Soltron, the favored weapon in the War against Sin

Although originally produced for Sin the Tyrant’s ground troops, soltrons were swiftly taken up and turned on their Anthropic operators by the Revolutionists. The word soltron is a combination of the noun “sol” and the combining suffix “-tron,” which denotes instruments that accelerate subatomic particles. Thus, a soltron is a ballistic firearm that discharges a subatomic particle called the sol.

What is a sol then? Principally, it is a particle composed of supercharged photons that are fired at a velocity near the speed of sound. A sol is therefore visible and tangible radiation, but the exact dimensions of this particle vary by soltron. Generally, pistols have the smallest sol by proportion (and thus the projectile will travel slightly faster through the air) relative to heavier arms like rifles and shotguns. The sound made as the sol cuts through the air lends the firearm its distinctive muffled shrill.

Soltrons are highly modular pieces of equipment able to be fitted with all kinds of attachments and enhancements; some can even auto-lock on targets with the appropriate computer system. What makes soltrons especially useful is their ability to self-generate their own ammunition. Thus, they have infinite stock.

This revolutionary feat is accomplished via the fissioner, which is a compact ovoid chamber slightly bigger than a cherry, located at the posterior of the soltron. As the sol is created in the fissioner, it is compressed into the size of a hadron, then shot through the barrel where it is “sculpted,” so to speak, into an oblong and attenuate projectile of buttery light. This projectile is ultimately both longer and wider than the chamber that created it. Moreover, this process all happens within nanoseconds, which makes the weapon viable to use on the lattice.

When interacting with human flesh, a sol incinerates that flesh♦, going into the underlying tissue and blood until it hits bone. The sol bores through the framework of the body very much like a bullet. Third-degree burns are a given with soltronic wounds—well, human skin, that is. The properties of Anthropic skin are such that it can “syphon” the heat of the sol to cauterize the wound, thus preventing further inflammation beyond the point of impact. Multiple shots to the same spot will eventually break down this safeguard, however. “It just takes more,” as a Northerner would say. To add to that sentiment, because an Anthropos’s skeleton is alloy-based rather than calcium-based, makes their bones better at withstanding the heat and pressure of a sol before breaking.

If fired in long bursts without pause, a soltron will overheat. Of course, the rate at which this occurs varies by soltron. As an example, a semi-automatic hearth will overheat around two and a half minutes. Past that high mark and the fissioner is at increasing risk of exploding. This often results in injury to the gunner, but is not often fatal.

There are a variety of soltrons in use in the War. However, the word soltron is a bit of a misnomer. True soltrons have a fissioner: that is the essence of a burner. Those arms without a fissioner, such as heavy weapons that utilize thermal-propelled rockets like RPGs, are not soltrons. Still, this does not stop the soldier from calling an RPG a burner—or any weapon that fits the look for that matter.

True soltrons are as followed:

• Rifles,
• Firearms,
• Shotguns,
• Liners♦².

Soltrons can be either automatic or semi-automatic or both. They are purpose-built to withstand decades of rough abuse. The reason being, aside from the obvious save on manufacturing hours and resources, is their delicacy: burners are notoriously recalcitrant to repairs. Take the fissioner, which is specially encased in a multi-layered shell to endure the most murderous hands. Like the arca of a CM, once damaged, there is no prospect of repair. It must be replaced.

♦Hence their byname burner.

♦²Where the sol is discharged in an unbroken line—i.e., a laser. These soltrons overheat much faster as a result (appox. 30 seconds).