Sierra Nevada Corporation plans to build a microwave ray gun, dubbed MEDUSA (Mob Excess Deterrent Using Silent Audio), able to beam sounds directly into people’s heads.

The device exploits the microwave audio effect, in which short microwave pulses rapidly heat tissue, causing a shockwave inside the skull that can be detected by the ears. A series of pulses can be transmitted to produce recognizable sounds.

The device is aimed at military or crowd-control applications.