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: ''This article describes the secret [[weapon of mass destruction]] invented and described in [[Ayn Rand]]'s [[novel]], ''[[Atlas Shrugged]].'' For other uses of the phrase, see [[Project X (disambiguation)]].''

: ''This article describes the secret [[weapon of mass destruction]] invented and described in [[Ayn Rand]]'s [[novel]], ''[[Atlas Shrugged]].'' For other uses of the phrase, see [[Project X (disambiguation)]].''

'''Project X''' (2018-20), in [[Ayn Rand]]'s [[novel]] ''[[Atlas Shrugged]]'', was a project of the [[State Science Institute]], completed in the last year of the [[strike]] of the men of the mind called by [[John Galt]]. It was, quite simply, a [[weapon of mass destruction]] and was intended as an instrument of totalitarian control. Instead it became the trigger for the final collapse of the socialistic society that the [[United States of America]] had then become.

'''Project X''' (2018–20), in [[Ayn Rand]]'s [[novel]] ''[[Atlas Shrugged]]'', was a project of the [[State Science Institute]], completed in the last year of the [[strike]] of the men of the mind called by [[John Galt]]. It was, quite simply, a [[weapon of mass destruction]] and was intended as an instrument of totalitarian control. Instead it became the trigger for the final collapse of the socialistic society that the [[United States of America]] had then become.

Project X also was a [[Literary type#Allegorical types|type]] of the perversion of science by unscrupulous and power-hungry government authorities, and was also a metaphor for the unintended consequences of the use of taxpayer's money to fund scientific research.

Project X also was a [[Literary type#Allegorical types|type]] of the perversion of science by unscrupulous and power-hungry government authorities, and was also a metaphor for the unintended consequences of the use of taxpayer's money to fund scientific research.

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== Background ==

== Background ==

Project X, also known as Project Xylophone, grew out of the earlier work by [[Robert Stadler]], PhD, who became Director of the [[State Science Institute]] in 2004, shortly before the beginning of John Galt's famous strike. Robert Stadler had done pioneering work in the physics of [[sound]], and particularly in [[ultrasonic]] sound, presumably while he was Chairman of the [[Physics]] Department at the [[Patrick Henry]] University (not to be confused with the real-life [[Patrick Henry College]]). The nature of Robert Stadler's work is never explained in the narrative, but recent real-life work in acoustical science has resulted in a device capable of delivering a coherent "beam" of ultrasonic sound.<ref name=Nottingham>University of Nottingham. "A Sonic Boom In The World Of Lasers." ''ScienceDaily'' 18 June 2009. 18 June 2009 <http://www.sciencedaily.com­/releases/2009/06/090617123652.htm>.</ref> Perhaps Dr. Stadler had developed such a device, called a ''saser'' (an obvious play on the word ''[[laser]]''), in the hope of using it to produce what would, in the time setting of the novel, have become the first-ever automatic digital [[computer]].

Project X, also known as Project Xylophone, grew out of the earlier work by [[Robert Stadler]], PhD, who became Director of the [[State Science Institute]] in 2004, shortly before the beginning of John Galt's famous strike. Robert Stadler had done pioneering work in the physics of [[sound]], and particularly in [[ultrasonic]] sound, presumably while he was Chairman of the [[Physics]] Department at the [[Patrick Henry]] University (not to be confused with the real-life [[Patrick Henry College]]). The nature of Robert Stadler's work is never explained in the narrative, but recent real-life work in acoustical science has resulted in a device capable of delivering a coherent "beam" of ultrasonic sound.<ref name=Nottingham>University of Nottingham. "A Sonic Boom In The World Of Lasers." ''ScienceDaily'' 18 June 2009. 18 June 2009 <https://www.sciencedaily.com­/releases/2009/06/090617123652.htm>.</ref> Perhaps Dr. Stadler had developed such a device, called a ''saser'' (an obvious play on the word ''[[laser]]''), in the hope of using it to produce what would, in the time setting of the novel, have become the first-ever automatic digital [[computer]].

When Dr. Stadler came to the State Science Institute as its Director, he continued his work on sound and essentially placed all of it in the [[public domain]]. (Note that the Copyright Act of 1973 provides that the work product of any government agency is in the public domain in the United States.)

When Dr. Stadler came to the State Science Institute as its Director, he continued his work on sound and essentially placed all of it in the [[public domain]]. (Note that the Copyright Act of 1973 provides that the work product of any government agency is in the public domain in the United States.)

