Very true. This also has in-universe implications... Since the flames are so unlike those from gunpowder weaponry, and since there is no evidence of bullet holes in the victim (despite the supposed high rate of fire suggested by the sound effects), one is almost tempted to think that this is not a slug-throwing weapon at all, or at least is not related to today's firearms technologically.
Speculation is cheap. There's no ammo magazine in evidence, despite the high rate of fire: perhaps this device is sonic in nature, utilizing a compact high-output power source but deriving its "ammunition" from the ambient air? At the very least, the weapon might dispense with the idea of bulky integrated propellant charges (such as combustible let alone brass casings), and merely pump small needles or ball bearings into a firing chamber utilizing liquid propellant? Or into an accelerator device relying on electromagnetics or the like instead of chemical explosions?
In any case, it doesn't look too "handy" as far as "arms" go, if you pardon the "pun". Hundreds of rounds (or whatever) are needed (or at least used) at point blank ranges to achieve a kill, and there's no evidence of a sighting device or other indications of range beyond point blank.
Hey, perhaps this is the exact sort of weapon you want to give to troops consisting of addled drug addicts! Lots of noise, little harm done; the officer may pack a conventional .45 pistol and finish off an out-of control trooper with a single shot, but unleashing these goons against a similar horde of enemy troops will result in lots of short range carnage, and unleashing them against "soft" targets such as crowds gives you all the reputation you need to govern through utter fear!
Timo Saloniemi
