"You don't understand, this is a new era of warfare!" "Warfare with who? We don't even know if there even IS anyone out there yet, why should we be preparing for threats that may not even exist?" The sound of a mug being placed down onto a table can be heard "There are people out there. I know it for certain. Transmission #001? It had to be aliens. There are rumors the Ruk are at war, but of course the press hasn't confirmed any of that yet. I choose to believe" "So, what even is this contraption anyways?" "I was waiting for you to ask that. This will be my masterpiece; this will be what people talk about when they talk about my inventions long after I'm gon-" "Yes, yes, get to the point." "Dude, at least let me monologue. Anyways, this is the MINEB." "Min...eb?" "The Muon Initiated Neutron and Electron Beam" "Are you sure you didn't make up the 'muon' at lunch break?" "What? I didn't it's real! 207 times as massive as an electron, spin of one half ħ, charge of -1e, and a lifetime of 2.2 microseconds!" "Fine, fine, just explain what your science fiction 'weapon' does please." "We've had successful tests, it uses muons which are captured by the protons of accelerated hydrogen, turning the protons into neutrons and basically dissolving the atom and making a destructive neutron beam." "The military is already considering grants and putting this into service as a weapon." "I don't get why you're so fixated on destruction, Elisce, we could be using these resources for exploration and discovering if there even ARE threats out there." "This is revolutionary, there are threats out there and I know it, but this will give the Empire the range they need for modern naval warfare, kinetics won't last forever, and Askal needs to be ready for that. Our doctrine already relies on ambushes. Times are changing, Desriq." "Besides, this sounds terribly expensive, how is this practical at all?" "The military wants a contract with us, that clearly mean it must have at least some merit, though they haven't told us what they're going to use it for."
