Undersea Kingdom - Unga Khan's Technology

Unga Khan's Technology

While the technology base of Atlantis is apparently very low, with sword wielding cavalry and chariots the main type of military force, Unga Khan's Black Robes (or Imperial Guard) have several very advanced items of technology.

Unga Khan's Disintegrator is the main plot device. A machine capable of artificially creating earthquakes at a precise target, it is this that leads to Professor Norton's expedition to Atlantis and also the means by which Unga Khan means to conquer or destroy the upper world.

The Reflector Plate is the most ubiquitous device used throughout the serial. This is a screen that acts much like a view screen, or videophone, in more modern science fiction. It is used to communicate between two plates or it is used, most frequently, to view (and hear) any remote location. No cameras or microphones are apparently necessary to this second function and it appears to have no limits - viewing the Sacred City, areas of Atlantis and the upper world with no problems.

Unga Khan's Imperial Guard are augmented by Volkites, a type of robot controlled by a bulky remote control device often worn by Hakur. They also perform tasks in the tower, for example operating the Master Controls of other devices such as the Disintegrator when commanded to by remote control (the remote control of most devices are usually done through remotely controlling the Volkite(s) to operate the Master Controls to remotely control the actual device). While the Imperial Guard use swords or bows, the Volkites are armed with Atomguns, rifle sized ray guns. Occasionally these are used by others where necessary but only when taken from a Volkite.

In terms of vehicles, Unga Khan has one tank, called the Juggernaut. This can be controlled by remote as well as by the driver (either human or Volite). It has no armament itself but is used as a battering ram during siege warfare. Though not used very often Unga Khan's forces also have several aircraft called Vol Planes (also known as Sky Chariots by the White Robes).

Unga Khan's tower is armed with one Projector which fires one Aerial Torpedo at a time. This is, again, controlled by remote control.

Unga Khan uses his Transformation Chamber to make people "change their mind". It is a brain washing device that makes the victim Unga Khan's willing slave. The effect wears off in time and can be reversed by the Chamber.

The Magnetic Ray is used only once to pull the Rocket Submarine into Atlantis (much like a tractor beam in Star Wars or Star Trek) in the first chapter. In the last chapter, an Invisible Wall of Atom Rays is activated to provide Unga Khan's tower with a force field to protect it from the United States Navy's bombardment. Finally, the tower itself has automatic sliding doors and elevators.

The most advanced technology seemingly available to the opposing White Robes of Sharad are catapults and flame throwers built into the walls of the Sacred City.

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