The Invincible Weapon - A Science Fiction Tale

Games and stories.
Post Reply
User avatar
Czernobog
Posts: 1315
Joined: Thu May 22, 2008 9:27 am
Location: Holy Terra

The Invincible Weapon - A Science Fiction Tale

Post by Czernobog »

Inspired by Jack London's story 'The Enemy of All the World'.

THE INVINCIBLE WEAPON


As I write these words, Europe groans under German domination. I must write this tale, to assuage myself that it was not my fault, and that the German victory in 1916 was all but inevitable, for I am a pacifist, and if we had mobilised quicker, against my beliefs, I believe we could have been victorious. It all began with a physicist, Leonard Schultz, in 1909, who discovered, that a 'flash' of a certain kind of electro-magnetic energy could ignite gunpowder. He ran tests with other common explosives, and discovered that this worked equally for nitroglycerine, dynamite, gun-cotton and other such explosives. Also, such a flash of electro-magnetism could short out electrics, and if focussed into a beam could take on the appearance and lethal nature of elemental lightning, the weapon of the gods themselves.

He did not share this knowledge with the German High Command, or with any other scientists for the matter, such was his fear that it would be perverted to the ends of warfare - but eventually, out of fear of losing tenure, he published a paper, in an obscure academic journal written only in German, about his devices and theories. He also demonstrated his marvellous invention to a group of German scientists, who passed the secret of its working on to the German military in 1911.

In 1914, the Austrian Archduke was assassinated by the depraved irredentist Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Anarchist organisation known only as 'the Black Hand'. War came to Serbia, and due to a series of inter-locking alliances, it spread across Europe. France and Britain estimated a quick victory, but they were dreadfully wrong.

The Germans had been meticulously developing a military version of Schultz's marvellous device, could transmit its terrible energy across power and telegraph lines, and it was small enough to be put on a submarine. Their first battle-field test of it was on the fortress of Verdun, its energy detonating every single grain of explosive within its walls. Ammunition depots went up in pyrotechnic frenzies, artillery devices and machine-guns simply gone, as the very rifles in soldiers' hands exploded, killing and maiming many. There were almost no survivors, and Verdun fell before the French could even react.

Then, they used this marvellous weapon on the British fleet at Scapa Flow, sinking a great deal of ships and dealing British morale a deathly blow. But this was not enough, and thus they unleashed pulses of this energy at Portsmouth, Dover, any place that harboured ships of the Royal Navy.

The Germans also sweeped Gibraltar, utterly destroying the fortress within that ancient rock.

This was just the opening overture.

In 1915, the United States of America joined the war, shocked by the horror and rapidity of the German assault, which had taken Paris and was pressing on Moscow, aided by the invincible weapon Leonard Schultz had unwittingly developed.

The Germans sent the energy of their weapon through the transatlantic telephone line, its frightful energy touching the whole East Coast, detonating everything with the tiniest trace of explosive within. Civilians died in the thousands as their rifles discharged, but military losses were more substantial. Dozens of ships sank in moments, and whole military bases ceased to exist. Forts went up, so did watch-towers, everything military on the East Coast simply ceased existing. Cuba was hit.

In 1916, the Germans had taken London, the Royal Navy annihilated by their frightful, wondrous weapon. The war ended then, and Germany was now to have puppet states in the east, a 'Mitteleuropa'. Luxemburg was to become German, and Belgium and Holland states ruled by puppets. Austria-Hungary tripled in size, and the Ottomans ruled Bulgaria. Russia is broken, ruled by an heir with a weak claim, Vasily IV Romanov, and angry about its great loss.

France was to be demilitarised, and still is to this very day in 1938. French industry was wrecked by the war, and France was never a Great Power again. As to Leonard Schultz, he shot himself when he saw what his invention had wrought.



As for the United States, we cannot counter Germany's ultimate weapon, although are scientists are trying hard to develop an Atomic Bomb, a weapon which our greatest scientists tell will counter the German super-weapon, though it is rumoured that German scientists are also creating one.

I hope only that the next decade sees peace.
You have ruled this galaxy for ten thousand years.
You have little of account to show for your efforts.
Order. Unity. Obedience.
We taught the galaxy these things.

And we shall do so again.
User avatar
speaker-to-trolls
Posts: 766
Joined: Thu May 22, 2008 12:34 am
Location: The World of Men

Re: The Invincible Weapon - A Science Fiction Tale

Post by speaker-to-trolls »

OK, not bad, I have to wonder how similar this is to the Jack London story but not enough to make me go to the effort of finding it right at the moment.

I've already said, I don't see how it makes sense that you could transmit a 'flash' over the telephone and I'm certainly not sure why the Americans didn't cut the phonelines to their bases if they knew this could happen. Ah well. Also good hook at the beginning so long as you can expand on it.
"Little monuments may be completed by their first architects, but great ones; true ones leave their copestones to posterity. God keep me from completing anything."
User avatar
Siege
Site Admin
Posts: 2563
Joined: Mon May 19, 2008 7:03 pm
Location: The Netherlands

Re: The Invincible Weapon - A Science Fiction Tale

Post by Siege »

I'm sorry, but Electromagnetism Does Not Work That Way.

It's one thing to have the Germans develop some kind of ray-gun that can detonate explosives when fired at them in a straight-ish line. Well into weird-ass Tesla-tech territory, but hey, it's sci-fi so I can roll with that.

But to have it somehow pierce ship hulls and set off armored magazines of battleships? Transmit it through a phone cable? Spread across the entire East Coast and detonate rifles etc. that aren't even hooked up to the phoneline? Where'd they get that much power from? How come people aren't outright electrocuted by the effect? Yeah; my SoD just plain refuses to cover that sort of absurdity.

Also: rifles and pistols are not typically stored loaded, so at best their ammunition would cook off. Which is bad in its own right, but "their rifles discharged" is just not very good writing.
"Nick Fury. Old-school cold warrior. The original black ops hardcase. Long before I stepped off a C-130 at Da Nang, Fury and his team had set fire to half of Asia." - Frank Castle

For, now De Ruyter's topsails
Off naked Chatham show,
We dare not meet him with our fleet -
And this the Dutchmen know!
Post Reply