Siroxite is a natural resource of an extremely high density found in Ordonnien and in central Arkédusa.
The material is a neon green ore found in the lower layers of the earth, inacessible to humans. Some trace amounts are found in the earth's higher crust however. It is very difficult to extract and requires both heavy equipment to extract and stabilize, aswell as humans to extract only the Siroxite. It is estimated that thousands of people die in the Cétrogran VIII mines per month solely for the extraction of Siroxite.
The material, when refined, treated, and enriched with a specific chemical solution, has the property, when transformed into a gas or a gelatinous solution, to compress or stretch matter while keeping it completely intact, as if it retained its exact size. This property is theorized as "Siroxian atom judging" where the Siroxite changes the density of the atoms upon a significant reaction.
It is estimated that to enlarge a 1m² cube fully coated in Siroxite to twice or half its size, the power required is of approximately 566 MW for a sustained five seconds. The energy requirements are thus colossal. Optimisations with Siroxite-5 have lead to a smaller requirement of 42 MW, but this compound is a state secret and has a half life of 12 hours.
The effects of it are researched by Obrie-Obfin, a publicly funded company owned by the large conglomerate running the country, with thus very large funding.
Application
Siroxite is applied either in hyperdense gel or in gas.
The gas solution is much costier to prepare and requires to fill the entire volume of the room, but will efficiently apply within a set volume of area, and over a living entity. It also often will blind any living creature, cause disorientation, and can create visual or auditory hallucinations. In a normal human adult, an exposure superior to a minute is usually enough for permanent cognitive alteration, and an exposure superior to five minutes is usually enough for death.
The version in gel can be more efficiently used for items, but to attempt a reaction on a solid body not fully covered in gel can lead to some disastrous consequences, such as the complete anhilation of the body, explosions, or combustion. An unpure gel can lead to reduced energy efficiency, matter displacement, or even annhilation.
Uses in Ordonnien
Gigantism
- There have been many cases of gigantism due to experiments on living beings with Siroxite (e.g. Pam).
- The living creatures usually retain their full capacity, with some exceptions (for instance, when shrinking a human, their bone density must be decreased/increased by a seperate treatment).
- There is a chance (<0.01% on a modern Ordonnian setup, up to 55% on a barebones setup) to kill the subject by electrocution.
- The resizing is often irreversible. See: Pam
- The children of two entities will be the average of their size if one is treated with Siroxite. See: Zeynep
- Resizing an entity with Siroxite-3 costs up to 45.13% less. However, the entities that have recieved this treatment usually suffer either heavy personality changes, or require specific substances to survive
- Resizing an entity with Siroxite-3 may cause the subject to develop Henryson's Syndrome, or Benn-Corotoch Disease.
- Enlarging an entity with Siroxite-4 costs 20% less energy but also makes the entity require more substantial amounts of meat to survive
- There are many citizens that have recieved a Siroxite-based treatment in A.P.O. Cétrogran.
Food
The Corporation often enlarges food supplies with Siroxite to produce more.
- The food loses some of its taste and texture when the Siroxite treatment is cleaned. (see: Uncle Meaxis's)
- Trace amounts of Siroxite remain in the food even when fully cleaned.
Explosives
Siroxite is very explosive and on its own surpasses TNT.
The Empire owns a stockpile of around 60 nuclear warheads enriched with Siroxite. Causing up to 15 more damage than without Siroxite, these warheads are extremely costly to assemble or to keep stable. Without sustained care, these warheads explode after 14 days.
Events
- During civilian testing of a new "neutral" gaseous compound, the city of Benn was subject to light exposure to a compound of Siroxite-3. Out of the 90% survivors, most have developed Benn-Cotoroch's disease, half as "recievers", and half as "emitters". The entire city was evacuated to Cétrogran V under the new city of Cotobenn. It is now a ghost town with forbidden entry. Sometimes, people try to go there for "urbex". They are usually never seen again.
- A Leafy Factory once blew up in Cétrogran due to misapplication of a Siroxite gel to the product. Thousands died. A statistic.
- The formula for Siroxite-2 enrichement has leaked and is publicly available on the dark web. However, using this experimental formula kills all life forms in an hour. It is efficient only for static matter.
- Shortly after Meaxis's assasination, in 2047, Station 46 blew up from a Siroxite-induced explosion.