The advent of the Field Process shield and the lasgun with their explosive
interaction, deadly to attacker and attacked, placed the current determinatives,
on weapons technology. We need not go into the special role of atomics. The fact
that any Family in my Empire could so deploy its atomics as to destroy the
planetary bases of fifty or more other Families causes some nervousness, true.
But all of us possess precautionary plans for devastating retaliation. Guild and
Landsraad contain the keys which hold this force in check, No, my concern goes
to the development of humans as special weapons. Here is a virtually unlimited
field which a few powers are developing.