Marvel XP: Dossiers/Iso-8

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[[Image:S.H.I.E.L.D. Marvel XP Sidebar.png]] S.H.I.E.L.D. Science Division
Isotope-8

Observation 2: "The first problem is definitional. An isotope, of course, is a variation on an existing element. The substance S.H.I.E.L.D. has codenamed Iso-8 bears no resemblance to any element previously observed by science. On a subatomic level, the arrangement of its particles is unique. I’ll spare you the details, but there is one important thing to note.

"The physical properties of Iso-8—from the spin of its quarks to the peculiar ramifying fractal pattern in its crystal arrangements—strongly suggest that it was created under conditions that do not, to my knowledge, exist in this space-time. From this, I extrapolate two possibilities: Either it was created by a science sufficiently advanced to tinker with the building blocks of the atom, or it is a product of another dimensional space.

"As yet, we do not have enough evidence to rule either possibility in or out." –Reed Richards

[[Image:S.H.I.E.L.D. Marvel XP Sidebar.png]] S.H.I.E.L.D. Science Division
UNSTABLE ISO-8 Internal S.H.I.E.L.D. dossier

Previous experimentation demonstrates that Iso-8 can and will adapt to nearly any circumstance and amplify any proximate source of energy. Several dozen refinements to the raw material have been created and made available to field personnel and metahuman assets. Iso-8 has been observed to intensify even powers of an occult or arcane nature, although this property is poorly understood. Recently S.H.I.E.L.D. field assets have observed a new variant.

S.H.I.E.L.D. scientific and research staff, working with Reed Richards, are investigating the properties of this new category but even more than previously observed Iso-8 varieties, this new sub-isotope is difficult to define. Its defining characteristic appears to be that it has no stable characteristics.

S.H.I.E.L.D. working terminology for this substance is Unstable Iso-8, or Iso-8-U. As Dr. Richards formulates a more rigorous taxonomy for all kinds of Iso-8, it will be distributed to S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel on a need-to-know basis.

Unstable Iso-8 was first encountered in the field after the disappearance of Mockingbird. Elements of A.I.M. and the Maggia were able to use the Unstable Iso-8 to retrofit their weapons and equipment, with the assistance of Thunderball. The potential involvement of the Hellfire Club in Mockingbird’s abduction suggests that occult lines of investigation are underway as well.

Unstable Iso-8 is highly toxic in most of its uses, perhaps because the instability of its structure destroys the structure of living cells. Harnessing it has proved difficult in the laboratory environment, but Dr. Richards and S.H.I.E.L.D. staff anticipate it will be a highly potent addition to the Iso-8 arsenal.

Until then, Unstable Iso-8 should be treated as if it might be lethal in any concentration or amount. Under no circumstances should S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel touch or interact with it in any way.

[[Image:S.H.I.E.L.D. Marvel XP Sidebar.png]] S.H.I.E.L.D. Science Division
Isotope-8

“I have communed with my mentor and teacher, The Ancient One, via the astral plane, and he believes that Iso-8 may be native to Earth after all.

"He recalls detecting emanations similar to Iso-8 in ages past -- in the 18th century, in fact, when he battled a heinous cult known as The Circle of 8 that had established a stranglehold on the people of Edo -- the capital of Japan now known as Tokyo today.

"The Ancient One smashed the Circle of 8 when he served as Earth’s Sorcerer Supreme and scattered its members to the four winds. But it is certainly possible that some form of the cult could have survived to this day.

"If they engineered The Pulse, it indicates a level of sophistication and coordination between the mystic arts and advanced science never seen before … at least on this planet.” — Dr. Stephen Strange

[[Image:S.H.I.E.L.D. Marvel XP Sidebar.png]] S.H.I.E.L.D. Science Division
Isotope-8

Observation 4: “My mind has sensed … activity from the fragments of Isotope-8 with which I have come into close proximity. But every time I reach out to telepathically probe these sensations further, the presence retreats away, out of my grasp, like a hermit crab skittering back into its borrowed shell.

"I am not saying Iso-8 itself is sentient. At least I can’t be sure whether or not it is without further examination that the element itself is not allowing. However, I think it is quite possible that Iso-8 is a conduit for another consciousness.

"And it is through Iso-8 that other entity, whatever it is, is watching us.” — Professor X (Charles Xavier)

[[Image:S.H.I.E.L.D. Marvel XP Sidebar.png]] S.H.I.E.L.D. Science Division
Isotope-8

Observation 3: "It’s not a catalyst, exactly. At least not in the normal sense of catalyzing a reaction of other compounds while remaining unchanged. It does create reactions around it, but Iso-8 also changes itself, its own structure, depending on what kind of reaction it’s creating.

"In practical terms, this means that if you put it in the crystal array you’re using to focus a laser, Iso-8 makes the laser more focused—and its crystal structure adapts to the alignment of the crystals you’re already using. If you put it in an electrical field, it magnifies the charge and the momentum of individual electrons, and becomes magnetic. If it’s part of a plasma, the plasma gets denser, hotter, and hugely more powerful, and the Iso-8 changes from a solid to a kind of supercritical fluid.

"I believe Iso-8 does the same to kinetic energy, but I’ve been focused on heat, electricity, and magnetism. In those areas, it is an energy intensifier the likes of which I’ve never seen." –Tony Stark

[[Image:S.H.I.E.L.D. Marvel XP Sidebar.png]] S.H.I.E.L.D. Science Division
sotope-8

Observation: “According to reports we’ve received from around the world, glowing deposits of this crystalline substance appeared on every continent on Earth, and deep below the ocean surface, in the wake of The Pulse.

“Simply put, Isotope-8 is the physical manifestation of The Pulse and the sudden arrival of large deposits of Iso-8 on Earth may have been what caused The Pulse in the first place.” — Nick Fury