way.
Something about a light-speed shot that is barely audible at best and invisible except for the burned out hole in whatever it hits seems like a much scarrier future weapon.
Bullets have weight. You don't think you're going to accelerate a giant spaceship past lightspeed with tons of unnecessary lead on-board, do you?
They forgot to wind up their laser guns again, so the shots are all droopy.
The Fairness In Battles Act 2112, subsection 21, paragraph 14 [Acceptable Weaponry] requires that all weaponry must give the target an opportunity to dodge.
However, this leads on to another pointless question: why do all those robots have slower-than-human reaction times?
Easy... "the slow blade penetrates the shield..."
RodeoBob, did Dune rip off The Forever War, or vice versa?
Anyway, I don't know why everyone's so befuddled--it's clearly the Rule of Cool.
A fixed version of grendelkhan's link: Rule of Cool
Thanks, Ramsey. Curse my metal body!
Better question: with all these laser weapons available, why are people still fighting with katanas?
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