Journalist Michael Hanlon tested the military’s latest “secret” weapon, a ray gun that renders the user into incredible fits of pain. Called the Silent Guardian, the ray gun emits focused beams of radiation to stimulate human nerve endings. The result is excruciating pain for the victim.

“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 agonizing sensation I’ve just felt on my fingertip. The prospect doesn’t bear thinking about.”

What it amounts to is a way of making people run away, very fast, without killing or even permanently harming them. That is what the company says, anyway. The reality may turn out to be more horrific.

“I have been in front of the full-sized system and, believe me, you just run. You don’t have time to think about it – you just run,” says George Svitak, a Raytheon executive.

In tests, even the most hardened Marines flee after a few seconds of exposure. It just isn’t possible to tough it out. This machine has the ability to inflict limitless, unbearable pain.

What makes it OK, says Raytheon, is that the pain stops as soon as you are out of the beam or the machine is turned off. But my right finger was tingling hours later – was that psychosomatic?

In fact, it is easy to see the raygun being used not as an alternative to lethal force (when I can see that it is quite justified), but as an extra weapon in the battle against dissent. There are more questions: in tests, volunteers have been asked to remove spectacles and contact lenses before being microwaved. Does this imply these rays are not as harmless as Raytheon insists?

What is likely to happen is that your retina is going to be cooked due to the heat if it’s overused. In a short span, it will probably just melt your contact lens onto your cornea. 1/64th inch is more than enough to cause permanent eye damage.

If the police are called to the scene of gathered people, how are they to tell if it is a riot or a legitimate protest? Do you just shoot at everyone and sort it out later? How fair is that to people who are legitimately protesting? If you want to use it against those that might dissent, then how can we call ourselves a democratic society? Don’t like the president? Too bad. ZAP!

While protests that go awry are not the norm in America, how long will it be before this technology is abused, with no proof to the contrary that the protesters didn’t deserve it? Those being protested against or the police are also not known to be honest when sending in others to provoke riots where otherwise a peaceful demonstration would have occurred.

What happens when someone with a weak heart is zapped? And, perhaps most worryingly, what if deployment of Silent Guardian causes mass panic, leaving some people unable to flee in the melee? Will they just be stuck there roasting? Raytheon insists the system is set up to limit exposure, but presumably these safeguards can be over-ridden.

There will be damage with the use of such a weapon. People will have heart attacks or seizures, which can cause death. Others will be so terrified that the psychological damage done could take years to get over. Too much nerve stimulation can also cause excitotoxicity.

How far a jump is it to make the conclusion that this weapon could be used as a means of torture? The taser was introduced as an alternative means to rubber bullets and guns, which can actually kill people. Tasers have been abused. We have seen deaths and serious injuries from tasers. The Silent Guardian can actually kill you without leaving any signs of physical damage. Have we sunk so low that we honestly believe we need such devices?

If the Silent Guardian doesn’t kill you, how can you prove that a police officer or the military has used it against you? After all, the courts lean towards believe law enforcement before they ever believe the common Joe.

The possibility of assassination is also possible. This could range from world leaders to leading sports figures and other celebrities. All results would be that death was an accident.

Isaac Asimov was dead on with his neural whip in the Foundation Series.

This is a weapon of torture against unarmed people. It’s impossible to see it as anything else. If only they had tuned it to emit waves of pleasure instead of pain. Now that’s a weapon that would be more practical.

Now, you’ll have to excuse me while I go learn to make a tin-foil suit to counteract the pain ray gun.