The Laboratorium : First Time as Farce, Second Time as Tragedy

Boeing, TRW, and Lockheed-Martin are prototyping an airborne laser by combining a 747, a high-energy iodine laser, and a rotating optical tracking system. Which raises the question: haven't we been here before, and wasn't the airborne laser in Real Genius a pure symbol of unambiguous military evil? On the theory that repetition is indeed tragic, I'm trying some new directions, which means, in all likelihood, less Lab-a-riffic content. Hopefully, my words are going to start popping up in some new contexts. Of course, you still ought to keep looking for them in the usual places . . . 03'01'01