Item from Foundation by Isaac Asimov
Standard sidearm of the Foundation era — compact nuclear-powered energy weapon that gave the Foundation decisive military superiority over neighboring kingdoms that had regressed to chemical propellants.
The nuclear blaster is the Foundation's technological edge made portable. When the peripheral kingdoms regressed to coal-powered industry and chemical weapons, the Foundation retained nuclear technology — and more importantly, the manufacturing base to produce it at scale. A Foundation trader carrying a nuclear blaster on a world that had lost the ability to make gunpowder was effectively carrying a magic weapon. This technological gap defined the Foundation's first century. The neighboring kingdoms could field larger armies, but the Foundation could arm its smaller forces with weapons that outclassed anything the kingdoms could produce. The religious framework that Foundation missionaries used to distribute nuclear technology included nuclear blasters — temple guards armed with holy weapons that could not be replicated by the uninitiated. As the Foundation's influence expanded and technology spread, the blaster's advantage diminished. But the principle it established — that technological superiority is a more durable form of power than military force — became the Foundation's institutional philosophy.
A handheld weapon roughly the size of a large pistol, its casing heavier and more angular than its chemical-propellant predecessors. The barrel is short and wide, designed for energy projection rather than ballistic accuracy. The power cell — a miniaturized nuclear source — gives the weapon thousands of shots before replacement. The discharge is a bright, brief flash with a sharp crack; the impact point vaporizes rather than fragments. Foundation-manufactured models are sleek and well-finished; copies from peripheral kingdoms are cruder, bulkier, and less reliable.
Also known as: blaster, nuclear sidearm, Foundation blaster