KATHLEEN STUDEBAKER

RELEVANT EXCERPT FROM

"The Compendium of GeoDinic [Natural] History" :

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This object is actually made from the GeoPods themselves: this machine was an energy generator. As the GeoPods are “harnessed” they slowly transmogrify into this brittle, metallic substance. It appears that the GeoVines are repelled by these used-up Pods; they do not grow on or very near them. While this Pod was of Prime age, as was previously mentioned the people of GeoDin were constantly searching for a way to harness Pods that were past their prime. Early attempts at the harnessing of older Pods resulted in massive casualties from essentially conventional kinetic explosions, but these were quickly contained, and the age at which the Pods were truly “too old” was determined (through much debate; it seems a whole branch of government was set up to debate individual specimens). It was the in-between aged Pods that presented the true conundrum. Some, when harnessed, simply did their jobs; produced energy at a level similar to or even exceeding that of Prime-aged Pods. But others resulted in all sorts of strange events: Remaining records suggest that on one occasion the colors of every single thing in the vicinity of the laboratory, with the notable exception of the GeoVines, changed slightly, becoming just-perceptibly more blue. On another, a great ringing tone was produced and sustained for several hours. There are even some reports suggesting that the polarity of the planet reversed briefly, though this was hotly debated, with many scientists asserting that this simply was not possible. There are dozens of other such events recorded, and given the incompleteness of the surviving records and the apparently chaotic nature of society during this time it is likely that many more are lost to time.