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Ray's pistol comes from Stanley G. Weinbaum's sci-fi stories from the 1930's. From "Parasite Planet" (Astounding Stories, 1935): "He glared at [a Venusian blob-creature] disgustedly and was sorely tempted to blast it with his flame-pistol as it slithered past him at running speed. He would have, too, but an experienced Venusian frontiersman is very careful with the flame-pistol. "It has to be charged with a diamond, a cheap black one, of course, but still an item to consider. The crystal, when fired, gives up all its energy in one terrific blast that roars out like a lightning stroke for a hundred yards, incinerating everything in its path." ... "The blast also, as it usually does, shattered the barrel of the weapon. He sighed as he set about the forty-minute job of replacing it -- no true Hotlander ever delays that -- for the blast had cost fifteen good American dollars [!!!], ten for the cheap diamond that had exploded, five for the barrel." | ||||||||||||||||||||
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