Sandbox:Minzeyes
Anomalies
Since the very onset of the human interstellar era, countless artifacts of yet unexplained make and origin have been unearthed among the stars. Though still quite rare even to this day; the further from known space one travels, the more frequently one stumbles upon these objects of eerie design - and the more frequently one is unwittingly exposed to their oftentimes hazardous effects. This phenomena has since become the cause of growing excitement for those in the now burgeoning field of Anomalistic Sciences, and great dread for most other sentient life within the Orion Spur.
History
Though hushed rumors and folk tales of unexplained happenings within space had been spread by frontiersmen since they first set out into the stars, the first confirmed anomaly on record was one sold to, and subsequently taken in for study by, Zeng-Hu pharmaceuticals in december 2273; which gave it the rather dry moniker “Object #B375.” Its now declassified incident report mentions it was sold to the Corporation by three frontiersmen - (Individuals ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’); none named.
‘B3’, as it has come to be known in the years after news of it first reached the public - was thought by said individuals to be a metallic hilt, allegedly found floating in the opening of a shallow cave on a frontier exoplanet. Thinking it valuable, the frontiersmen took it in hand without immediate incident, though soon unearthed the artifact’s more hazardous properties. Fifteen minutes after discovery, Individual ‘A’ playfully swung the hilt towards ‘B’ - and sliced clean through hardsuit plating, skin, muscle tissue and bone - seemingly without any physical contact.
Object #B375 is - as stated by the declassified Zeng-Hu incident report - a non-projectile weapon of yet unknown make, around two-thirds as dense as air yet incredibly hardy. Its blade is slightly curved, at 134 centimeters long, and to the research team’s surprise; went undetected by the frontiersman due to being only 2.5 atoms thick, entirely translucent and therefore invisible to the naked eye. Attempts to replicate such a material or attain anything resembling its level of structural integrity have thus far completely failed, the weapon now held within the Headquarters of Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals’ Coalition branch. Needless to say, the notion that something as innocuous as the hilt of an old sword could pose such a hazard to sentient life quickly mobilized researchers - not two years after the fact, Zeng-Hu put into effect its first draft of the Aldan Saraspova Index - a standardized guide for the retrieval, containment and study of anomalous objects within the Spur. To this day, it is periodically updated as more specimens are found and cataloged - presently classifying anomalies by Type, Potency and Hazard.
Classification
A simplified and general guide for the classification of anomalies as they are presently known.
Type
Describes the anomaly’s specific manifested phenomena. An anomaly can be classified with two or more Types; provided they fit their criteria.
| Type | Description | Example(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Spatial Anomaly | Any anomalous object or entity that alters its environment with regards to distance. | An object that causes everything east of it to move five times slower and everything north of it to move five times faster; A door leading into the interior a suburban home despite being situated on an asteroid and therefore attached to no such structure. |
| Cognitive Anomaly | Any anomalous object or entity that alters sentient perception or thought. | A visible, tangible object the appearance of which cannot be remembered nor described upon looking away. |
| Biological Anomaly | Biotechnology or biological phenomena are thought impossible by all standards of modern science. | A statuette that wounds the skin of nearby creatures from a distance, siphoning blood and turning it into violent xenofauna. |
| Radiological Anomaly | Any object that radiates ionizing energy despite lacking a discernible source. | An obelisk found to produce the exact lethal dose of radiation for any species that approaches it. |
| Example | Example | Example |
| Example | Example | Example |
Potency
Describes how far reaching an anomaly’s effects are.
| Potency | Description | Example(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Class-0: | Example | Example |
| Class-1: | Example | Example |
| Class-2: | Example | Example |
| Class-3: | Example | Example |
| Class-4: | Example | Example |
Hazard
Describes the anomaly’s specific manifested phenomena. An anomaly can be classified with two or more Types; provided they fit their criteria.
| Hazard | Description | Example(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Example | Example | Example |
| Example | Example | Example |
| Example | Example | Example |
| Example | Example | Example |
| Example | Example | Example |
| Example | Example | Example |