Chapter 24, Page 15
The following excerpt was taken from Superior Arms, a monthly publication featuring news, reviews, and specifications on the latest firearms, military-grade tech, and cutting-edge gear available on the market.
Reviewing the NG4 Volt Glove
By Lucien Otani
Among Sarten Technologies’ series of NESCAD (Non-lethal Electric Shock Compliance and De-escalation) products, the NG4 Volt Glove may be their finest yet.
The NG4 is intended for law enforcement, corrections, security, and military applications, designed to de-escalate use of force incidents and bring non-compliant or aggressive subjects under control in a safe and timely manner.
Classified as an electrical weapon, the NG4 features conductors along the inside fingers and palm of the glove that, when brought into direct contact with a subject, generates an electrical shock intended for pain compliance and neural peripheral interference.
At 50% power or under, the NG4 will transmit a localized shock designed to jolt a subject, but still keep them on their feet. This mode is intended for crowd control and correctional measures that require less force. Setting the glove over 50% power will cause disruption of the peripheral nervous system, making it difficult for the subject to perform coordinated muscle movement. In most cases, a charge at this level will drop a subject to their knees. At 100% maximum charge, the subject will face neuromuscular incapacitation and be rendered unconscious.
For review purposes, we tested the glove at 25%, 45%, and 65% power on a dozen volunteers, however we did not attempt a charge at full output. At the levels tested, the NG4 both met and exceeded expectations.
Pros of the NG4 Volt Glove:
- Sarten Technologies clearly learned from the mistakes of their earlier volt gloves. The NG4 has all the bells and whistles one could hope for, with very few drawbacks.
- The touch-screen monitor is easy to use, and cycling through mode selections can be done quickly once one familiarizes themselves with all of the features, of which the NG4 has many. A user can even customize and save their preferences—a nice inclusion previous volt gloves lacked.
- The glove is made of neo-carbon fiber, making it extremely durable and shock resistant to the user.
- Below maximum output, only the area of contact is affected, and therefore it is unlikely that anyone in physical contact with the subject would be shocked or adversely affected.
- The glove is effective through most clothing and protective material we tried.
- There were no marks, redness, or other signs of physical injury on any of the subjects, even at higher outputs.
Cons of the NG4 Volt Glove:
- The volt glove must be applied in close proximity to the subject.
- There is a variance in its effect between individuals, with some individuals less affected than others; however, based on our testing, the majority of subjects were affected during the stimulation phase.
- The Kyron-6 battery is adequate when the NG4 is used at lower power settings, but quickly drains at higher outputs.
- The volt glove is not water resistant and there is concern using the NG4 near water.
- A user may feel a prickling/tingling in their fingers when the glove is in use. This sensation increases with higher outputs. Though not a safety concern, this can be uncomfortable.
Danger Zone One. Story by Midnight. Art by Salaiix.
For its intended purpose, that glove seems like a super-impractical implement. With regards to the volunteer testing, none of those were hopped up on adrenaline (or whatever other DZO cyberpunk-ish drugs are in existence). Furthermore, one needs to make melee contact with the perp in question, and when said perp in question is a really big guy, the question that comes to mind is: how is this thing any better than a regular taser that can fire off the same effects across a wire, so you can stay away from a deranged, knife-wielding lunatic?
It also brings into consideration just how silly G Gundam’s “shining finger” apparatus is (though that whole anime was based around martial arts, so it *kind of* makes sense there–but much *less* so in the Destiny Gundam in the CE verse).
Of course, it seems that this thing has other uses, namely as a sensation/torture object, as is demonstrated.
Seems likely Belanie will be on the receiving end of that glove before this is over.
The nice part about it would be that you could still use a CEW while wearing the gloves and resort to those once that was expended, either by missing or through discharge. Having them active while moving through a crowd would be handy in moving people out of your path or disabling them if they resist. If the gloves came with quick change ‘cartridge’ batteries that would be a plus. There are similar things on the market today but I’ve never used them, just ‘sap’ gloves that don’t need batteries.
They really tied Belanie to that chair poorly. Tying her legs to the chair’s legs? Yeah, she could tip the chair and then slide the ropes out of the chair’s legs and then she could walk around, which would be one big part in being able to escape.
If they really wanted to prevent her from escaping, then they should’ve just tied Belanie’s legs together to prevent that.
It’s hard to see on this page but there were closer shots in the last chapter and the legs of that chair are bolted to the floor. You can kind of see it in the second panel.
No way she’s tipping that chair unless she’s got some superhuman strength XD
I didn’t catch it the first time but noticed that the rope’s fraying/loosening near the doc’s left ankle from all her struggling. Not sure it’ll help her though.
I guess SOMEBODY doesn’t want anybody to spoil their fun, especially the doc here! 😱