[sarasmom]

Obviously the author of this piece is a Marion Zimmer Bradly /Darkover fan.
Fantasy/science fiction series:
Darkover is a planet originally colonized by a crashed spaceship from Earth, mostly filled with red haired Irish people with latent ESP powers.
After a few generations of inbreeding with the indigenous ...
Never mind, suffice it to say that magic ruled, and all lethal weapons, except knives and swords, were outlawed, except for those special secret weapons belonging to the strictly self-controlled ruling class of elites, who had special magical mental powers and mental weapons!

I've often thought it would be amusing to watch a group of Ann Ryand "Atlas Shrugged" fans meet up with MZB fans at a convention center hotel that had double booked...LOL!

[brbethke]

I've often thought it would be amusing to watch a group of Ann Ryand "Atlas Shrugged" fans meet up with MZB fans at a convention center

I've seen it. It ain't pretty.