== The triggering ==

== The triggering ==

On February 22, 2019, [[John Galt]] was arrested. The government held Galt in the [[penthouse]] of the Wayne-Falkland Hotel for about a week while they attempted to persuade him to take the post of "Economic Dictator" of the country. They then attempted to force Galt to participate in a [[radio]]-[[television]] simulcast program to announce a new "plan for peace and prosperity" with his name on it. Instead of cooperating, Galt showed the entire country that someone was aiming a gun at him, and then said, "Get...out of my way."

On February 22, 2020, [[John Galt]] was arrested. The government held Galt in the [[penthouse]] of the Wayne-Falkland Hotel for about a week while they attempted to persuade him to take the post of "Economic Dictator" of the country. They then attempted to force Galt to participate in a [[radio]]-[[television]] simulcast program to announce a new "plan for peace and prosperity" with his name on it. Instead of cooperating, Galt showed the entire country that someone was aiming a gun at him, and then said, "Get...out of my way."

Robert Stadler did not remain in New York to watch that program. Instead, after a humiliating scene with Galt (at Galt's demand), he drove directly to Harmony City, intending to seize control of the Xylophone and rule the area of its influence as his private feudal domain.

Robert Stadler did not remain in New York to watch that program. Instead, after a humiliating scene with Galt (at Galt's demand), he drove directly to Harmony City, intending to seize control of the Xylophone and rule the area of its influence as his private feudal domain.

No real-life investigator has ever attempted to duplicate the Xylophone or to build anything like it. However, scientists at the [[University of Nottingham]] have built a device capable of producing a beam of coherent sound in the range of terahertz (trillions of vibrations per second).<ref name=Nottingham/> The project scientists call their device a "saser," a play on [[laser]], a device for producing coherent [[light]]. The Nottingham group hopes to use their device as an instrument of harmless imaging, for [[medicine|medical]] or security purposes (i.e., anti-[[terorrism|terrorist]] screening in public venues). They also talk hopefully of using their device to produce [[computer]]s with ''very'' high-speed internal clocks. But just as lasers have always been theoretically capable of burning or cutting if the light is powerful enough, the "saser" could deliver an ultrasonic beam capable of pulverizing an object, just as a dentist's sonicator pulverizes calcium deposits on teeth or dentures.

No real-life investigator has ever attempted to duplicate the Xylophone or to build anything like it. However, scientists at the [[University of Nottingham]] have built a device capable of producing a beam of coherent sound in the range of terahertz (trillions of vibrations per second).<ref name=Nottingham/> The project scientists call their device a "saser," a play on [[laser]], a device for producing coherent [[light]]. The Nottingham group hopes to use their device as an instrument of harmless imaging, for [[medicine|medical]] or security purposes (i.e., anti-[[terorrism|terrorist]] screening in public venues). They also talk hopefully of using their device to produce [[computer]]s with ''very'' high-speed internal clocks. But just as lasers have always been theoretically capable of burning or cutting if the light is powerful enough, the "saser" could deliver an ultrasonic beam capable of pulverizing an object, just as a dentist's sonicator pulverizes calcium deposits on teeth or dentures.

The most recent use of sound as a weapon occurred in the [[Iraq]] theater, where soldiers often used Long Range Acoustical Devices, or LRADs, to direct an ear-splitting sound at an unruly crowd or an approaching attacker.<ref name=lrad>"Troops in Iraq Get High-tech Noisemaker," [[Associated Press]], March 3, 2004. <http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,FL_noise_030304,00.html?ESRC=eb.nl></ref> About a year later, a cruise ship used an LRAD-like device to repel [[pirates]].<ref name=usatoday>Pain, John, "Cruise ship attacked by pirates used sonic weapon," ''USA Today'', November 7, 2005.<http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techinnovations/2005-11-07-cruise-blast_x.htm></ref> The most recent documented use of the LRAD occurred on [[United States]] soil, in September of 2009. Specifically, the police of [[Pittsburgh]], [[Pennsylvania]] used LRADs to disperse a crowd of demonstrators at the "Group of 20 Summit." That act has provoked great controversy, charges of excessive use of force, and comparisons to the [[Gestapo]] and [[stormtroopers]] of Nazi [[Germany]] during the [[Second World War]].<ref name=King>King T, "[http://www.salem-news.com/articles/october012009/lrad_hell_tk_10-1-09.php# The Criminal Behavior of G-20 Police in Pittsburgh]," Salem-News.com, 1 October 2009. Accessed 6 October 2009.</ref>

