So, you remember a year or so back when a cruise ship repelled pirates using a new-fangled sound-based weapon? An entry today at the blog Danger Room features a report from someone who’s actually been hit with the Long-Range Acoustic Device, a.k.a. “sonic blaster,” as well as a a video of one in operation. There’s not much to see in the video, but you can hear what the weapon sounds like. Oddly enough (or perhaps not, given my geekly inclinations), the weapon reminds me of the distinctive sound made by the giant, radioactive ants in the classic “big-bug” movie Them!; who knows, maybe that is the sound effect being played through the blaster, which is essentially just a souped-up loudspeaker.

Danger Room also recently posted a witness account and video of another “less-lethal” weapon being demonstrated, a “pain ray” that makes you feel as if your skin is boiling. That can be found here.

I honestly don’t know how I feel about these weapons. I suppose it’s a good thing that we are developing options that don’t require genuinely injuring the target, but there’s something very discomforting about these things. Something creepy. Maybe I’m just having trouble getting used to the idea that the science fiction I grew up on is becoming everyday life…