Supermatter Engine

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Summary

The Supermatter Shard is a highly reactive and dangerous object capable of causing extensive damage to the station and its crew. With proper containment and setup a single shard can produce an immense amount of power.

How To Obtain A Suppermatter Shard

The only way to obtain a Supermatter Shard is to order one through cargo under the Engineering section. It cost 50 supply points and the crate has an access lock that only the Chief Engineer, Captain, or a Cyborg can unlock.

I Have The Crate, What Do I do With It?

First things first, DO NOT OPEN THE CRATE. The shard is extremely dangerous to handle and once the crate is open the shard will no longer fit inside. If the crate is opened somehow by accident take extreme caution not to walk into it or touch it. It will instantly incinerate you, leaving nothing but ashes and triggering the delamination of the shard, more on that soon. The only way to transport it once outside the crate is to pull it. Be mindful that environmental hazards can cause the crystal to collide with you such as a pressure change (hull breach, panic siphon, anything that could cause space wind strong enough to move objects), conveyor belts, and momentum (if you are in space or the gravity generator is down). Best to wait until a proper containment is set up fully before opening the crate (I will be working on a guide to constructing a Supermatter Engine soon).

Delamination And You

What Is Delamination?

Delamination is the process in which a Supermatter Shard destabilizes, eventually leading to a massive explosion if not stopped. While the shard is delaminating it will release progressively stronger amounts of radiation, oxygen, and plasma at a high enough temperature to ignite.

What Causes Delamination

One of the most common ways delamination is started is something or someone touching the shard and being subsequently dusted. Projectiles, lasers, fire, high temperatures, clowns, chemicals, and a multitude of other things can also set off a reaction. Once the shard delaminates to a certain point a very distinct message will be sent out, usually something along the lines of "Supermatter Shard Delamination at 7%!".

How To Reverse Delamination

Stopping the process of delamination is relatively simple if you have right gear. What you have to do is cool the shard, whether siphoning the room its in, opening a canister of supercooled nitrogen, or simply spacing the shard. An atmospherics hardsuit or the Chief engineer's hardsuit would be best to have while dealing with the shard as both provide protection from the fire, heat, and radiation produced from the shard. An engineering hardsuit would protect against the radiation but have a fire extinguisher nearby and some medicine for burns. If the situation is truly dire loading up on burn and toxin meds will work, don't expect to survive the experience though. Of course a cyborg is immune to the effects of fire and radiation and could easily deal with a delaminating shard if one is available. It usually takes around twenty to thirty minutes for a shard to fully delaminate if it is just left alone, so there is no need to panic. Unless of course there is something actively firing at the shard such as an emitter or the PA. With just one emitter a shard can delaminate in about five to ten minutes, best to turn them off before attempting to move the shard.

Alright The Shard Blew Up And Now I Am Hallucinating

Once the shard completely delaminates it will explode, taking out an area roughly the size of a syndicate bomb. It will also release a massive amount of low radiation, causing extreme amounts of hallucinations among the crew on board the station. The immediate area around the shard will be irradiated heavily making repair efforts difficult and depending on where the shard was when it exploded this could prove detrimental to the crews survival. The most common course of action at this point is to call the emergency shuttle if possible.

Utilizing The Shard

Before attempting to construct an engine with a Supermatter shard you should have a firm understanding of atmospherics and engineering plus permission from the Chief Engineer and/or the Captain, as both can deny the ordering of a Supermatter shard from cargo. Also getting some fellow engineers/atmos techs to contribute will expedite the process immensely, trying to build a Supermatter engine solo can take upwards of 60 to 90 minutes.

Pipes, Lots and Lots of Pipes

Assuming you have a suitable location for setting up your soon to be engine, the first thing you will need to do is lay down the pipes, vents, and scrubbers. It is key that these are set and connected before the rest of containment can be built.

Neutral Gas Vents

These unary vents will be used to fill the containment chamber with a neutral gas such as CO2 or N2 once the shard is in place. Cooling the gas prior to pumping it in is preferable.

Scrubbing System

Scrubbing out the oxygen and plasma produced by the Supermatter shard is a key part in keeping it from delaminating. Scrubbed gas can be safely vented into space or hooked into the turbine to squeeze out some more power.

Heat Exchange System

These lovely pipes will be your primary way of keeping the containment area cooled. A heavy gas such as plasma or N2O works best as coolant, plasma more so since it has the highest heat density out of all the gases. Just make sure not to accidentally connect your neutral gas supply lines up with your coolant.

Wiring And Containment

After finishing up with with the pipework the next few steps can be done in any order. The wiring and windows are also up to you as well, this is just showing how to get the optimal amount of emitters firing upon one Supermatter shard.

Walls, Floors, And Windows

Fireproof materials are a must when setting up containment. Plasma glass, heat-proofed reinforced walls (just add another sheet of plasteel to a reinforced wall to heat proof it), and reinforced floors. Once the walls and glass are in install the airlock and fire shutters. An atmospheric airlock is best for this purpose.

Wires, Emmiters, And Collectors

While installing emmitters make sure they have a clear line of sight into the center of the containment chamber otherwise they won't be able to hit the shard. Radiation collectors block emitter shots as well, keep that in mind. After installing the radiation collectors make sure to put freshly filled canisters of plasma into each one.

Wrapping Up