A wiki for Chaos is Eternal.
Type: Organic Nanomaterial
Color: Radioactive glow, slime-mold appearance
Primary Use: Biological integration, energy absorption, hazardous containment risk
Rarity: Rare and highly dangerous due to its capacity for unchecked growth and mutation
Cryozyme is an organic and living nanomaterial that feeds off all forms of ambient energy, including thermal and electrical sources, in order to convert ordinary matter into more cryozyme. It has the appearance of a radioactive, slime-like mold, and its rapid ability to grow uncontrollably makes it one of the most feared and dangerous nanomaterials in the galaxy.
While its ability to absorb energy and mutate biological matter offers tempting opportunities for augmentation and energy harvesting, Cryozyme’s uncontrollable growth and inherent danger make it a major threat to any ecosystem or system that encounters it. Entire worlds have been lost to Cryozyme contamination, and safe disposal of this material is exceedingly difficult, with even extreme measures such as jettisoning into a star proving ineffective.
Energy Absorption: Cryozyme consumes ambient energy, including heat and electricity, to fuel its growth and spread. As it feeds, Cryozyme converts nearby matter—organic or inorganic—into more of itself, making it a self-replicating nanomaterial that expands exponentially if not contained.
Mutation and Assimilation: Cryozyme has the ability to cause radical mutations in biological organisms it comes into contact with, often leading to uncontrollable physical changes or even turning the infected into living hosts for further Cryozyme production. While it is possible to integrate Cryozyme into an augmented body, this process is highly dangerous and rarely results in a successful outcome.
Nanotech Resistance: While resistant to many forms of containment and destruction, Cryozyme is not entirely immune to other nanomaterials, although few can fully withstand its conversion capabilities. Most forms of energy-based attacks only feed Cryozyme, making it even more powerful.
Despite its dangerous nature, Cryozyme can be harnessed for specific purposes, primarily in biological augmentation or high-risk energy projects. However, these applications come with significant risks, and the cost of failure is often catastrophic.
Biological Augmentation:
Cryozyme Integration (Not Recommended): Some augmented individuals attempt to integrate Cryozyme into their biology, gaining abilities such as energy absorption, cryokinesis, and enhanced mutative properties. However, the dangers of doing so are immense, with most experiments resulting in insanity, uncontrollable physical mutations, or death. Successful integrations lead to individuals with superhuman strength and energy control, but these augmentations come at the cost of severe mental instability and an insatiable hunger for more energy.
Physical Mutation: Organisms exposed to Cryozyme undergo rapid and extreme mutation, often growing new limbs or deformities. While some researchers have tried to harness this for regenerative medicine, most attempts result in uncontrollable growth and grotesque outcomes.
Energy Harvesting:
Hazardous Weaponization:
Biological Weapon: In rare instances, Cryozyme has been considered for use in biological warfare, where it could be deployed to consume and mutate entire ecosystems or enemy armies. Its ability to rapidly spread and assimilate anything in its path makes it a terrifying potential weapon, though its uncontrollable nature also makes it too dangerous to use in most tactical scenarios.
Star Consumption Risk: One of the most severe risks associated with Cryozyme is that it is capable of surviving in the heart of stars, feeding off the immense thermal energy of the star itself. Jettisoning Cryozyme into a star does not destroy it—instead, Cryozyme begins slowly eating the star, with the potential to collapse it over centuries. For this reason, Cryozyme disposal is one of the most heavily regulated and feared challenges in the galaxy.
Cryozyme is a material of dread and mystery in many cultures. Its uncontrollable nature, its capacity for unchecked growth, and its devouring hunger make it a symbol of consumption and self-destruction. The fear of contamination is widespread, with entire societies having been lost to Cryozyme outbreaks, cementing it as a material tied to legends of apocalypse.
Symbol of Unchecked Greed: In many cultures, Cryozyme is seen as a metaphor for uncontrollable hunger—both literal and figurative. Its endless consumption of energy and matter has led to it being used as a cautionary symbol in stories of overreach and hubris. Leaders or organizations that push too far in their desire for power are sometimes compared to Cryozyme, with the implication that their insatiable ambition will eventually destroy them.
Object of Forbidden Knowledge: Cryozyme is seen as a material that should be left untouched, and the mad scientists or rogue researchers who attempt to study or utilize it are often viewed as dangerously reckless. In many regions, possession of Cryozyme is not just illegal but is seen as an act of moral transgression, with those who handle it shunned or exiled for endangering all of existence.
Growth and Containment: Cryozyme is not mined or produced in a conventional sense—it is a living material that must be carefully harvested from contaminated areas or from failed experimental facilities. Any attempt to harvest Cryozyme must include extreme containment measures to prevent the material from spreading, as even a single breach could result in the loss of an entire facility.
Containment and Disposal: Slag, an inert material resistant to both Palladian and Hyperium, is one of the few substances known to withstand Cryozyme’s conversion abilities. Cryozyme is often stored in slag-lined containers, though the threat of eventual containment failure remains ever-present. Disposal is exceedingly difficult; simply burning it with Breachfire—a fire made of breach energy—has been attempted, but results are not publicly disclosed, as no one wants to admit failure in controlling Cryozyme.
Secret Methods: Certain agencies, such as ORDER, are believed to have developed classified containment procedures for Cryozyme, though these methods are not made available to the public. Some rumors suggest that Cryozyme is kept in quarantine zones deep within uninhabited systems, where its growth can be studied from a distance without risking galactic contamination.
Cryozyme’s extreme danger and the massive risks associated with its use keep it outside the realm of traditional economic markets. Its trade is banned in nearly every civilized society, and it is only handled by black market dealers, rogue scientists, or military black ops organizations that are willing to risk catastrophe for potential gain.
Black Market Demand: Despite its dangers, there is a significant black market demand for Cryozyme, particularly among those seeking unconventional weapons, dangerous augmentation, or experimental energy sources. However, the high price of containment failure means that Cryozyme is rarely traded and often treated as a last resort.
Catastrophic Cost: The cost of a Cryozyme outbreak is immeasurable, with entire colonies and planets falling to Cryozyme contamination. As a result, governments and corporate interests pour vast sums into containment technologies and emergency response teams capable of addressing Cryozyme breaches.