Cardamine Origin and Effects

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Cardamine grass field on one of Malta's many plantations.

When the Sirius sector was created by the Daam K'Vosh as a "school" for the Nomads, they developed the orange cardamine grasses on Planet Malta and left them there for the Nomads to discover years later. Cardamine was developed to improve the health of the Nomads, but when ingested by humans, it led to narcotic dependence. When the Outcasts arrived in Sirius, they settled on Planet Malta and realized that cardamine could be used as a drug. However, when they left the planet for exploration, many pilots became ill, but miraculously recovered when they returned to Malta. Scientists studied the pilots' blood and noticed that the cardamine had altered their DNA. The DNA of the addicted pilots matched the DNA of the cardamine grasses, which led to dependence on the drug. The Outcasts needed it like they needed air or food to survive. Without it, they experienced harsh withdrawal symptoms. Trace amounts of cardamine were found in the water they drank, the air they breathed, and the food they ate. Since the human body didn't develop a tolerance to the drug, the Outcasts had to create breathing masks to supply the body with a constant supply of cardamine. Otherwise, their bodies go into shock, followed by death. The drug is also affecting fertility, and pregnancies are rare and celebrated events in the Outcast society. However, cardamine has provided some benefits for the Outcasts, for example, it increases their average lifespan to 165 years (some Outcasts allegedly even reached ages of far over 200) - something impossible to achieve for the unmodified human body.

Typically, long term cardamine withdraw on fully addicted individuals results in shock and coma followed by death. Most scientific attempts to repair the DNA of addicted individuals or curb the dependence on the drug have proven impossible or impractical. A few individuals have, however, been successfully removed of their cardamine dependence, but not without calamitous side effects. The changes to the DNA typically result in, among other things, brain damage and insanity of the host. This has proven disastrous in already unstable individuals, citing the notorious examples of Mon'Star and Ame-no-Uzume.

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