Originium
| “ | A mysterious mineral. As technologies develop, more and more countries start to use it as an energy source. | ” |
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Originium (Chinese: 源石; Pinyin: Yuán shí; lit. "Source/Origin Stone") is a substance in the world of Arknights which forms after Catastrophes and is widely used as an energy source, but causes the development of Oripathy in living organisms.
Traits
Appearing as a black, semi-transparent crystalline mineral (although it has been occasionally seen in other colors like blue or gold), Originium can be found in surface-level rock layers or even meters underground, though it's most frequently seen at sites of Catastrophes in large quantities, and is believed to play a role in causing them. Unlike other crystalline minerals, Originium grows and metastasizes naturally in the wild, and can even assimilate with organic matter if given the opportunity. Originium can also self-replicate to a certain extent, and the original veins in the area will inevitably show signs of rapid extension.[2][3] Originium is also quite unstable, as it vaporizes into gaseous particles over time, is highly flammable when in a liquid state, and exhibits highly explosive properties under the right conditions. However, contrary to what one might believe, Originium is not actually radioactive.
The structure of Originium is similar to an onion; it is composed of a core and layers.[3]
- The core is the pure crystal that yields a yellow glow, which is also regarded as an ore. Before the advancement of Originium technology, people would directly put the crude ores on a practical use. In modern times, Originium ores are always sent to refineries for further processing, and parts of the cores will be extracted and refined for its use as power sources (i.e. batteries or reactors).
- The layers, also known as crystal shells, are a result of the core exposing itself to the environment as it grows by itself. Its color varies depending on various factors such as mineral impurity or stratum environment. The durability of the condensed Originium crystals becomes higher the longer it spends exposed to the environment. However such crystals are often found deep underground, therefore it require advanced mining equipment. Rather than its unstable core, Originium layers become the most valuable part of the crystals as they can be refined into condensed crystals. While unable to be used as direct energy sources, these crystals serve as the basis for all sorts of circuitry and machinery. More advanced and complex machines required more high-quality crystals. Crude Originium on the other hand has no value whatsoever, and it can't be used as a direct power source.[4]
Originium has a high energy yield, and as such, has remained a valuable resource since it was discovered in ancient times. By the time of modern era where the events of Arknights occur, the proliferation of Originium had brought a technological revolution to Terra, with virtually all technology being powered by the substance. Notably, Originium allows the use of various forms of "magic" known as Originium Arts, which has applications in both daily life and war. Processing Originium ore and similar natural substances into useful products have become an essential part of modern industry. The most valuable of all Originium products is the Originite Prime – highly refined, pure Originium which serves as the main energy source throughout the world. On the other hand, Originium's volatility causes the crystals to "activate" under certain conditions, causing it to release large amounts of energy. As a result, the crystals will gradually disintegrate or explode.The most common way to activate Originium is to directly burn the cyrstals to transform the stored energy into heat.[5]
However, Originium is not without its dangers, since as mentioned above, it can gradually assimilate into a living organism's blood and cells — this is regarded as a "disease" called Oripathy. Many Terrans have been infected by Oripathy since the advent of Originium, and these people, often called Infected, are widely discriminated against in Terra. Furthermore, Originium assimilation may cause varying degrees of genetic mutation depending on the organism.
Despite Originium's hazardous traits, it is immensely useful, with applications ranging from fueling nomadic city engines to batteries, plastic covers, and light bulb. As such, no alternative source of energy (such as petroleum, hydraulic, geothermal, or nuclear energy) could replace the magical traits Originium possesses.[6]
Forms and distribution
In nature, Originium comes in three different forms: shards, ores, and solidified crystals, and these three forms can be found in various environment. Nevertheless, all the known Originium ores can be traced back to major Originium veins beneath the earth where their shards protrude the surface.
