Obrinium

The catalyst for the ENDWeapon Program, the discovery of obrinium revolutionized material science. As proposed by a pair of geologists in 1994, the outer core of the earth was not, in fact, composed of nickel and iron, but rather an entirely new material formed under the extreme pressures deep inside the earth. This material is superlatively hard and tough, and relatively lightweight. It also functions as a significantly better radiation shield than even lead. It has a curiously high melting point as well, considering it is in near-liquid form while locked away in the center of the earth. The only drawback to such a material is that it is practically impossible to reform. Once cooled, it is the most indestructible material known, hence its common name, indestructible matter, or I-matter.

An effort was undertaken in 1995 to extract obrinium for research purposes, establishing an obrinium farm on top of the Yellowstone Caldera. On the opposite side of the globe were setup two [obrinium resonators] to triangulate and thus control the movement of a small amount of obrinium within the earth, slowly pushing it up into the caldera. It took 15 years between the inception of the project and the first surface-breach of obrinium, by which time the Monarch Corporation had been formed with plans, and government sanctions, to use the classified material for defense purposes. Monarch subsequently adopted the obrinium project.