As time passed, new data began to cast doubt on that theory. If «Ultrax» truly attempted to form unstable bonds only to collapse afterward, then there should at least have been transient traces of that process. The detections of those tiny fluctuations did not provide a complete picture of the intermittent behavior that followed the apparent cumulative limit.
There should have been intermediate variations in the spectrum, small energy spikes associated with the rupture of those pseudomolecules, or some kind of step-like pattern in the way the signal appeared and disappeared. But the truth was that there was nothing of the sort.
If those tiny intervals of intermittence did not belong to any concrete attempt to form complex structures, then no visible transitional states existed, nor any partial configurations suggesting the formation of larger ones. Either «Ultrax» manifested fully, or it did not manifest at all.
A new hypothesis emerged from those corrections, one built upon a far more radical premise. «Ultrax» was not an element floating freely somewhere in the universe, waiting to be mined. Rather, it was a special state of the quantum vacuum itself, a mode of energy that could only be activated under extremely precise conditions.
Under that theory, the so-called «Ultrax» particles were not independent entities, but local manifestations of an extended field, a pattern of coherence that already existed everywhere and remained present at all times.
The special cells of bone marrow, and to a lesser degree certain kinds of living tissue, did not contain «Ultrax». In reality, they functioned as biological catalysts capable of forcing the vacuum to adopt that variable state when subjected to intense vibrations, brought about by the extreme acceleration and subsequent collision inside the machine.
The affinity Rilley had observed among different samples did not depend on the amount of «Ultrax» present in the body, because there was no trace of such a thing. Rather, it depended on whether the genetic structure, cellular composition, and biological state of the sample were capable of tuning themselves to that pattern of coherence. Seen in that light, one could begin to imagine that all living beings might be compatible with this special field, but only some were truly attuned to it. That would explain the different levels of intensity observed during the trials.
Then perhaps there was something extraordinary in each and every living being in this world, something that allowed them to act as a biological key capable of forcing the vacuum to temporarily adopt a very specific state. Little by little, Rilley began to consider that perhaps «Ultrax» did not truly want to condense, because in its deepest nature it had never been meant to exist as tangible matter.
Within that framework, the inability to extract «Ultrax» and bring it into macroscopic form found a simpler explanation, and at the same time a more unsettling one. «Ultrax» could not be stored as matter. It could only be invoked as a state.
Any attempt to confine or concentrate it shattered the coherence of the field and caused it to collapse immediately, making it vanish as though it had never existed. The world was not filled with hidden deposits of «Ultrax» waiting to be exploited. Rather, the entire universe was the deposit. All that was missing was the proper key to unlock it.
Without fully grasping the complexity of what he had done, Rilley had managed to find that key.
The thought overwhelmed him and made him feel insignificant. What did that strange existence want from him? Why had he been allowed to uncover this secret?
The idea that «Ultrax» might be a variable state of the vacuum seemed to fit the results almost too well. It explained its absence in macroscopic form and its dependence on extreme conditions. But it also suggested something more troubling: the impossibility of storing it as ordinary matter.
Immersed in more experiments and constant testing, he began conducting long-term monitoring of the samples with the highest affinity, separating his freshly extracted samples, his cultivated ones, and those obtained from other paid donors.
In theory, once the accelerator experiment ended, «Ultrax» should have collapsed completely and the system should have returned to its normal configuration, with no memory of what had taken place. But in practice, things were different. Over time, several samples developed small yet measurable anomalies: persistent variations in certain cellular markers, subtle changes in tissue regeneration patterns, even alterations in immune response that could not be attributed to any other known factor.
More unsettling still was the behavior of the «Ultrax» signal itself. In theory, if the vacuum was the true protagonist, then its manifestation should have depended solely on the physical conditions of the experiment, not on the sample.
And yet, Rilley discovered that once a high-affinity cell had been exposed, the «Ultrax» signature associated with the remaining cells became easier to reproduce, even when using derived cultures or tissues under different conditions. It was as though something within the intimate structure of those cells had learned how to tune itself to the «Ultrax» pattern. In theory, the vacuum should not have remembered anything, yet the samples suggested otherwise.
In later experiments, when he placed extremely sensitive detectors near those cells with the highest affinity, Rilley recorded faint pulses at the same characteristic frequency as «Ultrax», synchronized with unique and unrepeatable patterns among samples from different sources. They were not full manifestations like the ones produced by collisions, but neither could they be dismissed as simple noise. If «Ultrax» existed only as a forced state of the vacuum, then the greatest question was why that faint resonance remained anchored to specific groups of cells.
Little by little, the conclusion became unavoidable. The vacuum alone was not enough to explain the phenomenon. Everything seemed more complex than that. Rilley had the vague feeling that something was missing, that he was leaving out some detail of real importance. There seemed to be something else, hidden in the relationship between the universe's quantum state and the information contained within life itself.
That was when a new theory formed in Rilley's mind, born from an uncomfortable idea he had unconsciously resisted for some time.
Perhaps «Ultrax» did not belong strictly to the domain of matter or of the vacuum, but to the intermediate space where both met living information. Life itself seemed to be the link between them. Instead of thinking of «Ultrax» as an external resource that could be extracted from the universe, or as a special state or field of the vacuum, it could be observed from a different perspective.
