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 Posted: Sat Sep 19, 2015 2:39 am
10,000 StarseedsWord Count: 461Quote: Starseed Observations
Sample #: Cleavage type. Color. Clarity. Weight (grams). Parting.
Octahedral. Rose red. VS2. 66g. No parting.
Octahedral. Salmon. VS1. 63g. No parting.
Octahedral. Cyan. VS1. 64g. No parting.
Rhombohedral. Leaf green. I2. 43g. Parting along two planes.*
Cubic. Leaf green. I2. 18g. No parting.*
Octohedral. Violet. SI1. 62g. No parting.
Cubic. Teal. SI2. 58g. Very slight parting on one plane.*
Octohedral. Tori red. VS1. 65g. No parting.
Octohedral. Ultramarine. VS2. 63g. No parting.
Dodecahedral. Dark gold. I1. 60g. Slight parting on three planes.*
Prismatic. Sea green. I3. 58g. Crack in two planes, fracture near center.*
Octohedral. Crimson. VS1. 63g. No parting.
Octohedral. Nutmeg. VS2. 62g. No parting.
Octohedral. Yellow green. VS1. 61g. No parting.
Octohedral. Burnt orange. VS1. 65g. No parting.
Octohedral. Olive. VS2. 68g. No parting.
Prismatic. Fuchsia. I3. 17g. Heavy parting on one plane.*
Octohedral. Magenta. VS1. 62g. No parting.
Octohedral. Mauve. VS2. 59g. No parting.
Basal. Orchid. SI2. 58g. No parting.**
Octohedral. Steel blue. VS1. 56g. No parting.
Octohedral. Forest green. VS1. 65g. No parting.
Octohedral. Ivory. VS2. 62g. No parting.
Octohedral. Goldenrod. VS1. 59g. No parting.
Rhombohedral. Chartreuse. I2. 50g. Slight parting on one plane.*
Octohedral. Khaki. VS1. 57g. No parting.
Octohedral. Sea green. VS1. 59g. No parting.
Octohedral. Warm grey. VS2. 62g. No parting.
Octohedral. Dark violet. SI2. 61g. Slight parting on one plane.**
Octohedral. Maroon. VS2. 62g. No parting.
Octohedral. Wheat. VS1. 63g. No parting.
Octohedral. Lavender. VS2. 64g. No parting.
Cubic. Bronze. SI2. 46g. No parting.*
Octohedral. Emerald green. VS1. 60g. No parting.
Octohedral. Hot pink. VS1. 61g. No parting.
Octohedral. Slate blue. VS2. 65g. No parting.
Octohedral. Carrot. VS2. 61g. No parting.
Basal. Cornsilk. I1. 17g. Heavy parting on one plane.*
Cubic. Cornsilk. I1. 49g. Heavy parting on one plane.*
Octohedral. Tan. VS1. 62g. No parting.
*Denotes starseed that may be damaged beyond use. Lacks luminance coming from other starseeds.
**Denotes starseed that may be damaged beyond use. Does not give clear signs of death.
Observations of note
Starseeds vary highly in color.
Starseeds of use are commonly octohedral, with rare exception (see footnote **)
Starseed weight ranges from 58g to 66g for identifiably usable starseeds.
Starseed numbers 4 and 5 may be the same starseed after fracturing (pieces missing - cannot align perfectly. Color and clarity match).
Starseed numbers 38 and 39 may be the same starseed after fracturing (pieces align perfectly. Color and clarity match).
Starseed color does not impact its viability.
Starseed shape does impact its viability with octohedral as most viable.
Rhombohedral, prismatic, basal, dodecahedral, and cubic cleavage have not shown adequate viability in this starseed sample.
Mean of starseed weight is 56.9g.
Median of starseed weight is 58g.
Mode of starseed weight is 62g.
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Posted: Sat Sep 19, 2015 3:15 am
This is Not for YouWord Count: 523The starseeds were counted, measured, painstakingly evaluated to the extent of the tools at hand. His personal spending allowed him very little, but internet research was free, so he employed his rudimentary gemology skills on the haul taken from the relatively successful operation. Forty in all, they proved individually worthwhile for study, but now he struck an impasse for how to proceed. He knew with certainty that his primary goal was to determine if starseeds could act as a reagent for influencing others, but there remained many other potential uses for the gems. His studies may demand hundreds of starseeds before completion, or a paltry number of ten - there would be no way to predict it. However, he was certain that he lacked clear decision on his next step.