Originium shards
Originium shards are a common type of mineral structure growing in the surface in the form of clusters. They are usually found in heavily-contaminated areas such as Catastrophe impact zones, and they are easy to activate, making them a greater risk of infection and other probabilities of mutation via exposure. As a matter of fact, being scratched by an Originium shard is one of the most common causes of Oripathy. For people struggling to live in the wilderness, the shards can be used as an accessible and effective weapon — and to a certain extent a rudimentary way of chemical warfare. Originium shards are the easiest form of mineral to collect, so Terrans usually mine them for industrial purposes. But their potential threats have been highlighted in the toxicity database of the Columbian Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.[7][3]
Originium ores
Originium ores are the typical mineral structures that can be found in nature. The deeper these Originium formations are buried, the higher are its density levels and value. Low-density Originium ores are the easiest to mine, and they can be found in shallow veins and surface mines. However, its layers are thinner and more fragile. Meanwhile, high-density Originium ores are more valuable and their layers occupy more than 40% of its structure. They can be found in deep, underground veins, and require advanced mining equipment for its extraction, such as large mining platforms. Because of its high-density, Originium ores are an important raw material, and an integral part of modern industry.[8]
Solidified crystals
Solidified crystals or stabilized crystals are, as their name suggests, Originium ores that have be chemically stabilized. They can be found alongside ores, and they are characterized by their polyhedron shape and smooth black surface. They are often wrapped by other Originium veins, possessing a strong and stable structure.[8]
Because of its stable nature, solidified crystals are very hard to process and almost impossible to activate. Even though they do not possess infection risks, they are not free of safety hazards either. Its hardened structure can causes cutting tools such as mining cutters and saw blades to break from time to time. Hence, these crystals are often used for advanced material processing and production of precision equipment. Sometimes, they might even be sold as luxury jewelry.[8]
Originium Prime Veins
Originium Prime Veins are mainstream mineral veins of Originium from which most of the Originium deposits originate. Before the advent of modern science, geologists had been debating over the origin of Originium, including a theory in which it arrived on Terra from outer space via meteorite showers carried by the Catastrophes. However, geological data show that the mineral distribution is rather sparse and uneven.[9] After the Battle of the Four Emperors of 1031, series of massive international geological surveys were conducted where the prime veins were finally uncovered, and their discovery finally debunked the Originium-asteroid theory. Since then, the prime veins have been a heated topic among the Terran nations in which they debate over the ownership of the veins and consequences of large-scale mining in these areas.[2]
There are three identified Prime Veins which have become major mining spots for many nations:[8]
- Kolossal Prime Vein: A vein rich on shallow Originium reserves that starts from northwestern Sargon, passing through the hinterlands of Bolivar, the Great Lakes region of Columbia, southern Sami until it ends at the northwestern border of Ursus. Its is the longest and largest vein in Terra, hence its name. It was discovered by Ursine explorer Fedot Dezhnev, who was also famous for his expeditions to Sami.
- Kolossal is basically the German rendering for "colossal" due to its size.
- Targangils Prime Vein: Size-wise, it is a bit shorter than the Kolossal. It starts from the mountain ranges in eastern Victoria, passes through Laterano, and covers the entire territory of Rim Billiton. This vein has the richest storage out of the three, and it accounts for the 60% the entire Terran Originium storage. The vein part in Rim Billiton alone accounts for 30%.
- Targangils is named after Mount Kosciuszko in Australia, specifically its Aboriginal Australian name given by the Ngarigo people as Tar-gan-gil, meaning "bogong moths" in their language which aestivate on the mountain.
- Jingyu Prime Vein: A crescent-shaped vein starting from the Liangjiang region of the Yanese hinterlands that extends northwest towards southeastern Ursus. Though much smaller than the other two, it plays major part in the history of eastern nations.
