AETHERIUM EFFECTS REPORT
Report from Kuhlklay on the side effects suffered by some miners from exposure to Aetherium.
Document Text:
RE: Physical effects of Aetherium mining
AUTHOR: Dr. Dimitri Kuhlklay
SUMMARY:
Almost 2 weeks have passed since civilian volunteers took over Aetherium mining duties from our Spetsnaz operators. Aetherium crystal collection is up 237%, but we have also confirmed prolonged exposure to the Dark Aether incurs a physical and mental toll. Preliminary findings as follows:
Each miner who ventures into the Dark Aether is given a medical and psychiatric examination upon return. At present, completion rate is 76%, meaning a quarter of Aetherium miners sent through Dr. Peck’s Omega Portal Chamber are lost and presumed dead. Those who return report having been in the Dark Aether much longer than their recorded absence. We began equipping them with chronometers and confirmed that time passes at a different rate in the Dark Aether than in our own dimension. We are now restricting exposure by shortening excursion duration. Dr. Peck is trying to determine the precise nature of this relativistic effect, but so far he has no answers to this mystery.
The effects of Aetherium exposure vary greatly from individual to individual. Some miners return completely healthy. Others exhibit physical symptoms akin to mild radiation poisoning. A handful returned fully necrotized and had to be put down.
Multiple excursions increase the likelihood and severity of symptoms, especially for those who encounter Dark Aether creatures or consume food or drink from the other side. And yet we have operators who have made dozens of excursions and still show no sign of infection.
One specific effect we are struggling with is memory corruption. Some Aetherium miners on prolonged or repeated excursions return with gaps in long-term memory. A few eventually forget who they are or what they are doing. I have correlated the severity of this condition with increased Aetherium levels in blood and brain tissue, but the precise physiological mechanism of memory corruption remains elusive.
Dr. Peck is currently working on a device to restore memories obscured by Aetherium contamination. Unfortunately, the link between exposure time and physical/mental deterioration leaves little hope of ever recovering those MIA Omega operators who initially carried out Aetherium mining and failed to return.
Dr. Dimitri Kuhlklay
Exoscientific Phenomena Research Asst. – Omega Group
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