I can see it now: just get the enemy to breathe in a cloud of nanobots, or have the bots enter their body through an open cut that they make, and the enemy’s body is yours: no violence needed.
We live in a terrifying time because there’s just no way to dodge this sort of stuff unless you have the EMP tech, since a Hazmat suit is unsustainable to don long-term.
EDIT: No, I didn’t watch anything! I’ve been reading about how nanobots are currently being used in the medical field to clear plaque from arteries, so I have simply been chugging with that train of thought in a more nefarious direction…
Why would you destroy potentially useful human resources?
Are you insinuating that your nanobots wouldn’t kill people?
Well, they’re not mine and rather evil mega corps’ or PMCs’ from MGS, but yeah, that’s what I had in mind…
But then they wouldn’t even perform the basic function of a gun. How would that make guns obsolete?
Because converting your enemy to further do your bidding is way better than just killing them, of course!
Not always.
It’s more like you’re making bribery and traditional brainwashing obsolete. But if you just want someone dead, a gun is still the better tool.
Well, I’m thinking along the lines of Sun Tzu’s general philosophy of “Don’t kill needlessly.” It’s why China will never nuke Taiwan; they want its semiconductor factories and other resources, including human labor. Same with the US and Russia, perhaps… By the way, I am strictly in this scenario talking about military application, not merely home defense/individuals fighting. I could have clarified that from the start, I’m now realizing, so my mistake.