Gravitational Beam Emitter
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Gravitational Beam Emitter is the gun used by Killy in BLAME!, a manga by Tsutomu Nihei. It is also known as the Graviton Beam Emitter and the Graviton Radiation Projector.
Gravitational_Beam_Emitter_-_Killy_Poses.jpg
While at the beginning of the manga it seemed to be an overpowered gun, it grew to be the 3rd most powerful weapon in the entire series, next only to Mensab's teleportation ability and the Level9, (the "Ultimate Weapon"). Killy states that he doesn't recall the origin of the weapon, though I believe it was the only perfected GBE that could sustain such a high output for long period. A few particularities about the weapon, it was a highly condensed bullet of energy, which could repel beams from other weapons (seen in the Corporation against the Guardians), and can blast through larger forms of the GBE, seen at Toha Heavy Industries.
It also draws on the power of the user, hence the reason why Killy is suited to using it, and he makes a point of being the only person to fire it (by not allowing others to use it). This might also be due to the severe recoil of the beam, flinging the user back if used at higher power levels. It never 'runs out' of bullets therefore, and has unlimited ammo so long as the user has power. There were very few occasions when the GBE had no power. Inside Toha Heavy Industries, where the Safeguard aren't allowed access, Ivy (one of the Silicon Creatures) states that 'the weapons of the Safeguard are disabled', so the GBE is not permitted to work. This also happens in the alternate universe inside the Gravity Furnace. Later when he met Dhomochevsky, Iko managed to stop the power of the GBE for a split second, giving Dhomochevsky an advantage in firing his own weapon. Incidentally, Iko called the GBE a 'Class 1 Critical Effect Weapon', obviously a powerful category.
Whenever Killy loses the weapon for whatever reason (stolen, dropped, borrowed), he always gets it back, searching constantly for it, and even breaking through walls to get to it.
Nothing can stop the beam once it has been fired. Anything that appears in its way gets a large hole in its body (i.e enemies) and also huge holes in the Megastructure. It is the only weapon capable of penetrating the solid layers between levels of the Megastructure. Killy also surprisingly uses it to defend Cibo when another Safeguard fires a GBE at her. He shoots just the point of the beginning of the beam (i.e. the bit about to hit Cibo), and it is deflected away.
There were 5 distinct 'levels' of power.
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Level 0
| Missing image Gravitational_Beam_Emitter_-_Level_0.gif Normal GBE | Not strictly, a level as such, but the state the gun is in when not being used. The back shows the different stages, and are all black to indicate no usage, and the front of the gun remains the same. |
Level 1
| Missing image Gravitational_Beam_Emitter_-_Level_1.gif GBE: Level 1 | The most basic shot of the GBE. Killy probably uses this often at the beginning of the series due to the nature of the enemies he has to defeat, mostly Silicon Creatures, who can be dispatched with just one shot. This is also the most commonly used Level, due to the small amount of time it takes to charge, and how useful it is despite being so 'small' in power. He uses this against many SC and also against the humans at the port, and generally anyone who attacks him. Inside Toha Heavy Industries, in the Gravity Furnace, Cibo powers up his GBE to one level, which he then uses to attack the SC and create a hole in the Gravity Furnace to open up the space. Using this against Dhomochevsky, we know that this Level creates holes of 70 kilometres deep, and so it is a very deadly weapon even at its most basic.
The one bar on the top illustrates it powered up to Level 1. |
Level 2
| Missing image Gravitational_Beam_Emitter_-_Level_2.gif GBE: Level 2 | We never see this Level being used, but its safe to assume that at one point Killy does bother to charge it up this far, though we never see it being used in the manga (where we see the back of his GBE).
Here, two bars are lit up, and light up in a clockwise order. |
Level 3
| Missing image Gravitational_Beam_Emitter_-_Level_3.gif GBE: Level 3 | Same as with level 2, we never see it in action, only when it was shown as the precursor to the Level 4.
Three bars are lit up. |
Level 4
| Missing image Gravitational_Beam_Emitter_-_Level_4.gif GBE: Level 4 | The most destructive mode for the first 3-4 volumes, used first against the President of the Corporation in the Capitol. Possesses much more strength than the remaining three levels, and shows it by the power expressed in the beam.
Here, four bars are lit up, including the central circle, indicating the increase in power. |
Level 4 Extra
| The ultimate level, nothing can defeat this beam. Killy uses this level first against the giant Safeguard outside Toha Heavy Industries. He powers up by extracting energy from the surrounding dead Safeguard Exterminators and uses it to unlock this mode. The GBE goes through a physical change, and the gun 'opens' up, the external casing clicking outwards, and the front circular part pushing forwards more and opens up too. As one might imagine, this mode is used the rarest due to the power constraints. Killy uses it no more than six times. Once against the giant Safeguard, three or four times after being caught in the blast of the Level 9 Safeguard (probably just frustrated, as he fired them off into nowhere), and finally against the First Class Exterminator.
The gun changes are radical, show they are being shown below. | ||||||||||||
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Not entirely unique however...
The weapon was used by some special Safeguards, as mentioned, the giant Safeguard had one built into its mouth, and Sanakan had one built onto her right arm. When working for the Governing Agency, she had her own weapon very similar to Killy's, except it was larger and could only go up to Level 4. After being returned to Base Reality she had her old form back, the one from the Toha Heavy Industries saga. The only difference was that her GBE could now use the Extra level, meaning she was more powerful, and used it to great effect against a huge number of Silicon Creatures.