Elemental MSDS

 Notes on Holy Radiation

Holy is the tendency to profession of belief in miracles, acts of God(s), of absolute certainty, wondrous belief and rapture. Holy is also the tendency to define narrowly the nature of one's God, and to fight (first evangelically, and then militarily) against those who even slightly disagree. 

​On planets where Holy is abundant and pure (unfiltered by the other four elements), angels will appear ex-nihlo. It seems even the angels have at least 56 different faiths, or these are as many as are known. The angels become centers of faith, first performing apparently divine acts and recruiting the first prophets of the true way, then establishing a full church of believers, and finally the faithful encouraged to join the militant arm of the church. Then Holy War comes.

Holy must not be confused with the binary of Holy and Logos, often called Theologica. On pure Holy worlds, there will be very little written down about belief and faith. Belief comes straight from the line of prophets and them from the angels. It is not a reasoning form of faith, although individuals will try to reason especially when their original faith is disrupted.

Holy does not produce true enlightenment or provide any strongly supernatural power or ability. Instead it primarily affects the minds of sentients. Like all elemental worlds, there are traditions of associated with the exiles who left Holy planets and moved to the galactic community. Holy exiles actually have two: the Ecumenicals, and the Reformers.

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The Ecumenical faith celebrates faith itself, irrespective of the angelic branch the believer came from. These are both frontier pastors and communities. The Ecumenical tradition operates fleets of ships which explore and seek to discover new Holy planets, and keep record of the existing ones. To locals, they offer a way off-world, and instruction on what Holy actually is. From these exiles, they form their new members. There are also settled Ecumenical communities, but in general this faith is practiced in a traveling diaspora. 

Secondly, the Reformers do try to keep the original faith as taught by a specific branch of angels and their prophets. So there are actually many reformed faiths. However, they still stop the violence between faiths. Gaining access to other elements, they will produce holy texts, holy art, and many other wonderous things.

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There are entire books written about Holy, the dangers of the element and the need for the element, but this explanatory note can only point to some of these resources. Encyclopedia Galactica: Holy (elemental radiation) and Ecumenical University: Holy Studies are highly recommended.

Material Safety Data Sheet - Holy (elemental radiation)

Chronic Toxicity

Repeated exposure is Mensogenic (affecting cognition)

Repeated exposure is Animagenic (affecting identity, soul, i.e.)

Repeated exposure causes Infectious disease : Holy (psychological syndrome).

Do not store with other toxic chemicals.

Acute Toxicity (class 0): when stored together with Jester, Arcana.

Notes on Logos Radiation

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Logos unlocks the capacity of sentients to think deeply, analyze and convince others through well-crafted logic and reasoning. It is the base necessity for conducting science. Logos provides the capacity to argue, leading to sophistry, deceptive arguments and every form of motivated reasoning. Logos can cause unending debates and arguments on any subject, leading to disputes and even violence amongst those who disagree. Logos causes conspiracy theories and elaborate theories and arguments about any abstruse or minor topic.

There is a tendency, on Logos planets, for those who have similar arguments and premises to gather together into universities and centers of reason. But places of alternate belief, based on just as much argumentation, are also bolstered by Logos. 

Logos does not itself lead to correct and useful science or wisdom, but instead must be leavened with experiments and undisputable data. In the presence of large amounts of Logos, any deficiency in the data can be explained by epicycles or more elaborate theories. Logos is as harmful to science as it is helpful.

There are few resources to help exiles from Logos worlds as they enter the galactic community. Finding supporting communities of fellow exiles is a key element for those who do leave.

As with the other primary forms of radiation, Logos can be toxic to the mind and soul (or sense of identity) of those who are over-exposed to it. Logos in the extreme leads to an extreme focus on intellectual arguments and debates, and often leads to neglect in other aspects of people's lives.

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Manic-Depressive tendencies, Hoarding, and a deficiency in sanitary and safe living are all possible issues for those over-exposed. Logos can be especially dangerous for those with parental responsibilities, or other non-cognitive duties, such as caring for the elderly.

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There are a variety of communities of ex-Logos worlders, as diverse as the arguers themselves. These communities often shift and change over time so no attempt will be made to document them in full. Because of the high risk of Logos affliction for Academics and Encyclopediasts, the standard documentation for Logos is maintained by Galactic Medical.

