Frickin' Laser Beams!

I've got lasers on the brain. To be fair, this isn't particularly noteworthy: I've had lasers and spaceships and death-helicopters and power-armor on the brain for going on fifteen years now. But the laser stuff has been coalescing recently, and I'm trying to paint a picture of what a future war with actual lasers would actually look like.

Even partially-realistic depiction of lasers in science fiction is the exception, not the rule. For the most part, laser weapons are treated like modern-day battle rifles, only they shoot lasers instead of bullets. I'm re-reading Forever War, and Haldeman seems to have actually did his research(okay, not so much with the finger-lasers on the fighting suits, but they get a pass for being so damn cool) The bases that the army builds are ringed by giga-watt laser cannons slaved to a targeting computer, which handles defensive use automatically.

Sounds simple, but it opens up a whole new dimension for future war scenarios. Check out this clip, and imagine that instead of a manipulator hand, there's a frickin' laser on it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vu6APoC0IOA#t=1m00s

After you watch that, you can imagine this guy in action:






The idea would be that the robot arms would be controlled by an A.I., sort of like a fucked up robot Master Blaster. They would melt rockets out of the sky before they could do any damage. The actual soldier becomes more like a destruction facilitator.

Hopefully more Forever War tomorrow.