From: laelth@yabbs
To: laelth@yabbs
Subject: ray gun
Date: Tue Apr 12 00:35:32 1994

O.K., to go over this point again, take arachnoi's example of the atomic 
bomb ... sure, the knowledge of how to build one is readily available, big 
deal!  You don't see people running around with 5MT briefcase bombs, do 
you?  No, of  course not.  As I said, and as is the case with any powerful 
weapon, the government contols its production and distribution (or 
governments and corporations do).  The same will happen for the ray gun.

Now, to head off acounter-argument that I know is coming.  The govt. and 
corporations have it easy controlling the A-bomb because uranium/plutonium 
are so hard to refine into fissionable material.  O.K., but if the 
materials for the ray gun were readily available (which I doubt will 
happen)  then the govt. would work overtime to suppress the knowledge.  
They'd even go so far as to assassinate the relevant university 
proferrors, graduate students, etc. who were involved in the project.  The 
CIA, I believe, would make it its #1 priority to contain  this knowledge, 
and I supect that they would be very successful at it.  In any case, the 
technocrats would be as powerless as they are now, no change, status quo 
forever, amen.

Makes you kind of nauseous, doesn't it?

-laelth