Key chain-sized device that would teleport its owner to any other location within a 50 mile radius.
THIEF: “This is a stick up!”
YOU: …fumbling for the hyperspace button…
THIEF: “Did I stutter? Lose the watch!”
YOU: >>click<<
BARISTA: “Can I start a drink for you?”
YOU: “I’ll have a percent, half decaf, caramel….”
As in Asteroids, however, the inherent risk would be the real possibility that one ends up in a situation worse than the he/she is trying to escape.
Flex the Hyperspace Button during those attempted rapes, muggings and shootouts…and get the f*&% outta Dodge.-- iuvare, Dec 28 2000 If I were a thief, I'd buy one of these, teleport in, shoot you, loot your corpse, and teleport out. As long as I don't say anything and dress in an ordinary way (except for a mask, natch), I'd no more be a suspect than anyone else.
This is why Larry Niven called his teleporters "Alibi Machines." (Didn't I write this before?)-- centauri, Dec 29 2000, last modified Mar 24 2001 Doh! Didn't think this one through.
Peter's right in that this device would be better suited as a non-lethal alternative to jiu-jitsu or a Glock, with the added benefit of the criminal incurring a possibly fatal Hyperspace. What's more, the possibilities for misuse would clearly outweigh its benefits, and then centauri's scenario would become the hottest new techno-crime: thieves would have a field day jacking & teleporting...until they met their untimely death by landing on an asteroid.-- iuvare, Dec 29 2000 "I have no idea how I ended up at <preferred_location>, boss! Must've accidentally hit that hyperspace button again... *snicker snicker*"-- absterge, Dec 29 2000 Here's my other beef with such a device: How does it know what to teleport. If it takes everything in a 6' tall 3' diameter cylinder, you'd better be sure you hold it close, and maybe crouch down a little. Be prepared to take some concrete with you.
This brings up some rather disgusting problems when you consider someone trying to blink out of a rape-in-progress. Did I already give this a -1? Dang.-- centauri, Dec 29 2000 So it'd take along some pieces of the rapist. You say that like its a BAD thing...-- StarChaser, Dec 30 2000 random, halfbakery