Comprehensive Notum Depletion Report and Analysis
It is the purpose of this report to outline the effects of long term mining, and the increase in surface mining on the ambient notum levels on Rubi-Ka. This is a joint project with many contributors within the Nanomage Liberation Front. It is a comprehensive report based on sound scientific methodology and unbiased data collection.
Methodology:
The project was developed by experts in each field:
Project Coordinator: Aazamon
Technical Supervisor: Alphaquz
Notum Quality analysis: Vytocyt
Back ground research: Delcey
Bio-Medical analysis: Ramiyana
Insurance technology effects (soul capacity): Nohva
Wildlife Analysis: Slingerquz
Notum Nugget Crushing: Woodwin
Assistants:
The entire NLF membership
Although each project team member was responsible for their areas of expertise, it was a cooperative effort and we all had a say in the outcome of the entire project (although Woodwin was kept to notum nugget crushing after trying to eat Slingerquz’s wildlife samples and answering all questions with “when do I get pie?”).
The overall project was based on a random sampling of soil, water, air, wildlife (for statistics we used leets alone for complex animal samples, but collected anecdotal data on several species), and raw notum nuggets. Samples were selected using a grid/stratigraphic environmental approach, that is a grid was placed over different environmental type areas (i.e.: flood plain, desert, mountain, jungle, meadow etc.) to avoid comparing leets with reets. Then using a computer to generate random numbers each point on the grid was selected for sample collection. This avoids selection based on the researcher’s biases and insures all types of environments are represented equally. The research areas included: Newland desert, Perpetual wastelands, Belial Forrest, and Deep Artery Valley.
Samples were collected 4 times over the last 12 months at exactly ¼ year intervals. Samples were completely sealed in vacuum containers and taken to our lab and analyzed in a notum free vacuum environment. No added notum contamination was allowed, in 3 cases of notum contamination through lab accidents samples were removed from the case study.
Data:
First Quarter Data:
Soil, Air, and water samples where strikingly similar in notum levels, our initial samples varied from environmental area to environmental area with those such as jungle or wetlands that had more life forms around being the most notum abundant, and those such as mountains and desert with the least life forms being less notum abundant. Greater Omni Forest, Belial Forrest, and Deep Artery Valley all had notum levels in the range of 965 parts per million and 1742 parts per million in their samples, averages for Belial forest were 1495, and for Deep Artery Valley 1506 parts per million. This includes all air, soil, and water samples, while Newland Desert and Perpetual Wastelands numbers all fell between 698 parts per million and 1055 parts per million.
Life forms no matter what environmental level found showed the same parts per million count in each specific species. Species differed in notum contents based on age and organic complexity. Plant species with complex cell structures such as trees and cellular plants contained similar levels, averaging 10992 parts per million. Next come nematodes and other microscopic organisms which tended to concentrate notum into small pellets or nuggets within organ structures, even organelles in single cell organisms. Although the notum levels weren’t as even in the whole body as plant life, the parts per million count was astronomical, 59657 on average. Larger, more complex animal organisms such as lizards and mammals showed lower overall parts per million counts than simple life forms, but tended to concentrate notum into specific glands and organs, most interestingly in the kidneys and pituitary gland. Parts per million notum concentration in leets where on average 15699 parts per million, however in the pituitary gland itself the parts per million numbers were so high as to be easier to understand as roughly 3 in ten particles being a particle of notum, or 300,000 parts per million. This could account for the extreme ferocity and strength of some leet species, although that was not the focus of this study. In fact almost all species showed extreme notum levels in the pituitary gland.
Raw notum nuggets found in square holes dug to a depth of 1 meter, being 1 meter square were also sampled, the number and purity of these being taken into account. It was found that raw nuggets of notum were more abundant in the deserts and mountain areas of the study, roughly 500-700 grams per meter^3 of soil. The more moist the land the less raw notum in nugget form where wetlands would have roughly 300-500 grams per meter^3. The purity was the same in all instances, nuggets being 85% pure with a 2% variance in all occurrences.
Second Quarterly Data:
This Data was collected shortly after the first Notum Mining installations were placed after ICC relaxed controls on notum production. Overall numbers seem to be similar, within 1.5 % however due to immediate effects on wildlife leet numbers skyrocketed by 500%, while predator numbers were desperately low about 45% normal. This can be attributed to initial gas level problems around towers and their serious effect on the environment and predator hunting ability. This in particular led to the one anomaly in this data collection period, leet notum levels fell by .7% to 15589 parts per million, although the pituitary gland remained at exactly the same level.
