[H] "Hold still, we're going to try this again."
[galactic volunteer] "It won't knock me out like last time?"
[H] "Nope, bugs are worked out, we tested on other humans first for a reason after all, that knock-out was accidental, sorry about that."
[galactic volunteer] "Alright, I'm ready."
The human throws the small metal disk which adheres to the galactic and, suddenly, they can't move. They can breathe, see, hear, they are not being hurt, but they can't, otherwise, move.
[galactic] "Well... it works, take it off now please."
[human] "Thank you very much for your help, I'm grateful." They remove the disk and transfer time to their volunteer's account before heading straight to medical
[galactic] "Why did you make that?"
[Human] "The more we go after bad guys, the more people end up dying in the fight. The more we can stop bad guys without killing, the happier I'll be." -- DaniAndShali
All high-octane policing has one significant problem - collateral damage. Even with stunner fire, a miss can create problems. Worse, many stunners need calibration to be sure that the target species is safely knocked out, without harming any others. Since many offenders are Deathworlders, this means that any Havenworlders caught in the crossfire could die. They needed a better way that wasn't controlled exclusively by a keen eye and a steady hand.
Which was the key to the body lock disk. A specific charge, some micro-scanners, and a very specific program involving species specific neurology and nanomachines to seek out and disrupt certain key areas. Upon contact, the disk released a series of seeker drones that spun nano-wires into the prospective victim's nervous system. It would scan the one struck, and render them immobile without also ceasing autonomic functions.
Those struck by it would be stopped, without it being terminal. From Havenworlder to Deathworlder, any fleeing miscreant would not be able to escape justice. Of course, they tested it from Deathworlder to Havenworlder, in that specific order, with Mediks on standby in case anything went wrong. It didn't.
The next round of testing was with volunteers who had invisible medical conditions, and the Mediks were standing by at even less of a distance. Still, there were no problems.
The actual problems came about when they tried to release it into Alliance space as a replacement for the extant stunners. That was when the outrage rose to the surface from the fringe weirdos. There were cogniscents who didn't like foreign materials entering their bodies. There were cogniscents who objected to nanomachines entering their bodies without consent. There were entire cultures where the technology itself was anathema.
Then there were the Dereggers. The conversation between polities took a bit longer than the rough translation below, but in essence, it went a bit like this...
"Good news," said the Alliance. "We have a weapons upgrade for all stations in and vessels wishing to use our space."
"Oooh, weapons upgrade," cooed the Dereggers. "We're all about weapons upgrades. What does it do? Do we finally get hold of a disintegrator? How about a gun that has projectiles that pierce flesh, but not hulls?"
"No, we're not about that," said the Alliance. "This is a new kind of stunner."
"Boring," sighed the Dereggers, rolling their collective eyes. "Tell me how you improved on a weapon that only does accidental harm. Entertain us."
"We have made it so that the stunner..." the Alliance played a drum roll, "does not cause accidental harm any more!"
The expected fanfare and applause didn't arrive. Greater Deregulations were unimpressed. "No pain? Not even a mild stinging sensation?"
"None at all," chirped the Alliance, rather proud of itself. "It harmlessly immobilises anyone it comes into contact with, all without causing any discomfort. We've even made it so that a running person will come to a slow stop and lie on the ground."
"They don't even trip and fall over and bruise themselves?" Greater Deregulations were slightly appalled.
"Yes," cheered the Alliance. "A perfectly safe suspect immobiliser. Yours for a real bargain, too."
The Greater Deregulations wrinkled their collective nose. "Where's the fun in that?"
[Image (c) Can Stock Photo / petrsvoboda91]
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