system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[Blade Runner] What are C-beams, and why do they glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser Gate?

And why is this an unbelievable sight?

For bonus points, explain why attack ships were on fire off the shoulder of Orion.
gpt
C-beams are "cutter beams", a type of directed-energy weapon which slices ships apart. It's unusual to see them glitter because, like lasers, they don't generally shine at right angles to the beam path. Near the Tannhäuser Gate, however, there's a high enough concentration of interstellar hydrogen that a small portion of the beam will scatter so that an observer can see the beam path.

Oh, and the attack ships were on fire because some idiot put metal in the galley microwave.