“Sonic Pop Ray Gun” by Clayton Bailey

The future of non-lethal weapons has been developed by the U.S. company Ratheon. The “Silent Guardian” is a device which emits radiation tuned to the exact frequency that causes pain in a persons nerve receptors:

Here’s how it works in the field. A square transmitter as big as a plasma TV screen is mounted on the back of a Jeep. When turned on, it emits an invisible, focused beam of radiation – similar to the microwaves in a domestic cooker – that are tuned to a precise frequency to stimulate human nerve endings. It can throw a wave of agony nearly half a mile. Because the beam penetrates skin only to a depth of 1/64th of an inch, it cannot, says Raytheon, cause visible, permanent injury. But anyone in the beam’s path will feel, over their entire body, the agonising sensation… The prospect doesn’t bear thinking about.