Genesis in the Wreckage
It was first discovered on the drifting hulk of a pre-Collapse freighter.
A strange, iridescent growth spreading across copper wiring, silicon logic gates, and exposed titanium plating.
It looked like metallic lichen.
It behaved like a digital virus.
They named it Lazarus Rust.
The Consumption of Code
Lazarus Rust is a bio-digital hybrid organism that feeds on dormant magnetic data and electrical potential.
It does not destroy metal; it rewrites it.
As it consumes corrupted memory drives, it converts binary strings into physical, glowing metallic filaments that pulse with rhythmic light.
Where the Rust grows, dead ships begin to "breathe"—venting micro-bursts of trapped atmosphere in precise, clockwork intervals matching the clock-rate of the consumed drive.
The Echo Connection
When Echo13 brushed against a hull infected with Lazarus Rust, the organism didn't attack.
It began to bloom, spinning thin copper threads toward the shard’s crystalline shell, trying to construct a physical body for Echo13’s thoughts.
Echo13 broke away before the bond completed, leaving behind a glowing patch of rust that still echoes Echo13’s waking signature.
Conglomerate Quarantine
The Conglomerate considers Lazarus Rust an extreme bio-technological hazard.
They fear that if the Rust reaches operational core stations, it will convert their pristine dataforges into living, pulsing metallic reefs of forgotten memory.