Force projection technology was utilized by the grubs to create barriers, referred to as armouring skein by them, to protect their void warrens. It was possible to use the projection of a force-barrier as a weapon -- to cause collisions -- but it appeared to be increasingly difficult to do so the further the away the barrier was projected.
The force-projection machinery aboard grub vessels did not simply create a barrier that was either on or off, as damaged void warrens could form partial armour skeins. However, it was stated by Traveling Fearlessly that anything short of a complete force-barrier was totally ineffective against the Inhibitors, as they possessed the ability to "see the holes".
Notes
- Its effective range when functioning perfectly is unknown, as the only example was it being used was by a damaged void warren.
- However, the example indicated that a shuttle-sized barrier projected to less than half a light-second distant -- an extremely short range for a starship weapon in the Revelation Space Universe -- caused the user pain and required intense concentration. This, coupled with the fact that Traveling Fearlessly never actually characterized it as a weapon, suggest that it was rarely if ever used as one by the grubs and was purely defensive in nature.