Kyrants
Kyrants are super-heavy elements with mostly unexplored, strange properties. They were discovered in Lukyr Prime and the star systems around it approximately 300 years ago. Some kyrants are now used in state-of-the-art technology, but the majority are more dangerous than useful.
Discovery and History
- Discovered: ~300 years ago (approximately 7744 in-universe calendar)
- Location: Lukyr system and surrounding star systems
- Initial study: Led by researchers including Dr. Lisa Coron, a kyrantologist who significantly advanced kyrant research
- Current status: Minority of kyrants in practical use; majority remain dangerous and unexplored
Properties
- Super-heavy elements — atomic mass beyond conventional periodic table
- Strange properties — mostly unexplored, described as unusual or anomalous
- Dangerous majority — most kyrants are hazardous; only some are safe enough for technological application
- State-of-the-art applications — the useful kyrants are now integrated into advanced Lukyr technology
Known Kyrant Types (Chapter 9)
Other Kyrants
Zet notes (Chapter 9) there are "many more kyrants to look into" beyond the four detailed above. The full catalog is not yet revealed in the wiki.
Mining Operations
Kyrants are mined on Lukyr Arix, most notably in the Living Caves — a vast network of tunnels where mining operations accidentally breached gas deposits containing Kyrantex Kindynoda, intelligent bacteria that kill workers. Despite the catastrophic death toll (thousands of workers dying every few years as the bacteria adapt to protective equipment), mining continues because kyrant deposits are "way too profitable" to abandon.
ySteel operates mining operations on Arix and uses forced prisoner labor for recovery missions in the Living Caves. The economic value of kyrants outweighs the human cost, making Arix one of the most dangerous industrial sites in the Lukyr system.
Psychotropic Radiation Hazard (SFL-TE Chapter 5)
Raw kyrant deposits can emit severe psychotropic radiation. Kynon and Teeva Jakoby discover an abandoned factory on Lukyr Arix with a factory floor containing at least a dozen human skeletons with knives sticking out of them, plus a large, exposed, glowing kyrant rock. The factory was abandoned but some machinery was still running.
Teeva Jakoby speculates the glowing rock is likely the same radiation source that polluted the nearby river (a green liquid that induced paranoia and murderous thoughts in both her and Kynon in Chapter 4). The factory workers appear to have killed each other under the influence of the kyrant's radiation, forcing evacuation. The kyrant was left exposed; no cleanup or decommissioning occurred.
Observed effects of kyrant radiation exposure:
- Severe paranoia — belief that others intend immediate harm
- Murderous impulses — overwhelming urge to attack or flee
- Intrusive thoughts — persistent false thoughts even after recognizing the effect
- Aggression — physical violence, arming oneself with improvised weapons
- Line-of-sight or distance-based attenuation — effects weaken with shielding (large rock) or distance
This suggests that raw, unprocessed kyrant deposits are extremely dangerous to be near, and that industrial processes using "exotic kyrants" (Kynon's speculation) can produce psychoactive waste products that remain hazardous for decades. The abandoned factory's pollutant has been leaking into the river for years, creating a permanent radiation hazard zone.
Implication: Kyrant mining and processing on Arix is not just dangerous due to Kyrantex Kindynoda bacteria — the kyrants themselves emit radiation that can drive workers to violence. The factory's abandonment in place (glowing kyrant left exposed, pollutant still leaking) reveals ySteel's approach to hazard management: evacuate and ignore, leaving the hazard for others to encounter.
Connection to INI-Experiments
Zet discovers evidence that the INI-Experiments — secret government-funded human experiments that resulted in multiple deaths — likely involved kyrants. This suggests:
- Experimental medical or enhancement applications
- High-risk human testing with kyrant exposure or integration
- Possible connection to Kyrantia, a terminal illness affecting Lucas Taldo
Connection to Kyrantia
The disease Kyrantia shares etymological roots with "kyrants," suggesting the illness may be caused by kyrant exposure, contamination, or radiation. This would make Lucas's diagnosis directly relevant to the abandoned station investigation.
Secret Research Facilities (Chapter 9)
In Chapter 9, Zet investigates suspected locations for secret kyrant research labs, which it had previously dismissed as conspiracy theories. After discovering the strange orbital station (Chapter 7), Zet is "not so sure of that anymore."
Known details:
- Multiple facilities exist around the planet
- Supplied via train shipments from all around the planet
- Each facility is located next to an inspection checkpoint where a soldier manually verifies container contents
- Containers full of research material and employee supplies are dispatched to the labs
- Security is extremely tight — scanner-shielding materials would be detected
Zet is planning an infiltration of "the main facility believed to be involved in kyrant research" using a bot smuggled aboard a supplies shipment — but the inspection checkpoints make this extremely difficult.
Zet's curiosity: Given the public already knows about gravity manipulation, energy amplification, quantum-entangled energy transmission, and energy weapon technology, Zet is "very curious about what else might be hidden in those labs."
Cultural Role
Kyrants are status symbols and functional materials simultaneously.
Examples:
- A desk lined with Solyr "gave a clear impression of what kind of person one might expect to find sitting at it"—someone wealthy and powerful
- Pure Valmyr artifacts (like rings) indicate extreme wealth and highest government status—only the most powerful officials can afford such items given Valmyr's extreme rarity
- Owning pure kyrant artifacts suggests access to restricted materials and possible connection to kyrant research programs
For Dr. Coron's biography and Lucas Taldo's Kyrantia diagnosis, see Dr. Coron and Lucas Taldo.
Open Questions
- What exactly are the "strange properties" of kyrants beyond the known types?
- Which other technologies currently use kyrants?
- Are kyrants naturally occurring in the Lukyr system, or were they created/deposited there?
- How dangerous are kyrants to handle? What safety protocols exist?
- Is Kyrantia caused by kyrant exposure?
- Were the INI-Experiments attempting to weaponize, cure, or enhance humans using kyrants?
- Why were kyrants found specifically in the Lukyr system? Are they unique to that region?
- How are Lumyr and Alumyr crystals entangled? Can new pairs be created?
- What secret properties are being researched in the hidden labs?
- Will Zet successfully infiltrate a research lab?
- Which specific kyrant types are mined in the Living Caves on Arix?
- What is the market value of kyrants that justifies thousands of worker deaths?