Sling

The sling is an advanced personal grapple-tool dating from the Gold Age. Slings vary substantially, but all follow the same core pattern: a bulky attachment to the forearm that has a small nozzle at one end, firing a magnetic clamp on the end of a cable. Those that use them are termed cloudgazers.

Workings

The sling stores a cable in molecular suspension; weaving the cable's cylindrical carbon lattice as it is fired and then deconstructing it when retracted. The cable is incredibly strong and light, extending to a typical range of two kilometres. The wearer can adjust the velocity at which the cable is extended or pulled in, allowing them to influence their path using arcs of movement. At the end of the cable is the Clamp, which is able to affix to most airbourne surfaces. The clamp is also capable of serious concussive damage to unarmoured persons if fired at full speed, but the device is considered a non-lethal weapon.

The most remarkable thing about the sling is that it is able to form a neural interface with its user, giving them greatly enhanced reflexes and co-ordination. A side effect of this is that the sling begins to take on part of the person's memories and thoughts, like a hand-print in wet clay. As most slings are now hundreds of years old, they often have strong ghost images of previous users. Some slings have even been said to speak in the heads of the cloudgazers using them.