MÖRKTOBER 4 - MARROW
IN WAY OF EXPLANATION - In this series of MÖRKTOBER posts I’m indulging in world building revolving around my home-brewed CY_BORG setting, MALTA 213X. This one’s been tricky until I clicked on an idea, but isn’t that always the case?
The world of 213X is, of course, full of drugs. We all know about the Red Juice, Pink Ooze, Chalk, and Miura, but new and exciting stimulants hit the open market on an almost daily basis. One of these is Marrow, a gray goop typically sold in a handy applicator - thus the name, although some insist it’s the actual marrow extracted from the bones of some mutant or another - that originated as a humble heal-all cream. Marrow is the concentrated extract of the cream’s active component, enhanced to supposedly make all kinds of hurt get better.
In practice, Marrow is indeed a miraculous healing potion, one to apply carefully on injured areas of the body. Make sure to avoid any cyberware as it does not play nice with electrics! Use of Marrow comes with a risk - the more Marrow you use, the higher your chances of contracting Stone Skin Disease. As the name implies this indeed turns the skin into a non-pliable gray substance that’s much akin to stone. However this is in no way as tough, since afflicted areas break easily on physically contact. Stone Skin Disease can, and eventually will, extend to cover the entire body, and with no cure available as yet there have been cases of people turning into unmoving stone statues that remain fully conscious until they are on the receiving end of the sweet relief of death.