The most recent use of sound as a weapon occurred in the [[Iraq]] theater, where soldiers often used Long Range Acoustical Devices, or LRADs, to direct an ear-splitting sound at an unruly crowd or an approaching attacker.<ref name=lrad>"Troops in Iraq Get High-tech Noisemaker," [[Associated Press]], March 3, 2004. <http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,FL_noise_030304,00.html?ESRC=eb.nl></ref> About a year later, a cruise ship used an LRAD-like device to repel [[pirates]].<ref name=usatoday>Pain, John, "Cruise ship attacked by pirates used sonic weapon," ''USA Today'', November 7, 2005.<https://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techinnovations/2005-11-07-cruise-blast_x.htm></ref> The most recent documented use of the LRAD occurred on [[United States]] soil, in September 2009. Specifically, the police of [[Pittsburgh]], [[Pennsylvania]] used LRADs to disperse a crowd of demonstrators at the "Group of 20 Summit." That act has provoked great controversy, charges of excessive use of force, and comparisons to the [[Gestapo]] and [[stormtroopers]] of Nazi [[Germany]] during the [[Second World War]].<ref name=King>King T, "[http://www.salem-news.com/articles/october012009/lrad_hell_tk_10-1-09.php# The Criminal Behavior of G-20 Police in Pittsburgh]," Salem-News.com, 1 October 2009. Accessed 6 October 2009.</ref>

This is not the same as using sound to pulverize an object. The worst physical hazard that the LRAD could present to an overexposed subject is permanent hearing loss. The possible psychological harm to an exposed subject might be impossible to assess or predict.

This is not the same as using sound to pulverize an object. The worst physical hazard that the LRAD could present to an overexposed subject is permanent hearing loss. The possible psychological harm to an exposed subject might be impossible to assess or predict.

[[Ayn Rand]] did not believe that the government had any business funding scientific research, basic or applied. She used her Project X account partly as a plot device to explain the destruction of a key bridge, but primarily to express her fear that government-funded research will always lend itself to the construction of instruments of tyranny, and was therefore something to be strictly forbidden in a sound society.

[[Ayn Rand]] did not believe that the government had any business funding scientific research, basic or applied. She used her Project X account partly as a plot device to explain the destruction of a key bridge, but primarily to express her fear that government-funded research will always lend itself to the construction of instruments of tyranny, and was therefore something to be strictly forbidden in a sound society.

Indeed, [[John Galt]] weighs in on this very subject:{{cquote|[T]he damned and the guiltiest among you are the men who ''had'' the capacity to know, yet chose to blank out reality, the men who were willing to sell their intelligence into cynical servitude to force: the contemptible breed of those mystics of science who profess a devotion to some sort of "pure knowledge"&mdash;the purity consisting of their claim that such knowledge has no practical purpuse on this earth&mdash;who reserve their logic for inanimate matter, but believe that the subject of dealing with men requires and deserves no rationality, who scorn money and sell their souls in exchange for a laboratory supplied by loot. And since there is no such thing as "non-practical knowledge" or any sort of "disinterested" action, since they scorn the use of their science for the purpose and profit of life, they deliver their science to the service of death, to the only practical purpuse it can ever have for looters: to inventing weapons of coercion and desstruction. They, the intellects who seek escape from moral values, ''they'' are the damned on this earth, ''theirs'' is the guilt beyond forgiveness.}}

Indeed, [[John Galt]] weighs in on this very subject:{{cquote|[T]he damned and the guiltiest among you are the men who ''had'' the capacity to know, yet chose to blank out reality, the men who were willing to sell their intelligence into cynical servitude to force: the contemptible breed of those mystics of science who profess a devotion to some sort of "pure knowledge"&mdash;the purity consisting of their claim that such knowledge has no practical purpose on this earth&mdash;who reserve their logic for inanimate matter, but believe that the subject of dealing with men requires and deserves no rationality, who scorn money and sell their souls in exchange for a laboratory supplied by loot. And since there is no such thing as "non-practical knowledge" or any sort of "disinterested" action, since they scorn the use of their science for the purpose and profit of life, they deliver their science to the service of death, to the only practical purpose it can ever have for looters: to inventing weapons of coercion and destruction. They, the intellects who seek escape from moral values, ''they'' are the damned on this earth, ''theirs'' is the guilt beyond forgiveness.}}

Nor was Miss Rand the only author to express such a fear. The motion picture ''Atlantis'' includes a short dialogue in which a character who invented a wide-area space-heating device saw that device re-engineered to be a weapon, a result that he found not merely distasteful but despicable.

Nor was Miss Rand the only author to express such a fear. The motion picture ''Atlantis'' includes a short dialogue in which a character who invented a wide-area space-heating device saw that device re-engineered to be a weapon, a result that he found not merely distasteful but despicable.