Heartmetal
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"What use is heartmetal to you? But then, what use is a Long-Box? (Perhaps you imagine the whisper at shoulder - 'What use, indeed, is a heart?'. When you turn, there's only the ragged flirting of the wind.)"[1]
Heartmetal is a curious substance, icy to the touch,[2] that builds up inside the body. It is considered dubiously legal to trade or possess, assuming the law even acknowledges it exists at all.[1] Its durability means it has a variety of practical applications,[3] but the means of producing this substance are kept strictly secret, for very good reason.[4]
Heartmetal production is primarily managed by a company called Soothe and Cooper,[5] named after its founders who have a workshop of their own at Station III.[6]
Heartmetal Extraction
"On first sight, it looks like a tomb-colonist coffin. On closer examination, it carries stencilling reading SOOTHE & COOPER and a handwritten tag: 'DELIVERY TO DEPOT (A), STATION III'."[5] "Excellent, I'm going to need a scalpel and pliers."[7]
To produce heartmetal, Station III primarily relies on a steady supply of corpses stuffed inside Soothe & Cooper Long-Boxes,[5] which have been delivered to the Station for generations. These specialized coffins are brought in mainly from the Surface,[8] though they can also be found at other locations across the Unterzee, such as the Shepherd Isles,[9] Venderbight,[10] or certain shops in Khan's Heart.[11]
The corpses inside Soothe and Cooper Long-Boxes are permanently dead,[12] and are processed by the workers of Station III, known as acolytes.[13] These mysterious morticians use scalpels to carefully dissect the bodies they receive and extract the metallic deposits within. The metal spheres are layered like gobstoppers, so the acolytes crack them open to obtain their valuable, heavy cores which resemble black pellets. These pellets are then placed in jars marked with the Correspondence,[14] with the useful ones marked for export.[15]
The Echo Bazaar has a hand in the business of Station III,[16] but it also seems to have a heartmetal operation of its own, independent from the island. Many Soothe and Cooper Long-Boxes can be found deep within the Bazaar's bowels.[17]
Secrets and Tonic
"SUFFERING HEART-ACHE? A SOOTHE & COOPER tonic for the dysphoric, despondent and depressed! Equally good for catarrh. CONVENIENT, SCIENTIFIC, INFALLIBLE!"[18]
All of the deceased brought to Station III habitually took Soothe and Cooper's Heartsease Tonic during their lives. This medicine is advertised as a cure for sadness,[18] and for keeping secrets unspoken.[4] It is a strange liquid with a silvery color, and when spilled, it hardens like ice into a cold,[2] brittle, and very sharp substance.[19] This tonic is manufactured by Soothe in his workshop, where he melts leftover heartmetal shavings in a cauldron for later bottling.[6] Soothe and Cooper's Heartease Tonic is usually consumed with wine or laudanum, but can be directly imbibed as well. Once in the body, it produces a chemical reaction with the drinker's soul, covering the source of a person's woes and slowly hardening and accumulating over time. This process creates metallic spheres that may form anywhere within the body,[4][20][21] though the most common place of the metal's accumulation is right over the heart, giving the substance its name.[14] Unfortunately, consumers of Heartease Tonic often grow dependent on it, allowing the metal deposits to grow and grow until they risk damaging internal organs.[4][14] Rubbery Men can fall under the effects of Heartease Tonic, though unlike humans, their secrets manifest in the form of black amber within their bodies.[22]
The specific location of heartmetal buildup can vary depending on the nature of a person's secret. For example, if a person listens to secrets regularly and does not speak them, the deposits may accumulate in their ears and tongue,[23] while if an academic keeps a discovery hidden, the deposit may develop within their brain.[20] The black pellets found within the cores of heartmetal deposits contain the tonic-imbiber's deepest secrets, and this pellet may vary dramatically in size depending on the intensity of the secrets.[24] Exposure to said pellet can make a person relive the memories and feelings associated with that secret, which can be extremely disorienting,[21] so the acolytes of Station III consider it of utmost importance to sing while they perform their duties; not doing so can result in a free reservation at the Royal Bethlehem Hotel.[25]
