Description (Healing Blade Lore)

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Vibrio cholerae are poisonous Lords that excrete a potentially lethal toxin into Soma’s aqueduct, causing massive and frequent surges down the waterway. There are several types of V. cholerae that can induce such turbulence to Soma. They enter Buccal Bay free living in the water, as well as on the ships of Soma’s fishermen. They settle in the lower aqueduct, where they burrow into the banks. They build their armies and spread the recipe for the ill-inducing toxin with the help of an autonomous shuttle.

Finally, when they sense that enough individuals are ready to produce a sufficient amount of the toxin to launch an effective strike on Soma, they release their poison, causing the aqueduct walls to swell and sending floods of water out Faecal Inlet and occasionally back up through Buccal Bay. The sudden outflow of water can leave the land dehydrated and weak and the people dying of thirst. After they’ve unleashed their poisonous assault, V. cholerae re-enter the aqueduct current and move on to their next victim.

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Great article from The Scientist magazine about science and gaming.

Games for Science

Description (Healing Blade Lore)

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Gentamicin is an old timer of the Apothecary Army. Like many of his fellow Apothecaries, he strikes down Pestilence armies by inhibiting the beasts’ abilities to produce the very building blocks of life. He is impervious to even extreme heat, and is effective against a wide range of Lords, mostly of the Gram Negative Legion. However, Gentamicin is not the gentlest Apothecary to fight for Soma, and his presence can often have devastating effects on the land.

Just as he inhibits the ability of Pestilence agents to generate critical compounds of life, Gentamicin can also have the same effect on the workers of Soma’s main filtration centers. Killing these vital contributors to Soma’s overall wellbeing in turn leads to the failure of the filtration systems and the release of toxins throughout the land. Furthermore, Gentamicin is known to disturb the harmony of a key communication post, Cochlea Center, cutting off contact between Soma and the surrounding islands, as well as the Apothecary strategists. What’s more, Gentamicin’s careless wrath can spread to the nearby Vestibular Labyrinths, where the buoyancy of the floating island is carefully regulated. Damage to this region can result in the overall instability of the land, throwing the island itself and all of its inhabitants off kilter.

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Superheroes have always permeated into the lives of children with their charismatic personalities, amazing super powers, and pure awesomeness. What started as a historical catalyst of inspiration for generations of people has quickly turned into an integrated facet in our American culture. As we examine superheroes in this context of the American culture, some examples that we discover are that of Captain America as an iconic hero during World War II, Superman as a symbol of hope to society during the Great Depression, and the X-Men represented as Generation X and the minority cultures existing within our country during the X-Men’s beginnings in the 1960s. It is no doubt that it is during those difficult periods in our society that we as human beings seek to find a hero in our lives – a hero who portrays the integrity of our beliefs, inspiration, and dreams. Whether it be literal heroes (e.g. government leaders, physicians, athletes) or figurative heroes (e.g. Superman, Captain America, Iron Man), we are always searching for truth and answers to our problems and questions.

I was recently referred to the art of Mr. Russell Gawthorpe, who’s inspiring art titled “Heroes of Science Action Figures” may have won your attention through the swift pace of the internet. (His deviantART profile page can be accessed at http://datazoid.deviantart.com/ with his popular piece of art at http://datazoid.deviantart.com/art/Heroes-of-Science-Action-Figures-337514889) This was a radical view that I had not been exposed to – meditating on the concept of our pioneers of science as being our literal, real-life heroes. As a self-proclaimed student of science, for some reason it is easy to forget that before me were men and women who investigated science and allowed me to study the advancements of science that we all experience every day. Furthermore, as an avid purchaser of action figures during my childhood, conceptually thinking about being able to play with our “heroes of science” as action figures sheds light into a peculiar perspective. We usually think about our action figures as embodying the iconic image of someone who is “out of this world”; however, these “heroes of science” were not only brilliant in their own ways, but also brought the world closer to us. Our “heroes of science” set sail to colonize the far reaches of unknown knowledge and contributed greatly to the progress of our human race. I don’t have to tell you about amazing scientists such as Max Planck, Marie Curie, Nikola Tesla, and more, when the majority of the time their last names are equally synonymous and immortalized in concepts such as a unit of measurement, device, or constant. These phenomenal people were scientists who not only contributed to knowledge and change, but who also inspired the next generation of scientists and investigators of the world. When you think about heroes in medicine, one of the first names that are usually thought of is a man named Sir William Osler, one of the founders of Johns Hopkins Hospital who also served as their first Professor of Medicine. His impact is still being felt for generations after him not only revolutionizing modern medicine, but also medical education. In our modern age (especially if you’re going into orthopedics or updated with sports news), Dr. James Andrews may be a hero for many future and current orthopedic surgeons as well as sports enthusiasts.

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Description (Healing Blade Lore)

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Neisseria meningitidis are cerebral sorcerers that target the residents of Sententia and their lines of communication that coordinate all of Soma. They can enter through Buccal Bay, but rather than continue down the aqueduct as do Pestilence agents that ride in with the aquatic life, N. meningitidis veer down the Pharyngeal Path that shortcuts to the southern-most part of the Northern Forest. They can enter the Northern Forest directly, just north along the boundary wall from the Bay.

