An Alchemist or A.L.C.H.E.M. (Atomizing Lead-based Customizable Harmonization and Exchange Machine) Unit is designed to transmute matter on an elemental level, generally for the purpose of creating more desirable compounds and substances from otherwise useless material. The invent of Alchemists in pre-End society proved to be an unprecedented revolution in technology, contributing exponential advances in fields such as manufacturing and science, but also providing an invaluable tool in humanitarian efforts that allowed for a virtually infinite perpetuation of protein-rich edibles.
Prior to The End, Alchemists were a relatively advanced and expensive industrial technology, although business were hoping to manufacture smaller and affordable “Home” units by the end of the century. Still, most major cities and domes were equipped with at least one, if not several, public A.L.C.H.E.M. Units (depending on population), with regulated priority given to the homeless, and allowance of “special request” substances for purposes of scientific research.
In the world following the Great Fire, the full-scale destruction of power systems rendered most Alchemists completely unusable, save for the systems specially designed for emergency use. Unfortunately, most such remaining units function off of solar or wind technology, and thus require vast amounts of time between uses to store up the necessary amounts of energy to transmogrify matter on an atomic level. Still, it is said that a handful of A.L.C.H.E.M. Units manage to function at full energy capacity due to a union of pre-End technological accomplishments, namely, the advancement in magma-powered technology (See “United Magmaworks”). Self-proclaimed ruler of the Inland Empire (See “Inland Empire”), Emperor Irion, is currently in possession of two such A.L.C.H.E.M. Units in Los Angeles, each of which functions independently and entirely on excavated magma stores, deep underground.
Just as in Pre-End society, the Emperor allows for regulated daily public use of the Alchemists, without which it is believed the Empire would collapse under “nightmarish mass starvation,” despite Irion’s claims that, “The Kingdom of the West is as bountiful and prosperous as ever.”
