Editing Incapacitating agent (section)

=="Knockout gas"==
{{unreferenced |section|date=September 2023}}
A fictional form of incapacitating agent, sometimes known as "knockout gas", has been a staple of [[Pulp magazine|pulp]] detective and [[science fiction]] novels, movies and television shows. It is presented in various forms, but generally is supposed to be a gas or [[aerosol]] that affords a harmless method  of rendering characters quickly and temporarily [[unconsciousness|unconscious]] without physical contact. This is in contrast to [[chloroform]], a liquid [[anesthetic]]—itself a common element in [[genre fiction]]—that requires a victim to be physically subdued before it can be applied.

A number of notable fictional characters created in the early 20th century, both villains and heroes, were associated with the use of knockout gas: [[Fu Manchu]], [[Dr. Mabuse]], [[Doc Savage]], [[Batman]], and [[Avenger (pulp-magazine character)|The Avenger]]. A military knockout gas called the "Gas of Peace" is an important plot device in [[H. G. Wells]]'s 1936 movie ''[[Things to Come]]''. It had become a familiar trope by the 1960s, when it was utilized in the [[X-Men]] comics. A famous example recurs in every [[Opening and closing sequences of The Prisoner|opening sequence]] of the British TV series ''[[The Prisoner]]'' (1967–68).

The U.S. Army psychiatrist [[James S. Ketchum]], who worked for almost a decade on the U.S. military's top secret [[psychochemical warfare]] program, relates a story relevant to the concept of a "knockout gas" in his 2006 memoir, ''Chemical Warfare Secrets Almost Forgotten''. In 1970, Ketchum and his boss were visited by CIA agents for a brainstorming session at his Maryland laboratory. The agents wanted to know if an incapacitating agent (his specialty) could be used to intervene in the [[Dawson's Field hijackings|ongoing hijacking of a Tel Aviv aircraft by Palestinian terrorists]] without injuring the hostages. <blockquote>We considered the pros and cons of using incapacitating agents and various other options. As it turned out, we could not imagine a scenario in which any available agent could be pumped into the airliner without the hijackers possibly reacting violently and killing passengers. Ultimately, the standoff was resolved by other means.<ref>Ketchum, James S. (2006, 2nd edition 2007), ''Chemical Warfare Secrets Almost Forgotten: A Personal Story of Medical Testing of Army Volunteers during the Cold War (1955–1975''), Santa Rosa, CA: ChemBook, Inc, 380 pp. Revised edition (2012), published by [[AuthorHouse]]. Quote is from page 226 of the 2012 edition.</ref></blockquote>

Arguably, the use of  [[fentanyl]] derivatives by Russian authorities in the 2002 [[Moscow hostage crisis]]<ref name="PortonDownCarfentanil" /> (see above) is a real-life instance of deployment of a "knockout gas". Of course, the criterion that the gas reliably render subjects temporarily and harmlessly unconscious was not fulfilled in this case, as the procedure killed about fifteen percent of those subjected to it.<ref name="CNN report siege gas" />