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Vial

Zakalwe

Zakalwe

Inactive Member
Vial:

Vial is the newest form of melee weapon to come out of Ephesus' mind. It takes the form of a hilt, when not activated, a rather nice looking hilt, that can be decorated in all manner of styles, from leather rapping's, to metal studs, to the plain rubber grip. However inside this hilt is a hollow cavity filled with nano-bots which when the hilt is activated flow out into a variety of forms. This can be a great variety of things, from a sword (many possible variations), axe, dagger, a knuckle duster (flows around the hand), or even more exotic weapons programmed into the device. It only takes a moment for the nano-bots to flow out and solidify into the needed weapon.

The Vial comes with a certain number of weapon forms intact, and more can be loaded in by a computer (NovaCorp will design any weapon setting you desire for 10ks), and these different forms can be activated in several ways. The simplest is through pressing the pommel, which will first activate the weapon, and then work through a preset series of weapons with each press, although this is only really useful if you only want to use the first setting, which is easily prograbale, as is the entire list. Other ways include a audio acceptance mode, where you name the weapon form, and the hilt will pick it up and act upon it, or in extreme cases, the simple, quick and painless implanting of a chip into the brain, which allows you to control the setting with only your thoughts. Other possible settings include a small shield.

This weapon has several advantages over other melee weapons, one of which is that although it is not really stronger than a normal weapon, but can (if blocked) flow around and entangle the other weapon, allowing for great disarms or to effectively flow around the blocking weapon to strike the target. The flow through setting is activated through increasing pressure where the little finger would be, (although working out whether it is intentional or not fall to the same micro computer that holds the systematic, based on a series or parameters), or through a certain verbal command (a certain not of whistle for example). The nano-bots can also make the blade (if it is a blade) nearly mono-molecular, far sharper than a normal weapon, meaning that it can easily cut through, or even more easily pierce, material that a normal blade could not. The whip setting usually serves to entangle the target, but can then use the nano-bots to flow, pierce armour and skin, and deal hideous damage to the target. A strike from the weapon in blade form has a similar effect, the nano-bots flowing into the target. This, along with the damage dealt to the nano-bots through impact, does mean that it occasionally needs to be restocked, but this is supplied by a reservoir of goo-bots that create more out of surrounding matter. If the blade is broken bringing the shards together will fix the blade.

The hilt is largely made of Carbon-ring, and the nano-bots are powered by a battery built into the hilt, which can last 24 hours without recharging (which requires 3 hours to recharge completely), or replacing. However the weapon can keep in a weapon state (other than whip), without power, just as a normal sharp blade, but it has a higher tendency to break. The nano-bots don't actually need power to keep bonded. The battery is the end of the hilt, which also includes the pommel/button, and a new one (it simply needs for the button to be pressed down and twisted to come out), costs 50 ks. The hilt has a layer of lead underneath the carbon-ring exterior, and as such (and a little cap that can be fitted over the top), is rendered immune to EMP, however the blade, if extended, is not. It does however protect the pre-programmed instructions, and allows the goo (which remains in the hilt at all times) to replenish the nano-bots. The blade is designed to be considerably resistant to lesser EM attacks. The hilt is 40 cm long, rather long given the normal length of the blade, however with some training, combined with the relative lightness of the ‘empty' hilt, it does not act as an encumbrance. In general appearance the hilt can look like pretty much anything, but traditionally is that of the ‘cross' hilt, with a pommel at one end and a cross bar at the other. Whether the handle has a rubber hand grip, leather or whether it has metal studs is completely up to the purchaser, since such aesthetic details can actually be added quite easily at the shop.

Some training is required to use a Vial correctly, due to the weight being lighter than that of a normal weapon, and to take into account its special features in combat. Luckily NovaCorp supplies a manual on a data-pad, including a sub-sentient interactive program.

Vial: 780 ks
 
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One thing, if the nanobots can retain there shape without power (very strongly), that seems to imply a large number of strong bonds, which would require a very large ammount of energy to undo.

Also, if such small nanomachines are used (such that they can form a monomolecular edge) then there cannot be much redundancy (especially if they are also capable of activly degrading other matter), making them incredibly vulnerable to external radiation and EMP.
 
What do you mean 'actively degrading other matter'?

Anyway, it isn't very good at defending against EMI, true, however I have put measures in the post above.
 
I mean this:

The whip setting usually serves to entangle the target, but can then use the nano-bots to flow, pierce armour and skin, and deal hideous damage to the target. A strike from the weapon in blade form has a similar effect, the nano-bots flowing into the target.
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The nanobots actually breaking down matter themselves, as opposed to just usaing the momentum of the swing.

You have shielding on the hilt, but this would only help to a degree against EMP because it is so thin, and almost do nothing against high energy radiation (or essentially nothing against a particle beam), but I was more refering to the blade, it has no shielding and the bots are so small to include much redundancy, so they could be quickly broken down by any sort of radiation.
 
More like by energy weapons. EMP can be avoided by encasing each nanobot in a metal of some sort depending on their size and radiation really wouldn't be a problem. The ammount of nano-bots provide protection to eachother much in the same way skin does.

... your weapon would get a sunburn if you leave it out in the sun to long.
 
Yes, over a period of time. But high-energy photonic and particle weapons (such as the Xaser pistol and rifle) would probably destroy a signifigant portion of the nanobots in one go.

bots on the level of a micrometer or so could include signifigant redundancy so they could survive essentially indefiently under normal exposure, but would still be destroyed by a good power radiation pulse.