Normally he would've asked General Brimstone, but the man had since disappeared since the fiasco in starseed reclamation. Since the man so easily overlooked youma involvement and failed to curtail their movements, numerous calls had been put out for his questioning, but the man could not be found. No amount of searching by Umber himself led to a location, or even signs of where he might've fled to. Effectively, General Brimstone disappeared.
Maybe he purified. Maybe he died. Maybe he met his death at the jaws of a youma.
But Brimstone's fate offered no clues to Umber's next step. He hoped for some indicator toward starseeds of higher weight having a higher influence with Negaverse agents who ingested them, or starseeds in blues offered more complacence when ingested by officers. However, he heard more than his share of tales concerning consumption of too many starseeds, from one speculation that he may become a youma to another of unshakeable starseed addiction. He knew not whether either assumption held merit, and knew no stories to support them. He wondered how much ingestion would compromise him or reduce his worth to the Negaverse - after all, he obtained these starseeds under consent toward his research, and to gorge on them looked much too gluttonous to onlookers.
Of course, with Ochre as his guinea pig...
Umber rose, and gathered the collection of starseeds into a small leather pouch that he fashioned for the location. Despite the number of people who died for this amount, this array of souls demanded very little space for transport. Their weight was similarly conducive to transportation en masse to a different location. He considered it rather strange that human essence could be so amenable to storage and mobility. It seemed almost uncanny.
The trip to the cells lasted but a handful of minutes, for Umber studied somewhat near the two frozen figures near the throne room. It seemed a quiet place, and with no one venturing near to disturb him, he found plenty of time to study the gathering. The halls remained quiet, mostly - seldom did he hear other officers or senshi toiling in the other cavern branches. He considered it good fortune, but such a long stint of it needed to close if he intended to confront his brother on participation.
The lot of this, after all, was for him.
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Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2016 8:51 pm
From Dehumanization to Arms Production
Word Count: 626
The night air chilled with the depths of winter, and snow tangled into his hair with reckless abandon. Umber found the algid temperatures grounding - a welcome relief from the discussion he had with Chrysocolla. She reminded him much of his brother, especially with the talk of moral superiority and attempts to circumvent starseed ripping. Yes, he imagined she followed Ochre well enough that she posed a risk to the solidarity of the Negaverse. Much like when Persephone left, and took with her a modicum of trust for the magic wielders on their side.
Umber descended from his perch among the rooftops and landed just beyond the gates of one of the elementary schools. As early afternoon left the sun angular in the sky, shadows stretched long from the grade schoolers that now embarked toward their busses. Since the spread of the war, children no longer walked home alone - parents picked them up from bus stops, or were required to pick them up from the school. It was, he thought, a useful measure for protecting children from starseed ripping unless one visited the school itself. Often parents were content that the school itself would protect the kids throughout the day, but so often recess left hids running off on their own.
In the short time before the kids boarded the bus, however, a lone pair removed themselves to the more private corners of the schoolyard, where they might find a bit of breathing room from the resident chaperones. This, Umber witnessed through the tall gates securing the premises - two little girls seated themselves behind a tree to whisper excitedly to one another. Umber cared not to eavesdrop on nine-year-olds.
A blink left him on the other side of the fence instantaneously. Dispatching one child before they had time to respond was of little consequence - undeveloped skull crushed soundly against the trunk of a tree. Then, the other girl loosed a wail. She struggled to her feet, and a hand in her back plucked the starseed that gave her life. Someone in the distance responded by calling her name, and Umber spared no time to check who might pursue him. He hopped the fence in a more traditional manner, now a little worn from the multiple teleports in the day, and took to higher ground once again. He would need the privacy for the coming act.
Before he committed to forming one of the strange, crystalline creatures, Umber considered telling Chrysocolla from whence he found the base materials. It would prove a useless exercise, however, as she would most certainly return to calling him a monster, inhuman, inhumane. But that would not matter soon; if she took to the youma as Ochre did, then she would find little qualms against it. She would finally serve the Negaverse without wasting resources on her ineffectual methods of recruiting. The expenditure of chaos energy to form the bug would tax him, he know. It proved a worthy effort in the end.
As he funneled the chaotic energy into the starseed, he watched the pristine gem glitter and crack along the surface. Soon it exploded outward, forming a small centipede with a carapace borne of the jagged shards. It wriggled and writhed and pinched at his palm before it shot up his forearm, and Umber seized it immediately. Now he held the means to the end he sought.
You will serve us in all ways, Chrysocolla. Not just the ways you find worthy of your abilities. This arrogance will end, and you will start serving as a real soldier.
He tucked the bug into the pocket of his coat and set a mental course back to Negaspace, where he might store it for future use.
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