Conceptual Origin
There are several literary precedents in science fiction for a "sword" of pure energy that can cut through anything, notably:
- Fritz Leiber's Gather Darkness (1943): the priests' "rods of wrath" (energy projections) only end where they cut into solid matter, so that a single duel led to numerous casualties of bystanders and charred scores across all nearby walls.
- Isaac Asimov's Lucky Starr series (1952): The force-blade is "a short shaft of stainless steel" which can project a force field that can cut through anything, making it "the most vicious weapon in the galaxy." Asimov's force-blade expands on his earlier invention of "a penknife with a force-field blade," first used in his Foundation novel (1951).
- Larry Niven's Ringworld (1970): Louis Wu uses his "flashlight laser" as a sword of indefinite length.
- M. John Harrison's The Pastel City (1971): the energy baan are used by the Methven, an order of knights sworn to protect their empire.
Read more about this topic: Lightsaber
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