- Jingyu is a Chinese name (Hanzi: 璟屿), with 璟 (Pinyin: jǐng) being an archaic character for the glamour of jade and 屿 (Pinyin: yǔ) meaning "islands." Hence, the name of the Prime Vein literally means "Glamorous Island"
Industrial and technological applications
Prehistory and classical era
In ancient times when Terrans first made contact with Originium, they tried to understand its nature and develop many different applications. For a long time, people have studied and mined Originium crystals.[2] The earliest known records of Originim manufacturing are a set of half-processed crystals and crudely-made tools found in the ruins of Tal'sas, Sargon, dating from 1,500 BCE. The workshop containing these tools were found during Gaulish explorer Pierre Leroy's expedition in 1020, sponsored by the Duke of Gododdin. On the other hand, in the outer rims of the ruins, Pierre's team also found various execution sites containing the withered skeletons of Infected individuals, each one presenting different stages of Oripathy.[10][11] The oldest use of Originium was mainly focused on Arts, using diverse ways to conduct and manipulate the stored energy within Originium as they pleased. As time passed, people began to collect Originium cores as fuel, laying the foundation for the development of Originium technology.[12]
In the past, Terrans heavily relied on "prospectors" to explore Originium-rich environments. These specialized people cast their Arts to stimulate and activate the crystals, triggering various physical phenomena that could be recorded by accompanying observers. However, this method was seen as risky and deemed to failure due to various factors such as the limited range of use of the prospector's Arts, the disastrous consequences of stimulating Originium in a natural enviroment, and the amount of Originium consumed in the process, so the results were often not worth the wait.[2]
Pre-modern Originium products were usually done manually through Arts craftsmanship. However, they imposed various problems, including high cost, low efficiency, small production scale, limited popularity, and uneven quality of the final products. Only the crudest and simplest ones were available in the commoners' life due to its cheap costs and accessibility, while the most complex ones such as Arts Units were limited in production to those craftsmen with outstanding skills and Arts.[13]
In terms of refinery, classical and pre-modern Terrans lacked the knowledge about the dangers of Originium, and refined, high-density Originium was often seen as a symbol of status in the nobility. For example, the Gaulish Exhibition area of the Royal Museum of Londinium showcases a wedding ring engraved with a refined Originium ore that emits a pale yellow-green glow under the light. The ring's owner was a Gaulish viscountess who died due to an injury caused by the ring itself.[14]
Industrial age
| Preface of "Crystal Age: Originium and Modern Society"'[2] |
|---|
"People refer to this era the "Crystal Age" because in modern times, Originium crystals are almost everywhere on their daily life and production. The development of Terran civilization to this day is inseparable from the extensive use of Originium. We can't fully analyze Originium itself, but Originium technology is already quite mature and has made great advancements in recent years. Although the problem of Oripathy is becoming more and more serious in modern times, some scholars also pointed out that the increasing frequency of Catastrophes may have a certain relationship with the development of the current Originium technology, yet modern society can't exist without Originium. Terrans are destined to face anything about Originium and prepare before they can move forward." |
The invention of Originium engines and artificial Arts Units ushered in an industrial revolution across Terra, generally referred to as the "Crystal Age." The beginning of this period can be attributed to the the first Originium-powered device, an external combustion engine that used the generated heat energy to produce high-pressure steam inside the boiler, which was required for its piston-connecting structure to move. This was only the beginning of a series of steam-powered machines — from freight cars to cranes, crushers, and automatic feeding stations—that would begin to take over various aspects of the industry. The birth of the Steam Knights also represented a series of drastic changes in Terra's military field.[15]
However, these early external combustion engines possessed severe disatvantages. They were usually too large and bulky to be operated, and they relied on the caster's control. Furthermore, they did not fully convert and utilize a large amount of Originium heat energy, causing the boiler to overheat. As such, they were almost useless for civilian use.[15]
| “ | At least, we could now put Originum into the furnace without any burden, worrying whether it would bring us calamities. | ” |
| —Francis Omlette, Londinium sage [16] |