Material Safety Data Sheet - Logos (elemental radiation)

Chronic Toxicity

Repeated exposure is Mensogenic (affecting cognition)

Repeated exposure is Animagenic (affecting identity, soul, i.e.)

Exposure can be a casual factor in Logos (psychological syndrome).

Warning. Repeated exposure may lead to Manic Depressive episodes, loss of ability to deal with daily responsibilities as well as various Stress related conditions.

Do not store with other toxic chemicals.

Acute Toxicity (class 0): when stored together with Jester.

Notes on Arcana Radiation

Arcana is the most volatile of the elemental radiations. Other than Jester, it can cause the most acute reactions in sentient beings.

Arcana makes physical action possible with thought. Initially those exposed can invoke simple cantrips, minor illusions, and other minor effects.With sufficient exposure, a sentient may be able to cause massive explosions and other forms of physical disturbances such a tornados, tsunamis, lightning storms, et cetera. One seeped in Arcana becomes a master of the physical elements. Arcana appears to have no power to affect elemental radiations, including itself, instead only affecting the non-anima elements.

Arcana causes a delusion of omnipotence or incredible power, and an unquenchable desire to learn more about "magic". While there are techniques for improving the effectiveness of Arcana, primarily gaining more power is simply about accessing more dense forms of Arcana. The element is unique in many ways, one being that it has gaseous, liquid and solid forms.

Initially those afflicted by Arcana will use the gaseous form of the element for cantrips and simple spells. Later, adepts will learn to use the liquid form. There are many crystalline forms of Arcane, of varying qualities, and the search for the best crystals is the synthesis of violent conflict on Arcana worlds.

Arcana worlds are not stable, even without the other elemental radiations entering the planet. Arcane spells or "magic" deplete Arcana at a much higher rate than the other elemental radiations. This is likely because of the large effects caused by these spells.

The gradual depletion of Arcana worlds can cause an elemental low-pressure system which affects the galactic distribution of elements. As a result, all Arcana worlds are monitored for signs of sentient life. There is no known form of ex-nihlo creation of sentient life on Arcana planets, fortunately. All sentient life found on Arcana worlds are evacuated as soon as possible. As a result there is not a diaspora associated with the element. Those rescued from the element are monitored heavily, while children from such worlds are brought into the galactic system and often blend in losing any affiliation.

Arcana is the elemental radiation most often harvested. There is a supplemental handbook for safe handling and transport of Arcana. Arcana is the least known element from a sociological point of view because of the evacuation protocols and lack of diaspora.

Material Safety Data Sheet - Arcana (elemental radiation)

Chronic Toxicity

Flammable (1A)

Explosive (1A)

Repeated exposure is Mensogenic (affecting cognition)

Warning, Repeated Exposure may cause Arcana (psychological disorder)

Acute Toxicity when hybridized with Jester.

Significant Toxicity when hybridized with Holy.

Notes on Musea Radiation

Musea's primary effect is to create beings ex-nihlo, which are commonly called muses. Muses are invisible and intangible, but are able to sense minds and communicate with sentients.

Muses provide insight and direction in creative pursuits, especially the arts and music, but almost all pursuits are somewhat impacted by muses. A muse's assistance is unique to each sentient affected, but over time sentients grow dependent on the muse, and withdrawals or periods of writer's block become common.

Perhaps the most peaceful of the pure worlds, muses prefer to resolve conflicts by helping their hosts produce better art than their rivals. Those who are ungifted in arts or creations activities find Musea worlds hostile and there is still significant emigration. Emigres have trouble with withdrawal and inspiration but those who push through are some of the most acclaimed artists and creators in the galaxy.

Material Safety Data Sheet - Musea (elemental radiation)

Musea itself is inert, but causes invisible, intangible beings to be created. Muses can cause addictive tendency amongst sentients.

Notes on Jester Radiation

Jester at its core is the ripping, roasting, unwinding or poking at of anything that takes itself seriously. Through parody, deconstruction and humor, Jester will reveal flaws. On Jester worlds, leaders are especially under scrutiny, as they have a whole planet devoted to mocking them.  Jester exposure leads to increasingly erratic behavior, wild capers, anti-social behavior and isolation from friends. 

While seemingly light-hearted Jester has the most serious toxicities when stored with other radiation. After Arcana, Jester is the most volatile of the elemental radiations.

​Many Jester planets have become barely inhabitated as those who grew up on such a planet usually prefer to go elsewhere. Reformed Jesters are the most likely people to move to another planet instead of staying in the galactic community.