The Infantryman Of The 22nd Century

Don't we all dream about the weapons and equipment of future wars? Well I for one do. And being a combination of engineer, visonary and handyman here's what I think would make a great battle suit in a war with laser guns. So I give you The Infantryman Of The 22nd Century.

. The battle suit itself would be made of a nanotechnical fibre. The fabric can be sealed against splinter and gas. The coal nano fibres can also be made to change colour, thus enabling different camouflage patterns at the touch of a dial

. With a generator (powered by a micro turbine) the suit is constantly held at comfortable temperatures, enabling the soldier to fight anywhere from Sahara to Antarctica

. A force field (powered by the same turbine as in previous entry) guards the bearer from hostile laser beams

. A comlink on the wrist of the soldier serves as battle computor and radio control

. The helmet has built-in radio and a vizor with functions like infrared, nightvision and binoculars

. The laser carbine would be carried separately and powered by batteries

Other than that it could be said: the suit is not pressurized and the helmet, though fairly hermetical, has no oxygen feed. The soldier would breathe normal air from the atmosphere. However, in times of chemical hazard the helmet can be sealed and, with a filter, function like a gas mask. For longer periods of fighting in gas-infested environments some spare oxygen could be needed.

Now then, how would units of these soldiers function? How to lead them? What would their support be? These are interesting questions no doubt but they would take an entire essay to answer. But of course I can envision a future infantry battalion attacking a strongpoint, calling in support from laser gunships. Wouldn't that be spiffy, eh, real futurist fiction with lasers blazing and soliders puking in their sealed helmets...? -- But if you seriously would like more on the fictional side of it all, read this story of mine. It starts off in WWII but then soars away to distant times, staging a whole man-alien cosmic war. And the combat activities in question could surely be envisioned with the type of infantryman I've sketched in this post.

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