Fortunately, the invention of successful internal combustion engines widened Originium technologies to the populace. Built by the Gaulish First Mechanical Laboratory in 818, this kind of energy-conversion machines could be safely operated in civilian areas. The Gaulish Second Mechanical Laboratory later make another breakthrough in the development of efficient transportation means with the invention of railroad transportation seven years later in 825, yet the Gaulish were not satisfied by the efficiency of the aforementioned engines. Over time, more advanced and efficient Originium conversion machines, such as electric engines, began to appear, and not only they are safer to function, but also they could be produced in mass-production which drastically reduced the cost.[15][16]
The construction of the Seven City Alliance in 797 by its sages and architects represents another milestone in the history of the Originium industry and ushered in the era of modern nomadic cities. A mobile settlement powered by several large internal combustion engines, the Seven Cities were intended to break Terrans free from geographical limitations, but the core powers decided to invest their resources to reverse-engineer their own nomadic cities.[15][17] The earliest nomadic city engines relied purely on Originium technology to help regulate the combustion rate of solid Originium fuel and the pressure levels of high-temperatures vapors. However, active Originium dust wasn't properly handled due to the lack of procedures, causing the deaths of countless assigned engineers.<[18]
Modern Age
Entering the modern era, especially after the Battle of the Four Emperors of 1031, Originium technologies has become the indisputable and inseparable basic foundation of the Terrans' society. Through mass-production and latest innovations, the production scale limit of Originium products further increases, and the rapid advance of the Originium industry has brought drastic changes in social structure such as a huge increase on Terra's total population. The emergence of nomadic cities also represents the gradual integration of a wide variety of civilian products, including appliances.[13] Thanks to the popularity of the industrial applications of Arts, people with medium-to-low Originium Assimilation levels are now able to participate in industrial production as well as enabling the standardization and interchangeability of mass-produced Originium parts.
With the advent of new innovations, the Originium electronics industry becomes the latest hotspot. These technologies are used in diverse applications ranging from traffic lights, inter-city networks, to event smart operation platforms. Nevertheless, despite being the latest breakthrough, its popularity remains low due to the components' high costs (i.e. condensed Originium crystals, high-conductivity alloys, high-precision integrated circuits), rare materials, and complex production processes, so the level of electronic industry development varies between countries and regions. Moreso, the concept of electronic technology does not even exist in areas where Originium infrastructure remains crude and backwater.[14]
Originium refinery remains a huge part in the development of latest technologies. Unlike classical, alchemistic refining which is far from meeting today's industry standards, modern methods could not only produce various forms of Originium which can be reprocessed in other industries like electronics and fuel, but also they can be operated in a safer environment and produce in masses. One such big achievement is the homogeneous refining in which the method can be best described as "yeast fermentation": refined Originium shards catalyse crude ores to "synchronize" with each other and remove the impurities within, creating even more refined Originium.[14]
While modern Terrans enjoy the rewards from Originium industries, there are some who have been critical of its unlimited, unrestrained usage. The fall of Gaul after the war has caused further expansion of Orignium industries, especially in the military complex. Once mocking those rejecting modernization as "savages" and "uneducated," scholars begin to become more critical on the consequences of their ever expanding industrialization. Some of these worries include accelerating occurrences of Catastrophes, skyrocketing cases of Oripathy, environmental pollutions, and, worst of all, creations of mass-destructive weapons. Driven by such worries, there are fictional works depicting a world without Originium which delves into human's true nature even without said mineral.[19]
| An excerpt of Setting Foot In A Land Without Originium, a thesis written by a Victorian scholar[18] |
|---|
What if there was no Originium on Terra?...All Originium-powered equipment won't appear, or at least be completely different! Sure, human wisdom and laziness may still drive bus to the path of power equipment research & development, but steam engines would still have to use charcoal as fuel. A steam engine might be as big as a five-floor villa, but the kinetic energy it produces is insignificant compared to its own weight. It'll become a wasteful fixed water pump...Only those who hold a hatred towards forest resources would build such machine. |
Origin of Originium
