Quantum Refractors

> "Refractors: a powerful source of energy found in ruins. Smaller refractors are used as currency, while larger ones are used to power machines and provide heat and light."
>
> —Barrell Caskett, from the Diggers Manual in Barrell's room in Mega Man Legends 2

**Quantum Refractors**, commonly called just **Refractors**, and also known as **Deflectors** (ディフレクター *Difurekutā*) in Japan, are the main energy source in the *Mega Man Legends* series. Quantum Refractors are large crystals capable of generating enough energy to power **Holon Machinery** (ホロン機関 *Horon Kikan*), such as the Flutter and the Gesellschaft., when spun at high speeds. Diggers are constantly in search of these ancient technologies. Quantum Refractors are found deep in the underground ruins, and are often guarded by Reaverbots and different kinds of traps. Small Refractors can be found inside Reaverbots, and are called Refractor Shards.,

## Creation

While the origins of Quantum Refractors are not completely understood or explained throughout the series, there are some instances in spin-off titles that give possibilities for their creation.

A specialized device in one of the ruins in *Rockman DASH: 5tsu no Shima no Daibouken!* can process small Refractors by using extremely high amounts of energy from magma.

It is unknown what the Refractors found in Sub-Gates, the Main Gate, or any of the Underground Ruins are used for. It is possible that they may power the various pieces of the Elder System, which was revealed at the end of Mega Man Legends 2 to have started to reactivate on Terra again.

## Small Refractors/Refractor Shards

**Small Refractors**, also known as **Refractor Shards**, instead of being used as a power source, are usually referred to by the name Zenny—the world's currency. They are most frequently found in treasure chests that are scattered throughout the Underground Ruins and when Reaverbots are destroyed, they will leave behind these Refractor Shards. They vary in worth depending on both the size and color of the shards.

They appear in four sizes in the first *Mega Man Legends* game—A small gray Refractor Shard that is worth 50 Zenny, a medium green Refractor Shard that is worth 100 Zenny, a medium purple Refractor Shard that is worth 250 Zenny, and a large blue Refractor Shard that is worth 1,000 Zenny.

In *Mega Man Legends 2*, small blue Refractor Shards are incredibly rare, and they are only dropped by one enemy, while dark violet is much more common. The amount that the Refractor Shards are worth depend on the difficulty level. At the easiest difficulty level, there are six Refractor Shard sizes that are worth 40, 200, 400, 1,200, 2,000, and 4,000 zenny each, respectively.

In *The Misadventures of Tron Bonne*, they appear in six colors, worth 100, 200, 500, 1,000, 2,000, and 5,000 Zenny each, respectively. There are also Money Bags that you can find that are worth 2,000 Zenny each.

## Refractors

 File:RainbowRefractor.jpg
Refractors are often found at the very end of Underground Ruins, guarded by Reaverbots, and if not, will sometimes trigger an alarm system or trap upon being taken from their place. Color and size are what usually determines the power of the Refractor. B Class Refractors are often blue, A class Refractors are Yellow, and S Class Refractors (Which are able to power Holon Machinery as large as the Flutter) are Red.

### Proto-Refractor

As the energy produced by a Refractor depends on its size and color, a book in the Kattelox Island library mentions that researchers theorize that a large, multicolored Refractor, known as the **Proto-Refractor** (にじ色のディフレクター *Nijiiro no Difurekutā*, **Rainbow Deflector** in Japan), would be capable of energy production on a large scale. An enormous, multicolored Refractor, similar to the one described in the book, is indeed found near the end of the first *Mega Man Legends* game, powering the Main Gate. It is taken by the Bonne family, which they sold for a large sum of money, which Teisel eventually squandered.

### Super Refractor

One of the rumors about the Mother Lode is that it is a "**Super Refractor**" (超ディフレクター) powerful enough to end all of the world's energy problems. However, it is unknown if one actually exists.

### Aurora Stones

The **Aurora Stones**, known as **Holy Pyroxenes** (聖なる輝石) in Japan, are three Refractors from *The Misadventures of Tron Bonne* found in the Shala-Kun Ruins. They each have a different color and value. The Blue Aurora Stone is worth 50,000 Zenny, the Yellow Aurora Stone is worth 150,000 Zenny, and the Red Aurora Stone 500,000 Zenny.

### Diana's Tear

 File:DianasTear.png  Diana's Tear (ダイアナの涙 *Daiana no Namida*) is a large Refractor from *The Misadventures of Tron Bonne* that is found in the Nakkai Ruins and is worth one million Zenny. Teisel Bonne went to the ruins to obtain it and pay his debt to Lex Loath. However, Glyde captures him at the gate of the ruins before he can find it. Tron Bonne can later obtain this Refractor and sell it.

### Golden Refractor

 File:GoldenRefractor.png
The **Golden Refractor** (黄金のディフレクター) is a legendary Refractor that is eventually used to power the Colossus in *The Misadventures of Tron Bonne*. After the Colossus' defeat, the Servbots are able to obtain it and bring it back to the Gesellschaft. Unfortunately, the favorite Servbot throws it away by accident while cleaning out the Storage Room.

## Other appearances

Refractors appeared in *Namco × Capcom*.

As the Bad Box Art Mega Man is a Digger in *Street Fighter × Tekken*, Refractors have a few mentions in the game. One of his default victory quotes mentions a "Deflector (the Japanese name for Refractor)". In Mega Man's Japanese ending, Roll wonders if the light from Pandora is an alien Refractor, and when Mega Man returns, Roll informs him that she found an ancient ruin that might contain a new Refractor. In the English ending, Roll wonders if Pandora's light is an "alien deflection light beam emitter," and when Mega Man returns, Roll informs him that she found a new potential weapon for him.

## Trivia

* It is rumored that Refractors (or a similar power source) were used in chronologically previous installments of *Mega Man*. In *Mega Man Zero 3*, the battle of Cubit Foxtar took place in a factory's main power plant, which held a crystal that seemed to be similar to the Quantum Refractors found in the Mega Man Legends series.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 *"Machines which use quantum refractors as their power source are referred to as Holon machines. While they are used for many purposes today, their original configuration, purpose, and means of construction remain unknown. Holon machines make use of the energy field generated by refractors when they are rotated at high speeds. The type and size of the energy field generated in this manner varies depending on the size and color of the refractor used. Some researchers have put forth the theory of the existence of a proto-refractor, a multi-faceted prism refractor capable of energy production on a scale beyond that of the largest known refractor..."* - Operating Holon Machinery, *Mega Man Legends*
2. ↑ *"This is the power plant they built back when there were still people living here... There's a refractor inside, naturally...Amazing, isn't it? If it weren't for those refractors, we couldn't even make electricity!"* - Power Plant worker in *Mega Man Legends*
3. ↑ *CAP!* Vol. 5, The Reploid Research Lavatory: Dr. Data’s DASH Dissertation