Dart Pistol

Synopsis
The Dart Pistol was one of the more accessible weapons in Rapture at times. It was usually light-weight, silent, and mostly non-lethal, but underwent many revisions and models. The Dart Pistol was originally made with a long brass tube, a sling, and a small object to push the ammunition (usually a stone). The ammo was traditionally pens, but eventually evolved into actual darts.

Generation One
The first generation was first created soon after Rapture began to bring it's citizens below. The first to create and use the Dart Pistol were children, who used the brass tubes, rubber slings, and pencils as handles. This weapon (which became known as the Gud) was used commonly during gang fights or during the time when weapons were outlawed. Later, actual designs were created and sold to somebody. That person copied the designs and resold them to become wealthy, although the original designer and reseller are unknown. The redesigned version caught on with many other people who could not own weapons. Eventually, every teenager, child, and smuggler that could not own a fire-arm had their own make-shift Gud. The popularity of the Gud led to city officials to pass laws that made manufacturing, distribution, and ownership of the weapon illegal, but despite this, their popularity continued to grow. The great number of Guds circulating made tracking them impossible, so officials decided to give up.

Generation Two
The second generation was created a few months after a massive increase of Guds. Weapons manufactures decided to make money off of this device, and created several models for sale towards teenagers and children. Most models still featured a long tube for a barrel, but replaced the sling with a Nitro canister. These weapons no longer were called Guds, but obtained the name, Dart Pistol (although smugglers and gangs still used slang to call them Guds). Many companies created Dart Pistols, but only a few were able to succeed with making profits. The most famous model of Dart Pistol was the M-097/P. This model featured a short barrel (which was not common for Dart Pistols at the time), an amazing ten dart magazine, and an optional laser sight attachment that was offered if purchased at official retail outlets. The maker of the M-097/P was Solid Industries (which would later be sold to Ryan Industries). Since Dart Pistols were not traditionally lethal, many homes had Dart Pistols in them. At that time, Guds were still popular with younger children.

Generation Three
The final generation of Dart Pistols were produced at the time the Civil War began. At the start of the war, there were many espionage and sabotage missions. Soldiers needed stealthy weapons that would be non-lethal. Their solution was another re-invention of the Dart Pistol. The Dart Pistol's design took massive overhauls. The new models featured a much sturdier frame, a more reliable slide, a much larger magazine, and was generally updated from previous versions. The new models looked more like small Machine Guns than single shot Dart Pistols, but still remained true to previous designs. As the war progressed, the Dart Pistol became less popular, as espionage became obsolete and guerrilla attacks were preferred. Still, small raiding parties and high ranking officials carried Dart Pistols at this time. Even production of the first generation Guds, which had become obsolete years ago, grew in popularity with young civilians. The third generation was only available to the public for a short time and in limited quantities before the effects of splicing began to destroy Rapture. The third generation was the best of the three kinds of Dart Pistols, but the second generation was the most popular, the cheapest, and the most effective for civilian use.

Currently
At this time, Dart Pistols are not commonly used. The Guds, however, are extremely popular, since they can be invented without the use of a U-Invent machine (although with more professional materials, a better version can be made with one). Dart Pistols are preferred by people who do not want to kill, those looking to loot more, and those that are desperate for a weapon. The splicers have no use for them, since they prefer lethal weapons or Plasmids. There is currently a group of teenage and children survivors who have been building reliable Dart Pistols and sending them through Pneumo tubes to random locations, hoping survivors will pick them up to defend themselves with them. This group has no known location or no known leader.

Features
The features of the Dart Pistol's second generation include:


 * Quiet shots


 * Non-lethal rounds (makes looting easier by not alerting nearby enemies)


 * Quick magazine reloads


 * Short rounds in magazine


 * Three commonly used ammo variations:
 * Regular (provides minimal damage)
 * Sedative (the most common, sets enemies into sleep)
 * Poison (provides maximum damage, provided the dart hits a vital spot)

The third generation expanded the features:


 * A long range sight


 * Larger magazines


 * Faster slide movement


 * Quicker reload time

Power to the People Functionality
Fontaine Futuristic (despite becoming reliant on Dart Pistols at times) stated that their interests were different from the future of the Dart Pistol. This was seen as a big mistake on Fontaine's part, and cost his company a possible couple million dollars. Although he was not ignorant to the profits he could obtain from them. When Fontaine Futuristics began the construction of Power to the People terminals, Dart Pistol support was not included. Around the end of the second generation, Fontaine decided it would be wise to include Dart Pistol functionality in his machines. There were two possible upgrades available, but because of the many models and makes of the Dart Pistol, the upgrades for them were fairly generic.


 * Barrel Lengthen-er: Increased the accuracy of the weapon, and increased the range a bit as well.


 * Ammo Addition: This upgraded the Pistol's magazines, creating a U shape. This added three times the ammo for the Dart Pistol, and provided a grip for extra accuracy.

End Notes
Although the Dart Pistol was prominent at times during Rapture's time, it rose and fell in popularity, and would not be found in any text book. Some say that the Dart Pistol will grow in popularity once again, due to the popularity of U-Invent machines, but others deny this saying that a when fighting splicers, they would rather be able to put them down permanently, rather than for an hour.