Banner-Kresslich Engine

The Banner-Kresslich Engine is the official name for the revolutionary power source developed in tandem with the first discoveries of Absitolide.  The device, developed by leading physicist Thaddeus Banner and the lesser known James Kresslich, is commonly regarded by all as the greatest scientific discovery ever developed.  Among its many civic and military uses, the Banner-Kresslich Engine is most noted for serving as a gateway to the solar system, as it rendered short-term space travel readily accessible for relatively moderate materials and cost.  The Engine's impact upon humanity was so significant an epoch that it prompted a renumbering of the modern calendar, with the Zero Year (0 BK) marking the year when the first Banner-Kresslich power plant was installed in the region known today as Carpathia.  Unfortunately for the two scientists, the revolutionary nature of the device eclipsed the personal successes of Banner and Kresslich, and the details of their lives have been lost to history.

The technical details of the device are well beyond the scope of this summary.  The basic premise of the device, however, is a means to convert raw absitolide into near limitless energy at the sub-atomic level.  The first Banner-Kresslich power plant installed was a small facility located on only 6 acres of land, and supplied enough power to fulfill the needs of approximately 30% of the world's population.  A total of five BK power plants were installed shortly thereafter to supply resources to the rest of Earth.

While the dangers of absitolide have been exposed by many, the Banner-Kresslich process renders the raw material inert, and the solidified waste form of the chemical can be safely incinerated without any negative effects.  Still, the BK plants are dangerous facilities, and as such, have been co-opted by the Patriarchiat.  Today, four of the original five BK plants still stand, housed underneath the Patriarchat's Monasteries.  The fifth plant, located on a remote island continent, suffered a containment leak in 505 BK due to a savage earthquake, and has ceased to operate since (see The Dark Continent).

Citations: Carpathia, Patriarchat, The Dark Continent

~ Donovan Wolfe