Third Quarter Data:
After problems with gas levels leet populations dropped to pre towers levels. Wolf and other populations however will take some time to recover but do seem to be robust, if not in fact fat with the abundance of leets and the reduced competition for food.
This Quarter we see some new variances in ambient notum levels for the first time, most specifically in Deep Artery Valley and Belial Forest which were the richest notum areas to start with. Mining organizations have built very large mining sites here of high capacity. Parts per million ambient notum levels dropped significantly in soil and air samples, and to a lesser degree in water samples. An average of .75% drop overall from 1495 parts per million in Belial Forest to 1484 parts per million and 1506 parts per million in Deep Artery Valley to 1494 parts per million. Perpetual wastelands showed the next highest level of depletion with .65% and Newland desert with .30%.
Notum levels in wildlife were steady in all but one area, including resumption to normal levels in leets. Nematodes and other simple organisms dropped their notum levels by exactly the same percentage as ambient levels. This however did not translate into lower levels higher in the food chain.
Notum nugget levels dropped in quality, although not frequency. The quality of nuggets dropped from 85% to 84.3%, reflecting the overall ambient notum levels.
Fourth quarter data:
Across the board level drops. Ambient levels dropped 2% overall in Belial and Deep Artery Valley, 1.75% in Perpetual wastelands and 1.67% in Newland Desert. Again we found that the soil and air lost notum levels faster than water samples, but only by marginal degrees. Strikingly Leet pituitary glands dropped in notum concentration by 12% and overall the concentration in leets dropped by 2%. Nematodes and other simple organisms reflected the ambient levels again. Interestingly notum nugget levels as well as purity fell by far more than ambient levels, over 4.5 percent in Belial and Deep Artery Valley, 3.9% in Perpetual Wastelands, and 2.7% in Newland Desert.
Three samples during this period were contaminated when Unity of the Rose’s mining installation opened fire on one of our data collectors. These had to be removed from the study. Luckily Doctor Frewil reclaimed safely and returned to the study.
Analysis:
There seems to be systems of the notum cycle here we don’t fully understand, which makes it difficult to analyze all the data for meaningful uses. Clearly notum levels dropped in all these areas by steady and measurable amounts. Also there seems to be a curve instead of being a direct decline in overall levels. We are sure that notum mining in these areas has been relatively constant although the data was not released by ICC or Omni-Tek. Unless there is an unseen, clandestine rise in notum exploitation over the last year there is a dynamic of ambient notum level loss that is exceeding the growth in notum exploitation. Either way notum is not replenishing, or if it is it is not doing it at a rate sufficient to replace current mining and exportation.
Life forms seem to have an increased complexity to their notum levels compared to the complexity of the organism itself. All organisms seem to collect notum in far greater degrees than ambient levels. We do not know a reason for this, although the notum isn’t essential for the lives of any organisms found except Nanomages. Its effects on organisms other than Nanomages are still unproven. Complex life forms however do show an increased sensitivity to notum level loss than simple organisms.
Notum nugget levels are a dynamic that is both surprising and bewildering. We knew that notum attracts notum therefore the reason for studying nuggets of it, but we were unprepared for the results we found and currently have few sturdy hypotheses as to why the dramatic results. I have a feeling however this is related to notum “nodes” or “rifts” as described in Omni-Mining’s paper released at the science symposium last year.
Levels seem to have dropped to such a degree in Deep Artery Valley and Belial Forest as to increase the chance of error or mishap in insurance reclaim up to an astounding 1 in 10000, up from 1 in millions. This is possibly linked to the increase in failed insurance “beings” below our cities most commonly used to insure. These areas are also known for many bloody battles and much stress to the insurance reclaim system.
Conclusion:
Notum Export is clearly having an effect on Rubi-Ka and life on it. We of course need more study into the effects but clearly notum levels are dropping at an alarming rate. Beyond anecdotal evidence of the past year we have shown hard data that reveals how dire the situation is on the surface of the planet. We know that notum is needed by nanomages for survival, what we don’t know for obvious ethical reasons is how low can we take the notum levels before Nanomages start to die. Also importantly, ambient notum levels are dropping faster it seems than mining levels. We don’t understand the dynamic that produces this, but it’s extremely alarming.
For those of us who see Rubi-Ka as a special place in the galaxy, with a purpose yet to be filled for mankind this is quite alarming. For those strictly out for profit this of course just gives them information on how soon they will need to find a new business to get into.
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