this post was submitted on 22 Oct 2026
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I say weapon because it gets to complicated with all the super powers you can get. Turning invisible, walking through walls, teleporting. So for this I want to limit it to sci fi weapons that at least attempt to have a tech basis. So like not the masters device that turns people into dolls. However we don't care if we can completely explain how it might be done now. Like lightsabers are fair game. As for me I would go with the star gate zat guns as initially put in. Both lethal and nonlethas and very portable. I want to put an honorable mention for tthe minority report sonic shotgun that seems to run on wind up energy so you should never theoretically run out of ammo. although not so sure as there was no indication you could power up more than one shot at a time.

EDITED: Its a little late at this point as the answers have went way off the rails but in case it gets more replies my intention was a weapon someone might carry around and could use as one person. not a weapons system or vehicle. Also no robots or things that essentially are their own entities. It should be a weapon used in a weapon like manner. aim and fire. also that quote about sufficiently advance technology looks like magic. if it looks like magic to us instead of technology then its to far afield. I hope this makes it more clear what I was looking for. Honestly I would have like to not use weapons as a basis but there are just to many things when you look at all of sci fi.

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[–] hakunawazo@lemmy.world 30 points 2 days ago (4 children)
[–] yermaw@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I'm not sure I'd like having a portal gun. I want one. I really want one. I just think life would kinda feel either pointless or overly complicated.

With only one of you with your regular human brain you'd be unable to save the entire world so any good you achieve would feel depressingly underwhelming, like the ending of schindlers list. Also you'd likely fall for a bad guys story and think you're doing good but actually making shit worse.

If you manage to just be selfish with it and keep it quiet, what would you even do with life? Once you'd done all the landmarks, snuck onto area 51 and shit, what's left? Doesn't seem much point working a job, keeping a house or even robbing banks or whatever. Why bother with money when you've got a portal gun?

I really want it. But I must never have it.

[–] hakunawazo@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

I shouldn't feel bad for just using it to reach the fridge from the sofa.

[–] BananaPeal@sh.itjust.works 10 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Yeah, I'd shoot two portals in a vertical line

Undo my belt, lean in and

Change pants without having to look down

Also I’d suck my own diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiick

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[–] hansolo@lemmy.today 2 points 2 days ago

Now you're thinking with portals!

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[–] godsammitdam@lemmy.zip 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

An emp that blankets the world, but instead of electromagnetic it's empathy manipulation such that it either eliminates those lacking empathy or forces them to be empathetic.

Goodbye capitalism, pedophilia, corruption, etc. We're facing what I believe is a global empathy crisis through the rise of the far right due to global neoliberal capitalism. To secure profits, which we've tied to survival, we're un-learning empathy, which was an evolutionary advantage for us. Capitalism rewards narcissism, a lack of empathy, being willing to exploit others.

I would set that empathy pulse off in an instant. I'm tired of seeing people brutalized around the world because of greedy people in power.

[–] LovableSidekick@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

I think such a weapon is achievable once we understand genetics enough. Create a gene modification that makes people a little more cooperative and more interested in everybody else's welfare - say 20% more - and infuse it into enough of the world's water supplies to give the mutation to a majority of humans. Wait a few years and I think their behavioral changes would turn our whole world around. No need to design a perfect social system and use politics to implement it. It would quickly evolve on its own. .

[–] kuadhual@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Isn't this the lore of the Reavers in Firefly?

[–] LovableSidekick@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

Similar idea, but the "pacification gas" wasn't a genetic modificationn. And of course how something works in a sci-fi story doesn't depend on how it worked in a different one.

[–] n7gifmdn@lemmy.ca 3 points 2 days ago

The flashy thing from Men in Black "my report was great and you have me an A+"

[–] ccunix@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago (3 children)

While a death star is definitely more powerful, I think I would have to choose then BFG9000 from Doom.

[–] spittingimage@lemmy.world 1 points 16 hours ago

The Death Star is a weapon you can live in. It's an important consideration.

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[–] sexual_tomato@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)
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[–] RampantParanoia2365@lemmy.world 10 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Sonic Screwdriver is pretty much a magic wand with lights, so I choose that.

[–] Soggy@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago

They're scientific instruments, not water pistols!

[–] madkins@lemmy.world 10 points 2 days ago (1 children)

The ZF-1.

it’s light. Handle’s adjustable for easy carrying, good for righties and lefties. Breaks down into four parts, undetectable by x-ray, ideal for quick, discreet interventions. A word on firepower. Titanium recharger, three thousand round clip with bursts of three to three hundred, and with the Replay button, another Zorg invention, it’s even easier.

[–] Nindelofocho@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago

Plus a tempting red button

[–] SuiXi3D@fedia.io 48 points 3 days ago (30 children)
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[–] portifornia@piefed.social 33 points 3 days ago (8 children)

Orgazmo's Orgazmorator, a ray gun that forces orgasm upon whomever it is fired.

*for crime fighting, bad politicians, or consensual encounters, only.

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[–] absentbird@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago

A Gun That Can Kill The Past

[–] nanometer1625@thelemmy.club 3 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Nicoll-Dyson beam. You can fry your enemy anywhere, anytime, at the speed of light, with the power of an entire star.

[–] sanguinepar@lemmy.world 26 points 3 days ago (1 children)

A Death Star. Hugely powerful weapon, but also spacious living space, and travel solution all in one. Just need to get a grate over that exhaust port and we're all good.

[–] HugeNerd@lemmy.ca 16 points 3 days ago (2 children)
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[–] Zak@lemmy.world 46 points 3 days ago (9 children)

Phaser.

  • Stun
  • Kill
  • Vaporize
  • Create a source of warmth
  • Cook (not shown on screen to my knowledge, but plausible)
  • Precisely cut various materials
  • Landscape
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[–] Goforce5@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago

Cerebral Bore from Turok 2. Not sure why, but that one stuck with me over the years.

[–] crenquis@lemmy.today 10 points 3 days ago

While a ship, the Lexx was primarily designed as a weapon that could destroy planets, so I'll go for The Lexx.

[–] NaibofTabr@infosec.pub 32 points 3 days ago (6 children)
[–] Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Pretty sure it can be countered by a towel.

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[–] QuadratureSurfer@piefed.social 29 points 3 days ago (1 children)

The Point of View Gun, conveniently, does precisely what it's name suggests. That is, if you point it at someone and pull the trigger, they instantly see things from your point of view.

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[–] Odo@lemmy.world 19 points 3 days ago

The Farsight from Perfect Dark (or the equivalent gun from the last season of Deep Space 9). The scope sees through walls quite a distance away, and when fired the shot teleports to the target.

[–] ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca 8 points 3 days ago

I'd like a Death Star, you can certainly trust me with a Death Star.

[–] Denfa@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago (1 children)

One that immediately eliminates all billionaires and blocks their existence forever.

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[–] zod000@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 3 days ago (4 children)

Reason from the book Snowcrash. It's essentially some highly advanced smart minigun that fits in a suit case. Mostly so I can say something like "I'll make them listen to Reason" before I use it.

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[–] IamMoonPie@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

Dena’s chakrams but laserfied

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