Page 139 - Just Deserts

Telepax

any other company wishing to manufacture disablers compatible with
our system.”
Drubble digested this while his attention was captured by the
assembly of a miscellaneous assortment of people on the other side
of the vast shed, about fifty meters away. “Well, then, what are the
weapons available right now to hook up to your device?”
“We have three ready, but I think we’ll only demonstrate one
today. It’s a selective stunner using a brain-wave disruptor carried by
a laser beam. In a single-use application, it can take out a lone
terrorist, kidnapper or other threatening individual; linked with the
Telepax computer, it can perform the same function on a series of
individuals, at the rate of five per second. The other two weapons
resemble conventional grenade launchers and heavy caliber machine
guns, respectively. They become incredibly effective under Telepax;
smarter than smart bombs, if you will. But you will understand that
we want to keep this under wraps, and didn’t want to risk having
some low-flying plane see us firing off one of our big guns. And, of
course, it is easier to find volunteers for targets when the stunner is
to be used. At a very low intensity, of course—if you crank it up all
the way, some people experience seizures. But all of our staff have
been medically screened, so don’t worry about them!”
“Now, exactly what are the characteristics that Telepax can lock
into?” Drubble demanded. “You said your company had more than
one method of identifying targets.”
“That’s right, Chief. The most important, I should think, is the
substance spectro-analyzer function. Telepax is programmed with the
molecular profiles of dozens of illegal substances and their metabolic
by-products. Another more subtle property of the system is its ability
to synthesize instantaneously a variety of bio-energetic and chemical
clues to screen for negative emotional states. This can be very
effective for crowd control, as you might imagine.”
Chief Drubble grinned and exchanged a knowing glance with
Captain Ness. “Oh, I think we know exactly what to do with that
particular capability.”
“Good.” Skinner waved at the group of test subjects milling about
the other side of the huge building. They immediately proceeded

138