Tehoma

Tehoma is the substance that makes up The Singing Deep. It resembles oil or dense water, and can also be found in crystallised form (occurring naturally, and by processing). In addition to having many effects directly tied to the deep, tehoma is also sometimes used in warfare. Tehoma is also known to be able to "overcharged" in a way that causes it to appear to boil and shift in colour.

In Vehicles

 * The Ripshaw (a TPK Trans Beryl Begune model) is capable of using crystallised tehoma to power its experimental reaction engine's screech drive.
 * Legato Biotech employ tehoma in the internal systems and weapons of many of their combat vehicles, inlcuding the Manifold (the base model of the Mimic), which uses tehoma as a circulatory system that interfaces with the pilot's own circulation through a special breathing apparatus. This system powers its camouflage and limber movement.

In Weaponry

 * The ancient Nadezhdan superweapon, "Voice of Glass", uses a series of special subauditory "notes" to force an area of tehoma to crystalize, causing it to rapidly expand into normalspace. This process causes immense devastation to anything that happens to be on the other side, ripping the target apart at the molecular level and leaving both targets and the area nearby with a "glassy" appearance.

Adverse Effects
Tehoma is able to be breathed to some degree, but without a specialised filter system (such as those developed by Legato Biotech), this can have moderate to severe side effects. Direct (especially prolonged) contact with the skin may also be hazardous. Unprotected exposure to raw tehoma is known to cause these effects, among others:


 * A strong sensation of drowning or nausea if submerged, possibly followed by symptoms similar to decompression sickness (also known as "the bends") even after shallow submersion.
 * Heightened sensations of memories, possibly causing hallucinations.
 * Sharing of memories and related sensations with others present in the same body of tehoma.
 * A feeling of being able to see visions of the past, future, or other locations.
 * Tehoma poisoning, a rare condition where particles of tehoma enter one's circulation system and may cause some or all of the above symptoms to recur even long after ending submersion. It is unknown exactly what causes this, but it's theorised that prolonged unprotected exposure may cause it on its own. However, it's also theorised that individuals suffering from extreme levels of stress during unprotected exposure may be at much higher risk over a much shorter period of time.

Most of the above symptoms go away on their own after hours or days, but there is currently no known cure for tehoma poisoning. In GS07 – BASTILLE DAY, Zoya Gabbro contracted tehoma poisoning from semi-unprotected exposure to tehoma in the Mimic during an anxious episode. Notably, Skoryy Feldspar—who received similar levels of exposure, but was not suffering the same amount of stress—did not contract it.