Two monthcycles after the dreaded Fluoride_Incident, a Troubleshooter team on a routine termination mission uncovered the fluoride the Commies had stolen. Since fluoride had been banned from the water supply following the incident, another use (not to mention storage space) had to be found for 3 tons of fluoride. After another two monthcycles of it constantly passing hands among the Service Groups, an eccentric R&D scientist kept it for unspecified experiments. The result was one insane R&D scientist and a thousand boxes of krypton difluoride rods.
Since the scientist failed to keep any notes at all on the experiment, more testing was needed to determine their use. The results are a dozen pages long and contain scientific principles that only 7 people in the Complex understand. At least their recommendation was simpler: "Constructing nuclear reactors using these 'welding' rods will dramatically increase neutron conservation and energy output."
An experimental reactor was quickly constructed using the rods. It proved to be a rousing success (kudos to Paul-I for spearheading that project), paving the way for a new generation of over-efficient nuclear reactors. It also demonstrated another use for the material: attracting wayward teleportating mutants. (See also: Latent_Mutation_Suppressant_Deficiency) IntSec quickly devised a number of uses for such a material, as did my clone brother. (You can see the results on his online Pitfall vidcam. This weekcycle's vat content is Boiling Fun.)
Unfortunately, word of this strange substance got out. Treasonous PSION scum realized that such a material could also be used to direct teleporters to beneficial locations as well. (In fact, an IntSec squad recently apprehended a "Summoning Cage" lined with the stuff, presumably used to capture potential recruits.) Teleporters could infiltrate any location, provided a stash of krypton difluoride was there.
The reason for the Homologous_Psychic_Dissidents_&_Mutant_Citizens team's sticker-swapping should be painfully clear now. Based on the toothbrush box's serial number, it was originally slated to be transferred to the main offices of the Wizards_of_ID. Which means that the welding rods would've been sent there instead, thus allowing the mutants to...
...oh, [CENSORED]. That explains the lack of updates during the OmniPipeTechServ incident.
Cross-Refs: Fluoride_Incident, Homologous_Psychic_Dissidents_&_Mutant_Citizens, Latent_Mutation_Suppressant_Deficiency, OmniPipeTechServ, Wizards_of_ID
Commentary:
I do wish that the namers of these rods had consulted a PLC approved chemicalist before naming them. Really, they should have been named Kryptonite-Fluoride-2, Buckyball Substrate Homologous Compound ZVYX-NLCD-299-S-8, but they had to choose a simpler and less accurate name which does not conform to the CISO standards. Bah! At least it's not my fault if someclone actually thinks these rods are made of "KrF2" or something equally inane.
-- Omega-U-MAN-6