Occasionally known to be peaceful residents of this region, N. meningitidis are more often naughty than nice. They creep into the surrounding communities, deploying an array of weapons that serve to stun and damage the locals. One poison they release kills inhabitants of the natural waterways, choking the land of the vital nutrients they shuttle about. They also release powerful bombs that block the Nodal Sentry’s counterattacks, buying time for their armies to multiply.

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Description (Healing Blade Lore)

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Legionella pneumophila are potentially fatal Lords who are quick to take advantage of Soma’s lush resources. They live and multiply within the protection of giant jellyfish-like creatures that live in the water surrounding Soma, and search for similar habitats upon entry to Soma. They allow themselves to be taken up by the bog traps set by the Nodal Sentry, where they flourish, basking in the protection of the hollow pockets found near the bogs’ centers. They trigger the decomposition of local inhabitants to supply the nutrients they need for survival, and funnel those nutrients into their temporary bog homes. They hunker down as they grow their armies, sending out more than 200 scouts and soldiers to foil efforts of the surrounding community to destroy the mother colony.

L. pneumophila typically enter Soma aerially through the Respiro Forest. They descend like spiders, then quickly scamper towards the closest bog. Their presence can be relatively benign, causing few, if any, disturbances beyond the very immediate environment. But there are plenty of more brutal L. pneumophila strains, which bring terror to all corners of Soma. Severe temperature swings sweep the land, and the Respiro Forest reacts violently. General lethargy overcomes Soma’s pace of life, often with fewer fish coming in through Buccal Bay to fuel the island’s activities. L. pneumophila armies can also affect the function of Sententia and disrupt the comfortingly regular beat of the Twin Cities. If the Apothecaries do not act swiftly, L. pneumophila can kill.

So we here at NCL are huge fans of John D. Boswell a.k.a Melodysheep. He is the creative spark behind science infused chocolatey auto-tuned goodness. We’re so in love with his work that we’ve decided to do a series of blog posts based on the subjects of his videos. The Melodysheep crew’s latest project is something called Symphony of Science, which essentially devotes the bulk of the content to the PBS Series Cosmos, by Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan, and Steve Soter. You’ll also see such luminaries as Hawking, Attenborough and DeGresse Tyson mixing it up with the likes of Mr. Rogers, Bill Nye and Bob Ross! Let’s go ahead and start with the video that kicked it all off for us – Ode to the Brain! Enjoy.

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Description (Healing Blade Lore)

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Listeria monocytogenes are the most dangerous of the Lords that enter through Buccal Bay on the backs of its aquatic inhabitants. If it successfully enters Soma’s boundary, there is a good chance the island world will not survive. There are 13 different L. monocytogenes armies that pose a threat to Soma. They are most likely to invade when the island is under attack by other villians, and the Nodal Sentry is thus compromised.

L. monocytogenes can survive a wide range of climates, permitting its affiliation with a wide range of food items traveling through Buccal Bay and the aqueduct, including Arctic species that come from temperatures near 0°C. They can also withstand hot temperatures and drought, conditions commonly experienced once inside Soma.

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Description (Healing Blade Lore)

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Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are some of the most feared Lords that haunt Soma. They evolved from their close cousins, Staphylococcus aureus, to evade the attacks of an entire legion of Apothecary warriors.  And if those Apothecaries that can defeat the dreaded creatures do not act swiftly, MRSA have the power to end Soma, once and for all.

MRSA tend to invade through the Respiro Forest, breaches in the boundary wall, or sometimes through the Southern Dam. They can live in hiding for periods of time, without damaging the habitat or Soma’s fauna, but they will attack at the first sign of weakness in the Noble Sentry. Within one to two days, MRSA can spread over the land, leaving the boundary wall red and irritated and often raising the temperature of the entire world. If an effective Apothecary counterattack is not launched in time, the red bumps on the wall grow larger and deeper, threatening the integrity of Soma’s first and most critical line of defense.

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Description (Healing Blade Lore)

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Chloramphenicol may be an old man, but as one of the first Apothecaries to regularly defend Soma, his experience is invaluable. While younger, stronger Apothecaries may be sent into battle first, Chloramphenicol is still called to action when their efforts fail. He is effective against a wide range of Pestilence agents, and can travel quickly to all corners of the land. He is particularly efficient at penetrating the walls surrounding Sententia to rescue the citizens of Soma’s central command city.

But while Chloramphenicol can be a critical component of the Apothecary counterattacks, he is often used sparingly because of his insensitivity towards Soma’s inhabitants. In particular, the old curmudgeon can impair the barracks of the Skeletal Mountains that produce Soma’s Noble Sentry and feed the land’s waterways. This leaves Soma more vulnerable to infections by other Pestilence Lords. Thus, while he may effectively eliminate one attacker, he simultaneously invites in others.

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