recommend 'em.'
'And how many cylinder changes do I have to carry to accomplish this
miracle? Three? Five?'
'No, sir, not a one. Pop the cylinder and push back on the extractor
rod.'
Howard did so. The extractor looked very odd.
'Those are springs, those little things in the chambers.
Anything that'll fit, they'll hold in place, and it'll cook 'em off
just fine.'
'Really?'
'Yes, sir. You happen to find yourself on a battlefield somewhere and
you run out of .357, you can always find 9mm somewhere, it still being
the most popular military caliber worldwide. It'll shoot the stuff we
use in our subguns.'
Howard looked at the gun.
'What's the catch?'
'Well, sir, there are three. It doesn't much like speed-loaders,
because of the springs. You can make them work, but there's a little
trick to it. Speed strips would be better, and they are easier to
carry anyhow. Second, if you are going to mix calibers, you should
shoot the longer stuff first, so as not to gunk up the chambers. And
third, if you are mixing calibers, the sights won't be dead-on for the
different ones, so you have to adjust the rear sights. But that's the
same with mixing bullet weights, and most of the time, you'll be
shooting the same ammo. Still, you can put a different caliber in
every chamber and fire them off just fine. At close range, you don't
need to worry about the sights, anyhow.'
Howard hefted the revolver.
'Interesting.'
Gunny said, 'Only thing I got in .357, General. I have a snubnose
Smith M60 in .38 Special if you want to try that, but even with plus-P,
it ain't much gun, and it only holds five.'
Julio nodded at the Medusa.
'Why don't you put a few through it, long as we are here? Unless you
want to, uh, forfeit the match?'
'You wish.'
Gunny said, 'Lemme see your ring, sir.'
Howard nodded and slipped the Net Force signet ring from his right
third finger. It looked ordinary enough, but inside the mounting was a
tiny computer chip powered by a capacitor whose stored electricity came
from a small kinetic generator, basically a little weight that shifted
back and forth. As of a month ago, all Net Force who carry and
field-issue sidearms, subguns, and rifles were equipped with smart
technology. The guns had an internal chip that kept the actions from
operating unless they received a coded signal. The rings sent the
signal, and had a range of a few centimeters, no more. The Net Force
guns were all tuned to the same signal, so if needed, they could shoot
each other's weapons, but if anybody not wearing the transmitting
signet ring tried to fire a Net Force small arm, it would simply refuse
