At some point the threat may move from being theoretical to actual, but we are probably still a long ways off from that. Regardless, the implications of a weapon that can instantaneously deprive modern society of the means to sustain itself are terrifying.

Kyle Mizokami is a writer based in San Francisco who has appeared in The Diplomat, Foreign Policy, War is Boring and The Daily Beast. In 2009 he cofounded the defense and security blog Japan Security Watch.

Image: Flickr/U.S. Army/CC by 2.0