PA-81b

The **PA-81b** serum is an injectable solution developed by Dr. Alexander Petrov at the Dark Sword Research Group (DSRG) in the Soviet Union. The inorganic compound is made of extremely potent amounts of Epochium dust in order to stimulate an extreme transformation when a human being is sent through a time warp. The resulting human who exits the rift will be a much stronger Minuteman soldier.

## History

### Early Development

In the early research phases during the Cold War, Dr. Petrov and Jozef Kharov who both worked as researchers for the DSRG were tasked with figuring out a way to protect Soviet troops against the effects of Temporal Paralysis (TP) when sent through the rift. This was so troops could safely be deployed anywhere in the world as a surprise attack against any nation. Kharov's approach involved creating a suit for each soldier that would shield them during the warp. This approach was expensive and not sustainable, so Dr. Petrov followed a different approach to solving the problem.

Dr. Petrov suggested that injecting miniscule amounts of Epochium dust into the bloodstream prior to warp could allow for the human body to protect itself inside the rift, rather than relying on an expensive suit that used a much greater amount of the rare material. His initial tests were unsuccessful and often resulted in even more serious side effects of TP.

It was around this time where his competitor Kharov was approaching a successful implementation of his Warp Suit. Dr. Petrov began feeling strong emotions of resentment towards the younger researcher who was about to beat him in the developmental race and fell into a rhythm of madness.

### Second Phase

When Kharov moved his team to the Dominion of Muri to complete his research, Dr. Petrov also left the Maxim Radar Station in the USSR to find a more suitable location to work on his new serum. Petrov purchased a series of abandoned Soviet oil rigs in the arctic circle where he developed his first version of the injectable solution. He learned that once a human returned from the rift with the more potent serum, they would become far more aggressive and volatile compared to before. Dr. Petrov saw a new future with this technology where he could unleash these wild beasts into the capitals of his enemies and watch them tear the city down from the inside. This was another reason for purchasing the oil rigs, as any Minutemen who attempted to short-warp away would drown in the violent ocean surrounding the platform. During this time, Dr. Petrov also began drafting plans for his mass warping device called The Grail.

It was around December 1981 when the PA-81b solution was completed, and Dr. Petrov took his work to a town in Argentina where he would showcase it to top USSR officers.

## Medical Effects

Once injected, the PA-81b serum releases a large number of Epochium particles into the bloodstream, which then bond with red blood cells and begin to flow to all parts of the body in minutes. The solution contains a concentration of 440 ppm of Epochium, which is potent enough to kill an adult male in under ten minutes. As such, the injection must occur right before warping otherwise the subject will return from the rift deceased.

When rifting, subjects undergo intense physical changes that causes their skin to burn and harden, their muscles to strengthen, and their skeletal figure to metamorph. Usually subjects return from the rift completely brain-dead and take on extremely primitive tendencies by attacking anything nearby them. Three out of every ten subjects to warp with the solution return deceased, making the efficacy of the drug 70% effective.