Things in the Earth multiverse - N

Nernal: Invented in 25,700SA in the Federation of Universes, the personal computer / transmuter unit represented the apex of mankind's technological development, and was also considered the cause of his decline. Consisting of a very powerful computer unit paired with a miniature Vacuum Energy power source, these machines possessed the ability to create matter from energy (and vice versa). With the plans, formulae, and instructions of virtually every item of interuniversal technology stored in its memory, and access to limitless energy, the PCT could supply its owner with virtually any material item he or she desired.

There were limits, of course. Certain items of extreme military or commercial value were excluded from the memories of most commonly available units. Examples of these were the instructions to create more "nernal" (as they came to be commonly called - after the words "paternal" and "maternal") units, and the ability to create intercosmic blink units. In addition, there was a practical limit on the size or mass of an object which a PCT could create, usually about 500 tonnes.

When they first became generally available, personal computer / transmuters were extremely expensive, however, over time prices dropped to the point where most of the interuniversal population had access to at least one. The effects on society were enormous. With a source for virtually all material possessions (even including food) at hand, most of the population turned to leisure pursuits. Most industries were made obsolete by the nernal, and what remained were taken over by dedicated robots or androids. Science and research declined to the point where new innovations ceased to be made. Meanwhile, knowledge was being lost through natural events, war, and ignorance. Being the fruits of mankind's pinnacle of technology, the PCT did not wear out quickly, but when they finally started to do so, the technology to replace them had been lost. For a society based on the PCT, this was fatal. The decline of mankind took many millenia, but it was inevitable. The population had lost the knowledge to work, for the most part, many of them being "wired". They lived out their very long lives in near ignorance of the decline all around them.

Such was the legacy of the personal computer / transmuter.

Note that larger, "industrial" type units were also made, intended specifically for the manufacture of large vessels and buildings, other nernal units, and stratiegically important machinery. Such devices are extremely rare.

In addition, certain "dedicated" nernals were made, usually to create and maintain buildings and such, made of "artificial" molecules. These units have limited uses outside of what they were intended to do. They were usually very well protected within the building they created.

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