The Satellite Orbital Laser or SOL, is a fictional orbital weapon depicted in the anime film Akira. It is under the control of the Japanese military. Because of the massive power the beam produces at firing, there is often a resultant explosion originating at the point of terrain contact.
The SOL station is used by Colonel Shikishima to fire upon Tetsuo Shima in order to stop his rampage through the city. Tetsuo loses his right arm from exposure to the beam before he can properly shield himself from it. The Colonel orders a second firing of the laser, but Tetsuo anticipates this and shields himself and Kaneda completely from the second volley. Tetsuo then flies towards SOL, following the path of the beam, and destroys SOL by causing an explosion on SOL's surface which knocks SOL out of orbit. The satellite fires wildly and disintegrates as it re-enters Earth's atmosphere. In the manga version, SOL isn't destroyed; in Book Six, it is used by Kei to battle a horribly mutated Tetsuo as he attacks Lady Miyako's temple. However, Tetsuo does bring down another laser satellite - the American FLOYD - on top of an aircraft carrier. Trivia In the Nintendo DS game Lunar Knights (Boktai: Django and Sabata in Japan) the main villains (Vampires) use a somewhat similar device called the paraSOL to block out lethal amounts of solar radiation. In Yu-Gi-Oh!, two duelists (Prince Ojin and Lector) use a similar weapon called Satellite Cannon.