As revealed in later stories, Originium is actually an artificial substance; in other words, a synthetic crystal created by the "Predecessors", specifically the "Oracle" and Priestess. Its conception is done out of necessity, as Originium is the only way that civilization can be saved from the existential threat that is the Observers by keeping all information secure from tampering within a hyperdimensional space known as the Assimilated Universe. This is done by Originium encompassing, assimilating, and preserving all information in a latent form; information being not merely the concept of knowledge, but the macroscopic concept encompassing the existence and behavior of all matter, energy, and their transformative processes.[20] This can be best described by the parable of the lumberjack narrated by the Oracle: Originium is like an amber engulfing an entire forest after the ruthless lumberjack cut down all the trees, and inside the amber, the forest regrows itself undisturbed.[21] Friston the Preserver also described Originium as an "alternative answer" that is as vast as the "Ocean of Solaris".[22]
The original intention of the Originium project was to have the entire Terra fully become a literal planet of Originium, but there was an ideological split regarding its execution. Some, namely the Oracle, believed that someone has to summon the "stored data" back to the physical world and rebuild their civilizations once the "disaster" is over, hence the Sarcophagus project as well. The other faction, namely Priestess, took a more nihilistic approach by deeming that Terra is irredeemable and the planet is destine to become barren forever, so having every "information" stored inside the Assimilated Universe is the only option by building it into a perfect utopia. Regardless, the Originium project fully neglects the existence of both modern Terrans and the native Teekaz races who made contact with the "first Originium," and their project has proven to be more harmful than beneficial through the existence of Oripathy and Catastrophes; in fact, Friston acknowledged that because of the "mad experiment" done by Priestess, the current form of Originium has gone beyond what it truly was in the beginning.[22] Furthermore, the advent of the upcoming "Disaster" from above made Originium even more unstable as their expansion across Terra is accelerating in an alarming rate.
In some ways, Originium is the "source" of all Terrans. This is not only a metaphorical sense in which modern Terrans built their civilizations through Originium, but also they literally and biologically evolved through said mineral. The first humanoid Terrans were the native Teekaz races when they made contact with the "first Originium" and molded themselves into the image of man from their primordial, bestial form. Through the power of the "first Originium," they built their first city-state of Kazdel.[23] By the time of the "Descending War" between the Teekaz and the non-Teekaz "aliens," These "aliens" introduced from Talos-II were also assimilated with Originium and evolved from mere animals into the image of man, leading to the modern Ancients and Elders.[24] The Elders are even negatively affected by Originium as they gradually became weaker by losing their mystical traits that could once literally "shun the sunray."[25]
"First Originium"
The first Originium are three crystals known as the "original" Originium from which all the known Originium deposits begin. They can be seen as the true "source" of Originium. There are three pieces of these "Originium" hidden across Terra:
- One that was uncovered by the Farchaser, the first King of Sarkaz, to summon the first Catastrophe in history, the Amnannam, amidst the "Descending War" and "cursed" both the Teekaz and the Terrans with Oripathy. It was also used to summon the second "Amnannam" during the Victorian Crisis of 1098 through the Shard and is currently in the possession of Theresis following the retreat of Sarkaz troops from Londinium.
- This piece of first Originium was likely unearthed from the Targangils Prime Vein, according to the IS5 collectible Disaster's Origin.
- There are the other two "first Originium" which are currently hidden. Little is known about them besides that they are buried deep within Terra's southern oceans and occasionally emitting "unsettling noise."[26]
- In Arknights: Endfield, one of the First Originium crystals was stated to have traversed the Aethergate and is presently on Talos-II.
Coincidentally, the three Originium Prime Veins across Terra coincide with the three "first Originium," but whether they are actually related remains uncertain.
Trivia
- Originium has many similarities with (and is possibly inspired by) Tiberium in the Command & Conquer series. Both are crystalline minerals that can spread through the environment, are used as a source of energy, and are fatal to organic matters that are exposed to them.
- Originium can be regarded as an analogue of real-world coal, notably in the way its mining is portrayed.
- Repeated ingestion of coal causes a respiratory disease called "coal workers' pneumoconiosis," or more commonly known as "black lung." Likewise, extremely minor quantities of Originium can cause Oripathy through ingestion.
- Furthermore, coal and Originium both serve as a major power source. Similarly, coal had been widely used in our world since the Industrial Revolution and throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries.
References
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