Reported by: Jedikiah Drake
The chemical composition of the substance known as 'Polverite' is relatively mundane: Aluminum, Silicon, Oxygen, and Carbon make up the bulk of the material, with trace amounts of several other metals. What is surprising is the structure of Polverite, which is phenomenally complex. Each crystal, plate, or Gear is fractally complex down to the atomic level, and the structure does not appear to be at all random, but rather entirely designed: each of these items is, essentially, solid-state nanotechnology; an amount of machinery that would fill a large room compressed to the size of a walnut.
This being the case, the computational power of these items is staggering; so great as to be nearly limitless. The mountains of Polverite that comprise the visible portion of the Dje Dje Mountains ought to contain as much potential intelligence as the entire human species put together. And there are references in the translated Uriel Loop that imply that the Polverite mountains extend far below the surface as well. Such a powerful intelligence, a god-mind if you would, would have the power to affect simple electronics over a great distance through sheer force of will, as well as making subtler changes in the bioelectrical computer each of us carries in our skull.
The Polverans show no particular signs of having had the nanotechnological knowhow to have manufactured Polverite, although they were quite capable of shaping and using it. Again, based on inferences from the vague references in the Uriel Loop, it appears that the substance was a gift from the Ursthurth.
See Also:
Gearbox
Uriel Loop
Ursthurth