Imulsion
From Gears of War
- "Lookit all that juice!"
- — Augustus Cole
Imulsion is a phosphorescent, highly volatile, low-viscosity fluid originally discovered by an oil exploration drill on the planet Sera. The discovery of the substance plays a large part in the backstory to the Gears universe, and is further touched upon within the games themselves.
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[edit] History
The substance known as Imulsion was considered to be more of a scientific curiosity than a practical resource after its discovery, and was essentially useless until Dr. Helen Cooper created the Lightmass Process. The Process was capable of transmuting Imulsion into a cheap and efficient energy source.[1] For a planet hungry for energy and facing something of an energy crisis in the long term, Imulsion was the perfect solution: efficient, clean and fairly abundant. As Imulsion extraction and conversion began to pick up steam, a certain few nations reaped huge rewards from its sale, while other less fortunate ones were denied the profits. Over time, Imulsion speculation on the financial markets ran rampant and entire currencies and economies became linked to its value. This eventually resulted in a large economic collapse on the planet Sera as extremely low Imulsion prices crippled the financial sector. The economic crisis sparked military actions, and the few countries that possessed an abundance of Imulsion reserves soon found themselves at war with those nations who were not as fortunate, in a conflict known as the Pendulum Wars.[2]
[edit] Mining methods
Imulsion is mined the same way oil was mined before it was abandoned in favor of Imulsion. Old oil rigs where turned into Imuslion rigs and Derricks where used to extract them from pockets of Imulsion near the surface. Facilities like Lethia Imulsion Factory and the Denava Imulsion extraction facilities mined deep into the Outer Hollows, and mining for Imulsion crystals was also used for military purposes.[3]
[edit] Properties
Besides its nature as a valuable energy source when properly processed, Imulsion also possesses an interesting mutagenic effect. Direct exposure to Imulsion for any length of time will cause Locust subjects to transform into Lambent forms, making them, amongst other things, highly explosive when killed. In extreme cases, Imulsion exposure will cause the subject to mutate uncontrollably, such as with the Lambent Brumak.[4] The mutation is also accompanied by a form of energetic or spiritual possession by an energy which escapes upon the death of the mutated subject.[5] It is unknown whether or not this energy actually directs and/or causes the mutations. It could also suggest the Imulsion itself may be alive since it's described as an "infection" by the Queen. While no recorded instances of Lambency or Imulsion mutation have been detailed in human subjects, prolonged exposure to the substance, particularly in an aerosol form, have been known to cause health problems. During the human "Gold Rush", miners had a shorter life span than the average human and after the Lightmass Offensive an outbreak of Rust Lung is the most obvious case.
[edit] See Also
[edit] Trivia
- In Campaign as well as in Multiplayer, posters can be seen on the walls with a picture of a fist raised in the air. Beneath it are the words No Blood for Imulsion. This suggests that much of the population opposed the Pendulum Wars on that basis. The phrase is also a play on the anti-war slogan "No Blood for Oil", popularized by the opposition to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. To find it you can look by one of the spawn points in Gridlock right against a brick wall.
- In Act 2 of Gears of War 2, Ben Carmine discusses wild theories about the locust, such as locust eating Imulsion
- In the Multiplayer map "Flood", a city is flooded by imulsion after ravaged by Locust, and rises after a certain period of time.
[edit] References
- ↑ Destroyed Beauty - An Inside Look at Gears of War, page 3
- ↑ Destroyed Beauty - An Inside Look at Gears of War, page 4
- ↑ Gears of War: Aspho Fields
- ↑ Gears of War 2
- ↑ Evidenced by cutscenes in Act 4 of Gears 2
