Okay, counter that!!

An explanation of the phenomenon called "Counter-Substances" that was developed during the outlining of 'The Shadow Mind' (The outline has, by the way, been finished!). The idea is pretty basic--certain substances will only be capable of making physical connection with certain others. Sound simple? It really isn't. The trick is knowing what substances match with which others. Some substances have a large number of Counter Substances, while others might have one. Case in point, the metals used in 'The Shadow Mind' to demonstrate this quality, Shaiglon (SHY-glahn) and Lucinor (LOO-sihn-ohr).

Counter-Substances are used mostly in weapons and armor. Most of the time each has a unique characteristic that will enable you to identify it from a distance. Lucinor, for example, reacts with the adrenaline concentration in its holder's body. In the case of battle, the adrenaline levels in a person's body are almost certain to go up. Lucinor is very sensitive to those levels, and reacts to high levels of adrenaline by taking on the appearance of being fashioned from flames.

Here's the trick about all this: how do you get Shaiglon and/or Lucinor? You can mine for them, yes, but they are both very rare. In fact, nearly all Counter-Substances are hard to get ahold of. What-to do then, when the dark side starts mass-producing weapons made from Shaiglon? You look for an alternative. You see, you don't just have Counter-Substances. You also have 'Intermediate-Substances' that correspond to most Counter-Substances. Shaiglon and Lucinor do have an Intermediate-Substance, called Klona (KLOH-nah). Although the process is very difficult to do, it is possible to morph Klona into Shaiglon and Lucinor (not at the same time, of course).

Time to head back to Earth... and the Forge.