Feb 2018 v01 online

was still functioning. The carapace was no
longer aerodynamic but that could be fixed in
the hangars. Davids jacked out, his mood lifted.
No matter what charge the military threw at him
for his temporary absence from his work station
was unlikely to sour it.
“Some of the bodies had been pulped by the
shock wave of a heat seeker which impacted on
the roof. Christ, half the victims had been
liquidised.”
The technician apparently had not noticed
Davids had been interfacing with the drone and
had continued to talk with him. Davids nodded
politely.
“Yeah, we really lucked out. Might have taken
Hellbat out if he hadn’t fallen through the
floors before it impacted.”
As the technician stared at him, Davids put
his hand on his shoulder, explained he was
supposed to be at his workstation, told him to
keep up the good work and marched off. There
was a discernible spring in his step, and he felt
that the world had become a slightly brighter
place. ◊
Watt during the Second World War
enabled the British Air Force to detect
approaching enemy craft from a distance,
giving them ample time to prepare
defences and muster counter attacks. The
principles underlying radar later came to
find use in the civilian sphere as a domestic
appliance (one that I'm sure you are well
acquainted with) – the microwave oven.
The military has been a driving force in
the development of numerous
technologies as long as humanity has had
wars – considering the fact that the oldest
recorded war occurred nearly 5,000 years
ago, that’s a lot of drive for technological
advancement. Technologies fundamental
to our modern way of life such as
computers, the internet, and even tampons
are the product of military development for
applications in war. Similarly, virtual
reality, one of the breakthrough
technologies of the 21 st century, owes
much of its modern-day success and
continued development to the military.
While it may not seem intuitive, the
military (with the possible exception of the