Writing the Marcus Carver Sci-Fi Crime Series has proved to be a tricky balance. It is set in the near-enough future that the world can’t be totally unfamiliar. Yet there needs to be enough new technology and social development to satisfy the demands of the genre and the natural change that occurs over several decades. Whenever I describe something in that world (cities, buildings, rooms, materials, cookware, computers, transportation), I force myself to imagine how that object will change by the latter half of this century. And because Carver is a private detective, I often think about the guns of the future.
From Forensics to Fiction
Prior to becoming a full-time writer, I spent over twelve years as a forensic firearms examiner. I worked in a laboratory analyzing guns, bullets and cartridge cases from crimes in and around Chicago. Needless to say, I became pretty familiar with how guns work during that time. And as a science fiction reader, I knew enough to raise an eyebrow at the more questionable ideas for guns of the future.
My forensic firearms training did not cover futuristic firearms (other than noting details like Han Solo’s blaster pistol in Star Wars being a modified Mauser C96). So I combined my existing knowledge about firearms mechanics with a little research to determine what kind of gun technology would be plausible by the end of this century.
A Time-Tested Formula
As this article points out, current firearm cartridges are extremely effective. They create a stable, durable container in which a directed explosion can be produced under specific conditions (i.e. the gun’s firing pin striking the primer on the cartridge case) in order to move a solid projectile very, very fast. The basics of this design have remained unchanged for over 200 years for good reason. The extraterrestrial weaponry in Liu Cixin’s Remembrance of Earth’s Past trilogy is a prime example of a sci-fi author recognizing how hard it is to top the kinetic energy of a dense, high-velocity object.
In the near future, advances in firearms technology are more likely to come from advances in material design—stronger, lighter materials that can be used in guns and ammunition. That said, a firearm has to be strong enough to withstand the heat and pressure of the firing process. Such durability is often a problem for 3D-printed polymer guns. Commercially produced guns with polymer frames still have steel barrels and chambers to contain and direct the firing process. Harder bullets are a possibility, but bullets that are harder than a firearm’s barrel will damage the barrel and lead to reduced accuracy. Finally, guns that are too light will have greater recoil (or “kick”), making it harder for the shooter to control the gun. Future firearm materials will have to account for these constraints.
Gun Accessories of the Future
I expect we’ll also see technology from other spheres incorporated into firearm design. A few manufacturers are already developing smart guns that can only be unlocked by an RFID chip, fingerprint recognition or other unique key, but none have been brought to market. Advances in imagery and holography could allow manufacturers to build holographic sights into their firearms instead of offering them as attachable accessories.
Some manufacturers have experimented with electronic ignition—using an electric charge instead of a mechanical firing pin strike to initiate the firing process. This mechanism improves accuracy by reducing the time between the trigger pull and the firing of the cartridge, but it requires special ammunition and a battery to provide the charge. As of now, it hasn’t caught on. If it does, I expect it will happen first with military and law enforcement, where personnel could be issued fully charged weapons loaded with the requisite ammunition.
Predictions Sure to Go Wrong
Like any technology, the predictions get trickier the farther you drift from the present. In thinking about guns of the future, I tried to base my predictions on existing and developing technology while steering clear of any obvious anachronisms or implausibilities. I’m certain the actual future will eventually prove my choices wrong in some capacity, but I hope my forensics background will lend at least a little realism to my imagined future.
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