Sci-Fi weaponry.

"The Air Force expects planes will be able to fire non-lethal microwave rays at enemy ground troops with the help of a new superconducting generator system developed at Wright Patterson Air Force Base after about 25 years of research," reported the Ohio News Network on October 5.

Focused beams of microwaves could be used "like a long-range stun gun," paralyzing potential attackers and disabling key components of missiles or roadside bombs. Microwave guns and other directed-energy weapons "could bring advantages to the battlefield in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, where U.S. troops have had to deal with hostile but unarmed crowds as well as dangerous insurgents." Note how easily the technology could be redeployed from battlefield use to crowd control.

Also under development, according to the October 4 San Francisco Chronicle, is the use of anti-matter, "the eerie 'mirror' of ordinary matter ... in future weapons." Among the potential uses of this exotic power source, "the most powerful potential energy source presently thought to be available to humanity," are "antimatter bombs small enough to hold in one's hand, and antimatter engines for 24/7 surveillance aircraft."

"More cataclysmic possible uses include a new generation of super weapons--either pure antimatter bombs or antimatter-triggered nuclear weapons," continues the paper. "Another possibility is antimatter-powered "electromagnetic pulse' weapons that could fry an enemy's electric power grid and communications networks.... "