ZD-44 Zardax Organic Revolver Kit
The ZD-44, also known as the Zardax Organic, is a unique sidearm created through the merging of disparate Evermornan technologies - specifically artifical exografts and home auto-fabricators. A comparatively uncommon firearm, the Zardax is a revolver shoots the seeds of the acorn-like zardax plant native to Evermorn rather than a traditional metal slug or, as is more common in modern Evermornan arms, a bolt of laser energy. The Zardax Organic is constructed almost entirely out of organic materials molded and assembled by the end-user via a mold and seed kit sold by Gordon Lake Biotech.
Mechanics & Inner Workings
The .44 Zardax Rocket Seed round is a rocket-propelled round with a comparatively low final velocity. Using rocket-propelled ammunition simplifies the mechanics of the weapon that fires it and eliminates the need to clear a cylinder of casings once the round is fired, but it also imposes a minimum effective range on the weapon and causes wear on the Zardax Organic such that the frame and cylinder must eventually be recast (see Manufacturing Process). The comparatively soft, non-metallic composition of the round allows it to deform on impact, giving it a lot of stopping power against organic targets - such as unarmored humans and some small game - but it also makes it unable to penetrate much in the way of armor or even especially thick clothing. This is not entirely a drawback, however, as the Rocket Seed can be fired in the confines of a pressure vessel, as one might find aboard a spacecraft, without much concern that it will puncture the hull. Fired rounds will also decompose over time, making them less of a concern in terms of pollutant accumulation.
Manufacturing process
The ZD-44 Zardox Organic Revolver Kit includes a special mold, seed materials for the two exografts involved, nutrient packs to help the seeds grow, and a breadbox-sized exograft habitat to hold the mold and grow the seeds. The user supplies water and additional fertilizers as required for ongoing use of the weapon. All exografts are reuseable and have long lifespans, but will not do well in the wild due to their artificial, recombinant nature.
The first exograft is a succulent that produces a thick, strong resin that hardens on exposure to air, with heat accelerating this hardening process. The exograft has been genetically engineered to incorporate insect silk proteins into this resin so that it actually becomes a sturdy composite when fully set. This plant is slit and inserted into a receptacle on the mold, which gradually fills with the resin to form the parts of the revolver itself. The plant may be allowed to heal up once its job is done, but can always be slit again to produce a replacement frame; being non-metallic, the durability of the Zardax Organic's frame is finite, and it is intended that the weapon will be regrown after around 36 shots rather than cleaned.
The second exograft is a set of fruiting bodies from the zardax plant. These fruits are comprised of an acorn-like seed that is hollow at its widest section and capped with a hardened reservoir of special secretory cells. As the fruits mature, the cells fill the hollow in the back of the seed with a pyrophoric compound, effectively creating a natural rocket-propelled projectile. In its original state, this arrangement allows the zardax plant to spread its seeds far from the parent by launching them away when the fruits mature, but the exografts in the kit lack a certain enzyme that allows the seeds to become sensitive enough to launched based on wind alone - a more vigorous stimulus, in the form of a firing pin, is required to ignite the chemicals within.
When manufacturing a Zardax Organic for the first time or to create more ammunition, the fruiting bodies of the zardax plant exograft are inserted into the hollows of the molded rotary cylinder so that, as they grow, they take the shape of the cylinder and make a tight seal. The kit molds three cylinders, which are detatchable from the gun for reloading purposes, and includes enough fruiting bodies for a set of three cylinders (18 rounds over 3 reloads). Once detatched from the host exografts, the fruiting bodies dry out but remain viable for several weeks. New seeds start growing just in time to replace expired ones. The cylinders are large enough to use manufactured .44 caliber rocket rounds, but this obviates the point of a renewable weapon like the Zardax Organic.
Significance
The Cobalt Protectorate enshrines the natural right of every individual to self defense. The democratization of force is such that most citizens learn about firearms in late high school and, inevitably, some of these citizens - especially spacers with some nexus to the closed ecology life support system, such as the children of hydroponics farmers - will also develop an interest in exobiology. The convergence of interest in firearms, plants, and craft hobbies generates the majority of the Zardax Organic's market niche. Otherwise, most Evermornans look at the ZD-44 as a novelty.
While the ZD-44 uses essentially no metals, it is not accurate to call it a 'ghost gun.' The revolver features built-in physical rights management by dint of the fact that, while it is constructed primarily of exograft materials, these exografts are all slightly genetically distinct from one another and can, therefore, be traced back to their purchasers. As far as detection goes, the beefy, simplistic design imposed by the materials used in its construction insure that the weapon is less than concealable and will appear in scanning equipment displays, particularly those operating in the tetrahertz range. The seals on ZD-44 rounds are not perfect, either, so some organic volatiles will bleed out over time and can be detected by chemical sniffers. Some enterprising criminals still prefer the Zardax Organic, however, because it can be fully burned in a waste digester as a means of disposing of evidence.
Item type
Weapon, Ranged
Manufacturer
Rarity
The Zardax Organic is relatively uncommon, being mostly a project weapon for firearms enthusiasts who happen to also have a green thumb or a novelty for spacers with access to the right exografts.
Comments