Waste Reclamation
Mutagenic Infusion of Residual Energies
The uncontrolled emission of arcane detritus from the Potentia has been viewed as an unavoidable background contamination. The MIRE project was designed to reclaim some of this energy.
Researchers discovered that in multiple waste pits, local wildlife underwent somewhat predictable mutations. It was theorized that these could be controlled through careful dosing. The project has been closed as successful but inefficient.
Initial testing focused on insects, and were used to determine general lethal levels. Most insects could be induced to grow to extreme sizes, although at about 50 times their normal size they did not survive.
In addition to the size increase, other mutations occured. The first of these mutations were found in the badlands ant. They developed a camoflauged shell that is strong and flexible. [FP-210: Camoflauged shell armor.] Successive generations added more mutations.*
Reserach into birds and mammals had wildly varying results. Increase in size and strength were normal, but beyond that, mutations seemed almost random. A rat grew the ability to regenerate faster than a troll; a nother one gained the ability to speak several different languages and attempted to organize the other test animals.** The problem of negative mutations is much more significant in these populations, as they do not reproduce in as large of numbers. Detrimental mutations outnumber beneficial and a roughly 5 to 1 ratio.
Properly administrated, the detritus can be used to induce significant favorable adaptations, but it is not recommended for use on army troops. The loss of productive soildiers would far outweigh the benefits. However, using them on those not up to the standards of the armies, or with expendable goblins, could be worth the cost. It would be risky to use as an offensive weapon, although it could be useful in some situations to force a city into capitulation.
*The Skywyk biting ants are an important case study. A colony was introduced to the plateau to the south of the mine, along with a cubic meter of the detritus. The queen grew significantly, dying immediately after reproducing. The colony split, with a new queen taking over the colony and a splinter moving off, farther from the detritus. In successive generations, the splinter colony stabilized, its ants nearly half a meter long and crush-resistant. The original colony continued growing and evolving further. The colony had spread over nearly half the plateau, individual ants were a meter long, and they had begun exhibiting the ability to breathe fire.
**The rat, known to the researchers as "the Brain", escaped from the lab along with another that had mutated to be larger and faster, though significantly less intelligent. We have lost track of them, although we do not believe they are an actual threat.
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