Viscous Envelope

Early exploration into strikermechanics represents a long, torrid tale of misfortune. Scientists working in the area were unaware of the spiritual dimension of subspace (as it was referred to then) and its effects on the crew and the materials the ships were made of.

By travelling into the ethereal, the people, the items, and the ship itself becomes infused with a certain ectoplasmic miasma, which was often called the envelope. This miasma is built up because there is a reaction by the ethereal when orbjects bourne of the corporeal enter it. This miasma protects all these layers from the not, which lay at the core of the hypereal. The miasma and what it pretects is frightening material. In the suturing experiments carried out with the first striker engines, massive subspace fields were formed, which, effectively fried the minds of all in the near vicinity. Most of the researchers were rendered non-intelligent, or insane if they were lucky. Others recount visions of unspeakable horror.

Such accidents and so-called "visions" made continued experimentation problematic. The data gathered indicated that near contact with this miasma was mentally analogous to exposure to lethal radiation. This led researchers into looking for methods of shielding occupants from the envelope.

Over decades, and at the cost of many lives (most killed out of mercy), a drug called viscous envelope was developed. The early forms of this drug induced catatonia: the subject's mental processes are brought to a standstill through a combination of hypnotism and chemistry. In this state, the mind cannot react to the miasma flowing through it. In many regards, the mental processes are so slow that the reaction rate begins to compare with inanimate objects.

Viscous envelope was dangerous, and it has permanent effects on the mind. Often subjects were given viscous envelope for purposes that had no relationship to the striker experiments, but rather because it rendered the subject susceptable to propaganda. A spin-off slave trade developed from the 2640s that eventually led to the Neolodian Church today.

Viscous envelope was also used to effectively wipe the minds of criminals, who could then be recycled as guinea pigs in awful experiments.

Toward 2700 viscous evelope had been developed into milder forms with less severe side-effects, but still protected the crwe from the worst effects of the envelope.

By around the year 3000, newer methods of envelope dampening were available that were built into the designs of the striker rod apparatus. This did not eliminate the need to have viscous envelope around. There is always a chance that the striker rod could fail, or some kind of mis-strike occurs. It is for this reason that striker hypersleep chambers have viscous envelope available to administer, as well as med bays.