“Where do they get those wonderful toys?” The Weapons of A Pius Man.

I think the title is rather self explanatory, but... why do this? Because, in the long run, weapons say a
lot about a person-- whether they prefer close in work, if they prefer taking prisoners, if they want to
inflict a lot of pain before the target dies. Also, this isn't your average thriller. The weapons are
strange, foreign, and some don't even exist yet. I think I get the most mileage out of the ones that don't
exist yet.

********************

Halberd: You all know the Swiss guards: the guys in the tacky gold and burgundy uniforms who look
like they came out of a comic opera, even if their outfits were designed by Michelangelo. Originally
mercenaries, the Swiss Guard is now composed of reservists from the Swiss army—and in Switzerland,
everyone from age 18-60 is in the reserves. If you see any photos of them, you will note that they're
holding an ax with a twelve foot handle. This is called a halberd. The long handle is to reach up to
men on horseback; the hook on the obverse from the ax blade is to snag riders off the horse, and the ax
blade is for obvious reasons. There is also a spear tip on the end to act as, well, a spear.

Now, if you imagine this weapon in the hands of a specially-trained former stuntman with a flair for
violent creativity, you have a slight idea of what I'm going to do with this.
Stechkin: a nice, Russian made weapon. They take .9mm rounds, they come with a twenty-shot clip,
and can fire on full automatic. The weapon of choice for Manana Shushurin.

AK-47. The Kalashnikov is a standard gun the world round. Unfortunately given a bad name for its
misuse in conflicts around the world. It's a very accurate gun, but it comes at a price—the first bullet
will hit the target, but firing on full automatic, or even in three-round bursts, will cause the barrel to
jump. If someone is well trained to compensate, then that's one thing. Otherwise, best to use it at a
semiautomatic weapon.
M-16 A2: Why the Vatican Office of Papal Vigilance has American assault rifles is anyone's guess.
The only thing that Commander Giovanni Figlia will mention is that they “fell off the back of a CIA
truck” sometime during the 80s. The American counterpart to the Kalashnikov, the M16 has gone
through multiple variations over time.

In A Pius Man, they only have a few of these weapons kicking around the Vatican. They are generally
for long range assaults across a battlefield, and Vatican city isn't that big.

H&K MP-5 (SMG):

From Heckler and Koch, the MP-5 is a submachinegun
(SMG), which means it fires rounds that could be
considered bullets for a pistol. Quite popular with
military units, it is nice and compact, and quite
accurate...

What, you didn't think that the modern Swiss Guards

were armed with just Halberds, did you? A Swiss
uniform can cover a multitude of armaments...

Semi-automatic / SMG cartridges

Assault rifle rounds

Tactical baton / collapsible kendo stick: Since monks and priests were not allowed to shed blood,
medieval times came up with a compromise: a ban against shedding blood did not apply to
concussions. In the grand tradition of monks, Sean AP Ryan has come up with the old compromise
with a new twist—enter, the tactical baton. Telescoping actical batons range in sizes, from 18” to about
27”. However, Mr. Ryan isn't content with that, and has what he refers to as “collapsible kendo sticks,”
that go up to 33,” and have a specially installed CO2 cartridge that enables quick opening at the touch
of a button. The CO2 cartridge is less for a quick one handed opening, but for the second feature: at
the pommel of of each of his personal batons, there is a screw that can take two kendos and turn them
into a six-foot long quarterstaff.

Fully Armored Vehicle.

The picture is just an example of a Fully
Armored Vehicle (FAV). In this case, it's a
Knight XV, brought to you by those fun loving
Canadians. 6-way electric leather boardroom-
style seats, sunroof glass with privacy shades,
laptop stations, LED cabin lighting, satellite
radio, navigation, Bluetooth equipped, tv
monitors, night vision and rear camera systems,
and a Playstation 3.....

And it's made from ballistic hardened steel,

with 64mm “transparent armor”, also known as
bulletproof glass. They have run-flat tires,
which means that you can shoot for the tires,
and they'll keep going.

Now, imagine one of these riding down the Spanish Steps.....

LESS CONVENTIONAL WEAPONRY: Non-lethal weapons (NLW)
When working at the Vatican, one would thing that killing would be a last resort, whenever the
situation allowed for it. In A Pius Man, they have come to the solution:

In reality, I once found this in an article in TIME magazine. They were looking at the weapons of the
future. And most of them are here. At the time, they were “speculative fiction”-- a phrase that covers
both techno-thrillers and science fiction.

DIRECTED ENERGY WEAPONS (ADS)

Imagine a cross between a microwave oven and a Star
Trek phaser: a tight, focused beam of energy that flash-
heats its target from a distance. Directed energy beams do
not burn flesh, but they do create an unbearably painful
burning sensation. It's from the Air Force Research
Laboratory, and we have seen that they have a a humvee-
mounted directed-energy weapon.

Mostly, it's used for crowd control, also used as an Active

Denial System— the millimeter waves (the “microwave
effect”) can be spread out over an area, causing everyone
in that area an option of leaving the area, or staying, and
feeling like they're being par-broiled. It won't kill
anyone, but it's gonna suck....

ANTITRACTION MATERIAL
The Southwest Research Institute in Texas created a antitraction gel that someone can spray on the
sidewalk. Originally created for the Marines, this is so slippery that you can't drive, or even walk on it.
The antitraction gel is mostly water, so it dries up in under a day. It is also nontoxic and biodegradable.
Not even the wildlife could be hurt... if there were wildlife in Rome aside from the killer pigeons.
MALODORANTS
The Pentagon hired Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia to, essentially, create the
stinkbombs from hell. No one gets hurt, but anyone who smells it is going to run. Scientists tested the
effectiveness of such odors as vomit, burnt hair, sewage, rotting flesh and a potent concoction known
euphemistically as "U.S. Government Standard Bathroom Malodor." Now, like all gaseous weapons,
malodorants once released are hard to control, and their use is strictly limited by international
chemical-weapons treaties.... but I don't think the Vatican State has ever needed to sign any of those, do
you?
PROJECTILES
Rubber bullets can literally put your eye out. Normally, that means the units using them prefer beanbag
rounds that spread out the impact, so it's more like you're being slapped with sheet metal as opposed to
having a baseball bat stabbed into your ribs. The Nonlethal Technology Innovation Center was working
on "tunable" bullets.... yes, so that soldiers can set their weapons to stun. Cue the obvious Star Trek
joke. No one has it, from what I can find, and they come and go, depending on the draft you read. It
probably won't be in the final draft, but I thought I should throw that in here.
WEBS AND NETS
Foster-Miller, Waltham, Mass., years ago, created the “WebShot” a ten-foot.-wide Kevlar net; stick it
into a shotgun shell, WebShot has a nice thirty foot range. There is even the “Portable Vehicle Arresting
Barrier,” (developed by General Dynamics in Falls Church, Va.) is the same thing, only it can stop
eight-ton pickup trucks at high speed. Add your own Spider-man joke.
REAL RAY GUNS
The premise on this one is the same principle as your BlueTooth: Ultraviolet light can carry energy, we
know that because your BlueTooth works. Now, if you jack up the power on that a few thousand times,
you get a beam-tazer (my word). HSV Technologies in San Diego has been working on that one.

It's supposed to be the size of a flashlight, and I figured that by the time this book gets published, it
might even be real.