Psycho Core
When researchers of the apocalypse first started going about trying to study the maelstrom, they first used probes in order to try to measure it in different ways- electrical output, radioactivity, thermal dynamics, passage of light and sound, and the likes. Unfortunately, trying to get readings from any part of the maelstrom proved to be completely unsuccessful, as almost all recording devices were destroyed by the maelstrom itself or caused to malfunction in some way.
The next method of observing the maelstrom was a doozy- collect samples via conductive rods that could capture small strains of the energy output, harnessing it long enough to isolate it from the larger maelstrom bodies and record traces of it. The Techs of IQ HQ were the first to take a stab at this idea and created hundreds of these conductive rods to collect the samples, placing them around several data collection points to absorb the energies. Unfortunately the Techs didn't account for the possibility that the rods would get lost in the maelstrom itself, and thus lost all of their data collection units for quite some time.
Fast forward a good twenty years or so to our current point in time, and we begin to hear rumor of some strange, purplish rods popping up all over the wasteland- usually at the edge of maelstrom regions. Most people were too young to know what the fuck these weird glowy sticks were before they started popping up all over, but any Tech can tell you that they're successfully extracted conductor rods from their original experiments, fully infused and contained with elements of the maelstrom.
Now, this would be fantastic news for the Techs, if it weren't for the fact that literally EVERYBODY and their mom would rather go around with these rods strapped to the ends of sticks and jabbing people with them to make their heads explode or trying to dare their dumbass friends to lick them only to indefinitely lose all motor control of their tongues. What was once their exciting new project has now been reduced to the equivalent of a stick of plutonium that any asshole can be lucky enough to dig up in their backyard, it seems.
Though, let it be known- one of these conductor rods, now dubbed infamously by the people of the apocalypse as Psycho Cores, is very much worth a small fortune on its own... That is, if you're careful enough so that it doesn't kill you first by touching it in the first place.
Mechanics & Inner Workings
The rod itself is a superconductor that harnesses any particles exposed to it, specifically designed to harness whatever the maelstrom throws at it. That's really it; it's basically a battery or a tube that stores energy of any type.
Manufacturing process
The rod itself is comprised of twisted superconductive alloy cables that have been forged together in a titanium rod, capped at either end to allow only intake of particles but for no reactions to be permitted otherwise between the conductors. The rod is then left for several years in maelstrom regions to collect energy until it is finally harvested.
Significance
1 superconductive rod, two end capsules, energy from the maelstrom
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