Aurorite

Written by skairunner

At Jupiter's poles, massive lift platforms fly at the edge of the stratosphere, holding aloft kilometer-long strands on which aurorite is cultivated. Natural aurorite studs the ground beneath, glimmering in the light of the everpresent aurora.

Aurorite is a kind of crystal that grows in auroras. It is easily distinguishable from the more common astrallite by its appearance. Aurorite is the same color as the aurora it is grown in, tending towards cooler tones like purple or blue. It appears to shimmer when the crystal is tilted. It is prized for its increased efficiency in magnetic fields, particularly those of Jupiter and Saturn.

Colour of the past

Crystals were once thought to be a limited resource. Before the discovery of astrallite, aurorite could be infrequently found, and was assumed to be the product of micrometeor storms. It was most commonly found near the poles, although they didn't know it naturally occurred in the ground since the distance from the auroras makes even small crystals take decades to grow. Larger and more varied kinds of crystal are incredibly rare on planetary bodies.
The discovery that crystals could be used for energy storage and flight triggered a rush of expeditions to the poles on many worlds. Minor artifacts which used aurorite for lighting or simply for its aesthetic value were salvaged for far more valuable uses. The discovery of astrallite, however, which is easily cultivated and grows miraculously quickly relegated aurorite to a curiosity of the past.

Faulty batch

A crystal farm in orbit of Jupiter started running into problems with its crystals. Some of its astrallite was discoloured and had very poor efficiency despite it appearing to be normal crystals. One of the crystal experts they consulted, Secunda Primavera recognized the hue as similar to that of aurorite. Examination of the orbital path of the farm revealed that the "bad" batches of astrallite were grown during periods of strong aurora activity when the farm's trajectory took it close the poles. The revelation that aurorite, too, could be grown renewed interest in the crystal.
In many ways, the rediscovery of aurorite directly advanced the state of the art of crystal growing. It had been observed that the growth rate of astrallite varied, with higher orbits seeming to produce better quality astrallite and the Inner World showing much faster growth than Jupiter or Saturn. Aurorite made it easy to figure out why astrallite displayed those properties and devise a cohesive theory of crystallography.

Aurorite resurgence

At first, aurorite farms were small scale and of niche interest only. It was thought that aurorite was serviceable as a crystal on planetoids but poor once it was taken into orbit. Detailed measurements, however, proved that aurorite was more efficient than similar astrallite on any planetoid with a magnetic field, and the revival of aurorite finally took off in full. Today, aurorite is grown on Jupiter, and Saturn, and widely used across the Sol system.
Aurorite is particularly popular on Jupiter. From the Jovian point of view, Venusian astrallite is difficult to compete with and the economics of the situation prevented self-sufficiency. Not only is aurorite much easier to grow on Jupiter, it is also more effective on Jupiter and its moons. Terrestrial electronics are thus mostly made from aurorite, with personal electronics likelier to instead use astrallite so that they can remain fully functional during a quick interlunar hop. For similar reasons, aurorite can be commonly found on Mercury as well, although planet-side production on Mercury has ceased since the Scorching of Mercury.

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See Also

Crystal Technology
Spacecraft Kallisti Aerospace ( Sunderer SF-1 · Sunbreaker SF-2 ) · Jupiter Stella ( Aerie O-1 · Cyklopes SSF-9 ) · Heretic GA-7 · Dragonfly Carrier · Airdocks Telepresence Interlace ( Super Wide Access Network ) · Remote Personality Cache/Display Other Bosonic Clock · Gateway Portals · Gravity Plates · Personal Computer Materials Astrallite · Aurorite · Oortite

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Color

Clear, purple, blue or green

Related Locations

• Saturn
• Jupiter

Related Technologies

• Crystal Technology