It was everything and nothing at the same time. If one became aware of it, one could observe it and witness its impact after manifestation. But if one ignored it completely, it would continue not to appear for a very long time, and one could go on with life without ever becoming involved.
It was something utterly strange, something that could only fully manifest when it came into contact with certain forms of biological organization.
In this new hypothesis, the vacuum remained the great reserve vault where «Ultrax» lay latent, but the key to its appearance was not found in the physical conditions of each collision. Rather, it lay in the way genetic information, cellular structure, and the quantum state of living matter were able to impose order upon that chaotic background.
Based on that idea, the special cells found in bone marrow were not merely biological catalysts. They were, in fact, molds of information that forced the vacuum to adopt, for an undefined instant, a highly specific coherent configuration.
The general compatibility of all living beings with «Ultrax» could be explained by the simple fact that they shared a common foundation: cellular structures, biochemical processes, strands of DNA or their equivalents. Affinity, however, was something different. It was what allowed certain cells to generate more stable signals, longer combustions, or even minimal spontaneous impulses of «Ultrax».
That phenomenon seemed to depend on something subtler: unique patterns of organization and slight differences in the way information was distributed and intertwined at the quantum level. In other words, not all bodies were equally suited to serve as anchors for that strange field.
Under this new theory, one governed by unknown principles, «Ultrax» was no longer an element that could be mined, nor a simple variable state of the vacuum that could be activated on demand. It was a symbiotic field that emerged when life reached a certain degree of complexity and resonated with the vacuum in the proper way. The accelerator, with each collision, did not create «Ultrax». It merely forced a violent and momentary connection between both extremes: the improbable order of biology and the ocean of latent energy in the universe.
Though the theory was compelling, it was still not something he could affirm with complete certainty, especially since far more study would be required. At the very least, the idea fit almost perfectly with the theoretical calculations he had taken from the beginning to the end of each observation of «Ultrax» behavior.
Under that hypothesis, Rilley knew he had to redirect his research. Every calculation and theory pointed to the same conclusion: any attempt to use «Ultrax» in its purest state was doomed to fail. There was no reason even to try. He would only waste valuable resources.
If current technology made it impossible to obtain «Ultrax» for practical use, then he would stop trying to acquire it and instead turn his attention toward investigating ways to store or contain the irradiated energy released during its manifestation.
In essence, he would create batteries capable of storing the energy residues emitted after «Ultrax» appeared.
After several months of research, supported by experts that included both his father and his mother, Rilley finally managed to synthesize a kind of special cell based on the behavioral principles of radiation-absorbing cells. It was a project his parents had once worked on for the purpose of minimizing radioactive disasters in nuclear power plants.
Essentially, they were tiny microcapsules that attracted residual radiation from the surrounding environment. These capsules contained radioactive particles until they reached a saturation limit. Upon reaching that point, they combined and crystallized, taking the form of quartz-like structures. These crystals were completely safe, allowing direct handling even without special radiation-protection equipment.
They were entirely safe materials that could be stored without special precautions, and depending on the radioactive material involved, they could even be recovered for later reuse. Needless to say, when that project reached its research phase and was later presented, it was a resounding success, one that further strengthened the industrial conglomerate of his parents. It became a star product, distributed widely around the world, and one that was extremely difficult to replicate unless one possessed the precise formulas and calculations behind it.
Because this was a modification of a project his parents had previously developed, the first reproductions of that synthetic cell were far from perfect. Even so, they laid the groundwork for the first routine experiments, which granted a relative margin of control over a minimal portion of the energetic base.
These artificial cells were capable of containing a small percentage of the irradiated energy released during the manifestation of «Ultrax». Thanks to that, Rilley was able to understand much more about the strange behavior of «Ultrax».
With more experiments on the table, sleepless nights, intense stress, and several pots of coffee, the synthetic cell evolved from containing only a minute fraction of the element's radiation to actively absorbing partial properties of «Ultrax». Without a doubt, it was the unveiling of a major technological achievement, the kind that belonged to the dawn of a new era.
With later advances and refinements, the crystallization of these synthetic cells was defined by Rilley as a «pseudoelement», whose properties centered on absorbing residual traces from other radioactive elements.
With the technology nearly perfected, Rilley decided to name these synthetic cells «Mirage».
With the crystallization of «Mirage», it became possible to create materials such as high-density stones or crystals. These materials were named by Rilley «Mirage Ultrax». They were crystals and stones that shimmered across various spectra of light, both visible and invisible.
And so, from a technical point of view, the crystallized product of «Mirage» came to be defined as an artificial entity with no atomic number of its own, yet one which, upon becoming saturated with «Ultrax», acquired the ability to form stable and reproducible structures similar to those of a classical element.
The research finally concluded with the creation of a large quantity of «Mirage Ultrax», which could then be used in later projects involving energy generation and radiation sources.
After multiple experiments with «Mirage Ultrax», it was demonstrated that, under certain conditions, it could be transformed into a source of clean energy and also into a controllable source of high-frequency radiation, capable of generating enough radiation to serve as the perfect genetic catalyst that Rilley had been searching for all along.