Creating An Object In Code - (Warning! 3 Newbie Questions!)

Here is a chunk of code I'm working on from the 2D Game Building for Teens book (I'm not a teen, but I was one once, plus I have two of my own) and the questions I have concerning it afterwards:

function BattyPlayer::createDeathray()
{
	if(!%this.isDead)
	{
		$playerDeathray = new t2dStaticSprite()
		{
			scenegraph = %this.scenegraph;
			class = playerDeathray;
			missileSpeed = %this.missileSpeed;
			player = %this;
		};
		$playerDeathray.fire();
	 }
}

function playerDeathray::fire(%this)
{
	%this.setWorldLimit(kill,"-40 -30 40 30");
	%this.setLinearVelocityX($BattyPlayer.missileSpeed);
	%this.setPosition($BattyPlayer.getPosition());
	%this.setImageMap(deathrayImageMap);
	%this.setSize(83,38);//approximately half size of original graphic
	%this.setCollisionActive(true,true);
	%this.setCollisionPhysics(false,false);
	%this.setCollisionCallback(true);	
}

First, does that look syntactically and logically correct? What's supposed to happen is $playerDeathray is created when the shoot button is pressed and then the fire function is run.

I get no errors in the console when running this, but the deathRayImageMap I expect to see on the screen never shows up.

However, I'm not really looking for debugging help (although if you spot the problem, feel free to sing out!), I need clarification on what's happening.

The deathRayImageMap has already been put into the project but nothing else has been done with it.

1. Does BattyPlayer::createDeathray() create an object called $playerDeathRay that I can then use in other areas of the program?

2. Since $playerDeathRay starts with a $ and not %, does that mean it's global to the program or does the fact that it was created inside a function trump that and make the variable local only?

3a. When this line is run, $playerDeathray.fire();, does that mean in this line, function playerDeathray::fire(%this), the %this variable is set to the $playerDeathray object? 3b. Or does the %this just refer to the object and how it was called is not relevant?

Thanks for the help -- this code is from a book with a LOT of mistakes, and while I think I've fixed all the typos, I'm thinking maybe the reason the code still won't work is because of a "real" problem and not just a typo. So I'm trying to buckle down and finally get a handle on TorqueScript.

Thus, the newbie questions. =:)

Thanks.

Jay Jennings