Verium

Verium is rare compound found a mile under the surface of Munijoch. Able to be both created artificially into a liquid or gaseous form, or found solid under the rocks, it's used by PULSE for their reactor engines and weaponry. It can vary in color, primarily in both natural and artificial quantities. Scientists studying the mineral have found that it can inhibit electronic signals, as well as block neural pathways in the brain if applied directly on the head. While the Munian government has vehemently denied all involvement with testing mineral on actual subjects, Amataria has had no shame in using it to disable their robots and cyborgs alike, drawing ire from the international community.

Description
In it's natural form, it's primarily hexagonal with crystals ranging from cubic shapes to polygonal outshoots. It's often a purple-black color before being processed due to carbon imperfections. It's elemental composition suggests that it's a mixture of Xenon, Polonium, and Magnesium, as well as a mystery element to give it's purple tinge. Various derivations of Verium exist in different crystalline structures, with almost none of them showing signs of oxidization or radioactive decay.

When produced in lab, however, it gives a light-blue tinge, typical of PULSE weaponry, and has primarily cubic crystals.

When compared to it's natural counterpart, artificial Verium weaponry is typically 15% weaker than natural Verium, due to weaker bonds between elements, making the natural mineral highly sought after by the company. Usage of artificial Verium is typically reserved for non-essential uses in weaponry or experimentation.

Properties
When Verium is in it's solid state, it scores a 7 on Moh's Hardness Scale, typical of many quartz. However, it's extremely hard to melt, but when melted, will not solidify once cooled, instead remaining a liquid. It's extremely anti-polar, and will typically isolate itself away from walls or containers. While a gas, it's extremely noxious and can kill a subject if left in prolonged contact. Radiation levels are within acceptable ranges for background radiation levels, even when exposed to alpha, beta, and gamma decay sources, or when given a neutron barrage. Liquefaction will result in an extremely dense substance that weighs more than mercury. When the compound is super heated, it glows a bright purple and begins to whine a little bit, either from air pockets within the crystals or from the breaking of electron bonds. Plasmatic Verium has not yet been achieved at levels stable for experimentation, as the materials begin to fuse, decay, and disintegrate.

Verium can be placed in long polymer chains, with each chain having the property of transplanting electrons around them and releasing them in accordance to how many electrons it receives. The longer the chain, the more electrons that can be transferred. As a result, complex chains and formations of Verium polymers can be combined and placed in an aerosol or powder which, when applied to a synapse in the brain, can alter thought processes. A common user of this is SI:9, where a device has been created that converts the electron transfer to binary in accordance to the command sequence that the agency wishes to perform, in accordance to the theory of the on and off neuron.

When all the electrons are depleted, Verium is an inert rock that will quickly decompose into its base elements and try to absorb electrons from the air around it, necessitating storage in a precise amount of argon gas; an electric shock from a 110 volt source in a tank of distilled water will reconstitute the rock's electrons. As expected, the rock gives off a slight shock when held.

Usage
While Verium was previously used rather archaically as insulation for solitary confinement in prisons, its use today is largely scientific and commercial. Verium has been researched and suggested as a potential way to create anti-gravity systems and large gravity bombs. In addition to this, Verium has been proposed as a way to prevent EMP strikes through the use of gravity to bend electromagnetic waves away from a target. Verium is a component in many PULSE reactors as a means to generate the energy required for the reactor to be powered. In Amataria, Verium is used as a way to disable misbehaving robots.

Mining
In the early 1900's Verium was first found from an exposed quarry for concrete making. These crystals were most likely veins with gravel and sedimentary rocks, and probably were poor in quality compared to deposits of larger veins. Some miners took these crystals to a local metallurgist, where they were analyzed, but inconclusive on their origin and exact composition. Regardless, various necklaces were created with bronze to accent the deep purple color. The jewelry never took off, however, and most efforts to commercialize the product failed. Regardless, miners kept these in a storage container, thinking that at some point, the crystals may be valuable.

Scientific Inquiry
In the late 50's scientists began to properly study the properties of the compound as part of a sweeping mandate to identify Munijoch-based compounds. They conducted numerous tests within varying categories, such as conductive properties, polarity, and others. It reflected light similarly to a mercury lightbulb, yet contained no traces of mercury. The scientists found that Verium is an electric signal inhibitor, from both wire insulation to neural pathways. Test Subjects reported degraded mental function, and even succumbing to death due to a complete failure of the nervous system. When concentrated and charged with ions, a beam of energy was produced from the crystal, seemingly from the ions themselves. The beams lasted until the surplus of ions ran out, depleting the excess electrons of Verium. Experiments were then set up in the late 80's to determine how potent and controllable this was for practical use.

Commercialization through PULSE
Following extensive trials, Munijoch concluded that Verium could be weaponized. In 2004, following Project NEVOX trials with several subjects, including Verium, the newly formed PULSE Corporation concluded that this was the best option for energy, in comparison to Porcyal, which was unstable and suited more for weaponry. Several NEVOX reactors were created to introduce the energy to the country, and eventually the country became 100% reliant on Verium-based PULSE reactors.

Following the democratic revolt, Victor Malkov ordered the immediate weaponization of Verium, citing previous studies discovered by the new government. Approximately one year later, PULSE-based weaponry were created off the original schematics, with tweaking involved to optimize energy usage, the first of which being the PULSE Pistol.

Present Day
Today, PULSE does little processing of Verium, and instead ships this off to Amataria, where corporations compete (somewhat violently) for contracts in processing the crystal. The espionage division of the Munijoch Vanguard Force is working on implementing Verium in to neural inhibitors for their spies. Verium is still being studied, and while somewhat violent properties were discovered, including altering the magnetic field around the crystal to collapse a large field of gravity in on a specific area, Munijoch is eager to continue usage of the crystal.

Trivia

 * It is referred to by most scientists as "rhinoendoacetyllumiioditetrayeate."
 * It's one of the key ingredients in making a PULSE Reactor Engine.