[net.startrek] Phaser Functions

mike@smu.UUCP (11/07/84)

Please pardon me if this topic has popped up before.

Let's face it: the phaser is the ultimate intelligent weapon.  It only
affects axactly that chunk of matter which the wielder desires
affected.  Here's my list of phaser functions:

1.	Stun.  Not used nearly as often as you would think.  Seems to me
that this would give everybody a weapon like Spock's shoulder pinch.

2.  Make-object-turn-blue-and-go-away.  Frequently used.

3.  Make-object-explode.  I saw this in "Private Little War".  In this
episode, we also learn that communicators, when applied correctly, can
make huge rocks come tumbling down a hillside.

4.  Make-object-get-real-hot.  Can't remember the episode,; Zulu and
some guys heat up a rock in an attempt to get warm.

5.  Supply-power-for-shuttlecraft.  Happens in "Galileo 7".

6.  Kill-people-but-don't-remove-bodies.  Seems to me that the beam is
red when this happens.

7.  Overload-and-cause-vast-destruction.  The ultimate effect.

I'm sure there are many, many more.  How can the federation loose when
every serviceman carries this kind of destructive force?

Mike McNally
...convex!smu!mike