Pion Isospin Array

**Key Features** | »Quark concentration system»Disruption ray Mk 1.1»Subatomic reaction amplifier module»Collection of *Popular Science* magazines (well-read)»413 page long instruction manual (unread)

*"Why am I here? I'm a doctor!"*

- A reluctant Pion Isospin Array operator

## Tactical Analysis

* **Strange Spinner and Stranglet Truck:** A revolutionary experimental vehicle built from the Experimental Workshop, the Pion Isospin Array's light frame gives it a decent top speed and lets it very dangerous weapon capable of unleashing untold infantry destruction. This will usually be the only anti-infantry weapon you'll need, so long as you can keep it alive.

* **Quarky Weapons of War:** The primary weapon of the Pion is the Disruption Ray Mk 1.1, which can instantly degarrison a building or kill an infantryman with high-energy radiation. The Pion Isospin Array can also deploy a Quark Concentration System, which projects an invisible field of high intensity quark radiation that can change the structure of an atom on a subatomic level and cause a person to just disappear into thin air. Do note that the field does not discriminate against friend or foe.

* **Less AT Capabilities than a Neutrino:** The Pion Isospin Array, like all other experimental vehicles, has low armour and tends to explode violently on death. In addition, the Pion is completely useless against anything that isn't infantry.

* **Collateral Damage Minimisation System:** Pion operators who finally get around to reading the 413 page long manual discover the Pion's onboard friend or foe discrimination system and how to operate it. Considering the length of the manual, however, it might take some time to get to the relevant portions.

## Excerpt about the Pion Isospin Array

*Reprinted with permission from Popular Mechanics, June 1969*

**The Weapon of the Future : The Pion Isospin Array**
by John F. Pearson

Ever wonder what holds matter together? Physicists have recently discovered the pion, a light meson. Pions are spinless, involved in flavours, three of them make an isospin, and they are generally extremely difficult for physicists to explain to impatient military types. Take our word for it, though, pions are important.

When scientists mentioned what happens when you interfere with them, those same generals start paying attention pretty much instantly. You see, pions are a key element in strong nuclear force. Without them, subatomic particles cease to exist, reduced to their basic meson groups. It's an updated version of the intrinsic field theories you may have heard of, that were so popular during the 1950s. If mesons are the glue holding everything together, pions are the active chemical.

Now, the subatomic particles scientists deal with today have a lot of values associated with them; strangeness, flavour, up or down. Spin is the fundamental one for mesons, and pions are, as mentioned above, spinless, which confers them a unique isospin value. In order to provide experimental proof to the mechanics of these tricky particles, physicists on the cutting edge of theoretical sciences developed a machine that would bombard the pion with an *even smaller* particle, called the quark, intended to knock a quark out of position and replace it with one of a different value. If successful, this would prove the role of the pion in strong nuclear forces. The experiment, conducted on hydrogen, was a rousing success, converting millions of pions into other mesons by giving them spin. A side effect of this was that the hydrogen sample was turned into rapidly dissipating, light blue vapour accompanied by electrical discharges.

Soon, scientists were using the Isospin device on elements with higher atomic numbers; the process got more difficult the higher one went, eventually losing all potency at titanium. Any element under that, however, will cease to exist rapidly. Eventually, it was decided to test the device on a pig corpse, resulting in near instant disintegration. The scientists went to the Allied military the next day.

You may have seen pictures of the new Isospin Array in newsreels or on the television; they have been deployed in Vietnam just recently, and Popular Mechanics is proud to the exclusive story on its effects in combat. In the jungles, the Isospin Array has proved valuable in clearing brush; calibrated to certain elements, organic matter literally vanishes in its path. Minor controversy has been raised that human beings might get caught in the field; hysterical anti-war protesters describe the machine being used to *flay* enemy combatants alive. We at Popular Mechanics would like to assure everyone that our boys and girls take every precaution to keep the war for freedom humane; the Isospin Array is covered in flashing warning lights and a klaxon sounds to warn everyone before it activates; it is extremely unlikely that anyone could miss it, and reports that these features have been disabled and the machine has been weaponised are exaggerated at best.

## Behind the Scenes

The Pion Isospin array has drive treads in the back. Now stop complaining about the skis.

## External Links

Pion Isospin Array voice tested in Warcraft III

## Just the Stats

 **Armour Type** | Light Armour

 **Kill Reward** | 12000

 **DPS** | ∞