Edit:

Not really Uso, the nanotech would be much more sensative then the massive, very redundant cells of the human body. And the degree that you could individually shield them on the scalles needed for a monomolecular edge would not be relevant in blocking high energy radiation. They would only serve to hinder the units activities.
 
They would, if their beam was spread out but like most energy weapons their concintrated beam would end up only knocking out a small hole inside of the weapon. Sunlight won't destroy the weapon because the sheer ammount of nanomachines will screen the bots inside of the weapon and ontop of that the slow decay time for the nanomachines combined with their reginerative nature makes sunlight and other background radiation largely irrelivent.

High level radiation is also dangerous for humans. Of course it isn't recomended to put anything near massive ammounts of radiation like a dirty bomb or say inside the sun... a massive ammount of radiation will destroy just about anything.

Actually, because of its size, nanotech is more suitable to protecting itself against the effects of EMP because small layers of conductive metal can be applied to the outside or because there are no electric circuits inside the nanomachines at all (which is a popular choice for many people). The bots on the outer edge of the device will undoubtably change anyways because they will need to harden in order to form the edge in the first place. This will of course mean that they bots will either be reclaimed and rebuilt at a later date by their brothers or simply left in that position and not be used outside of a physical object. In either case radiation isn't really a factor in what happens to them.
 
Well let's actually review what's been said (and as of yet I have seen no direct prove in scientific superiority on either side), shall we?

What it came down to, after some discussion between Vesper and Zack, that the Vial would not be noticably decay with light EM radiation, but only a high energy EM weapon.

But high-energy photonic and particle weapons (such as the Xaser pistol and rifle) would probably destroy a signifigant portion of the nanobots in one go.

bots on the level of a micrometer or so could include signifigant redundancy so they could survive essentially indefiently under normal exposure, but would still be destroyed by a good power radiation pulse.
Click to expand...

Which is fine, it can't block Xaser blasts, I never expected it could. I am not someone who wants to make a light-saberesque weapon capable of blocking or reflecting energy weapons.

In addition, the goo inside the hilt can rebuild the blade given some raw material, and the hilt is protected from EM attack by way of the fact the lead covering, and cap on the top, function as a Faraday Cage, shielding it from EMP, EMI, and just general EM radiation. Upon further consideration, as well as lead there is a layer of Mu-metal, to reduce the effect of EM further.

It is also as Zack said, most advanced personal energy weapons use a tight beam to get maximum damage. This means that the amount of the blade destroyed will be low, roughly the size of the blast.
 
What is it that is stopping this being approved? All the kinks in the design have either been ammended or countered as far as I can see, some of them simply outling a limitation in the device, and a limited one at that.

If there is a problem if it could be outlined I would like to do my best to deal with it, in order to get this technology, which has been sitting around unaproved for well over a month, to move into the hallowed halls of allowed technology.
 
It's been around three weeks sinec I last queried the approval of this technology, and so I will try again.

Technology has been challange, argued over, and adapted, currently there are no standing problems.

If there are any problems that are stopping its approval, then I would like to know them, because right now it is really depressing bumping this threads for approval when quite a lot of work went into them.
 
[[I realize a fair portion of this is just a copy and paste from my previous post on the "Plague" items, but since I would be saying much the same stuff on the sword in any case all seems well to me. It is also 2 AM here]]

As I have said on god knows how many other occasions, any form of nanomachine (to be differentiated from nanotech as a whole) is hugely vulnerable to damage from incident radiation. This can, of course, be reduced with the introduction of redundancies, but with the omnipresent believe of "smaller, SMALLER, SMALLER!" being best in all things that is not a option as it would necessitate quite a large increase in size for the machines (for ones with the capabilities of something like these bots this increase would be huge due to all of the components necessary).

Also to be considered is the fact that they would fry in normal sunlight due to how fast they would absorb it (and there inability to shed it) and due to there tiny mass, which would utterly fail to buffer there temperature for any length of time.

While there recuperative abilities might be quite swank, the temperatures many of these buggers on the surface could reach could easy cause them to be broken off of the weapon body and there mass would then be lost to the rest of the mass. Further reassembly of components is not "bam" process, it does take time. Given the losses the colony would suffer just sitting out in the sun (never mind actually being used to strike something) I have difficulty believing that they could maintain there strength. If by some freak they could the energy used to constantly disassemble broken bots and make new ones would drain its power cell in very short order.
 
I'm not quite arguing with Vesper when I say this, but I think it is a point in Thomas' favor --

If we took Vesper's words as fact, how much of the SA would fall apart as soon as it hit sunlight? I'm just curious.

And if this is the case, why not generate some kind of thin, weak energy shield around the nanomachines that would filter out only the daily radiation from, say, a star's light?
 
So what are you assuming the nanobots are made of, Vesper? I mean, different materials have different heat tolerances and rates of absorption...I mean, Zesuaium is completely impervious to heat. It'd make a nice little shell for any circuitry inside, eh? And perhaps this Zesuaium-encased machine is coated in Xintium...hmm...
 
Zesuaium can not be used by organizations other than the Grand Star Army Of Yamatai. It is restricted tech afterall.

I should know this well, I have read up on items that the Lorath can never ever have. (Thank goodness, I hate that material)
 
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