Editing Heartmetal

{{Spoiler}}<blockquote>''"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.)"''<ref name="exchange long box for heartmetal">{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Inside_the_Little_Gate|Exchange a Long-Box for a Heartmetal Ingot|Sunless Sea}}</ref></blockquote>'''Heartmetal''' is a curious substance, icy to the touch,<ref name="break into warehouse">{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/At_the_top_of_the_stairs|Break into the warehouse and leave the box there|Sunless Sea}}</ref> that builds up inside the body. It is considered dubiously legal to trade or possess, assuming the law even acknowledges it exists at all.<ref name="exchange long box for heartmetal" /> Its durability means it has a variety of practical applications,<ref name="deliveries to the smith 0">{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Errands_for_the_Acolyte|Deliveries to the smith (0)|Sunless Sea}}</ref> but the means of producing this substance are kept strictly secret, for ''very'' good reason.<ref name="ask how the metal balls are formed">{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Questions_for_the_Acolyte|Ask how the metal balls are formed|Sunless Sea}}</ref>

Heartmetal production is primarily managed by a company called '''Soothe and Cooper''',<ref name="long box item description">{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Soothe_%26_Cooper_Long-Box|Item description|Sunless Sea}}</ref> named after its founders who have a workshop of their own at [[Station III]].<ref name="visit to soothe and cooper">{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Errands_for_the_Acolyte|A visit to Soothe & Cooper|Sunless Sea}}</ref>

== Heartmetal Extraction ==
<blockquote>''"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'."''<ref name="long box item description" /> ''"Excellent, I'm going to need a scalpel and pliers."''<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Soothe_%26_Cooper_Long-Box|Soothe & Cooper Long-Box|Fallen London}}</ref></blockquote>[[File:Coffin2.png|alt=A marked coffin.|thumb|A Soothe & Cooper Long-Box.]]To produce heartmetal, [[Station III]] primarily relies on a steady supply of corpses stuffed inside '''Soothe & Cooper Long-Boxes''',<ref name="long box item description" /> which have been delivered to the Station for generations. These specialized coffins are brought in mainly from the [[Surface]],<ref name="ask where corpses come from">{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Questions_for_the_Acolyte|Ask where the corpses come from|Sunless Sea}}</ref> though they can also be found at other locations across the [[Unterzee]], such as the [[Shepherd Isles]],<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Shepherd_Isles|A Retired Monster-Hunter wants something to remember his glory days|Sunless Sea}}</ref> [[Venderbight]],<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Venderbight#Interactions|Explore Venderbight|Sunless Sea}}</ref> or certain shops in [[Khan's Heart]].<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/A_Candle-Lit_Shop#Interactions_2|Purchase a Soothe & Cooper Long-Box|Sunless Sea}}</ref>

The corpses inside Soothe and Cooper Long-Boxes are permanently dead,<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Under_the_Steeple|Story description|Sunless Sea}}</ref> and are processed by the workers of Station III, known as '''acolytes'''.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Inside_the_Little_Gate|Return later|Sunless Sea}}</ref> 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]],<ref name="watch with medical interest">{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Under_the_Steeple|Watch with medical interest|Sunless Sea}}</ref> with the useful ones marked for export.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Observing_the_Latest_Autopsies|The wife|Sunless Sea}}</ref>

The [[Echo Bazaar]] has a hand in the business of [[Station III]],<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Inside_the_Little_Gate|Surrender a Long-Box for payment|Sunless Sea}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Pilfer_a_large,_mysterious_box|Pilfer a large, mysterious box|Fallen London}}</ref>
==Secrets and Tonic==
<blockquote>''"SUFFERING HEART-ACHE? A SOOTHE & COOPER tonic for the dysphoric, despondent and depressed! Equally good for catarrh. CONVENIENT, SCIENTIFIC, INFALLIBLE!"''<ref name="suffering heart ache">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Sidebar_Snippets#Universal|SUFFERING HEART-ACHE?|Fallen London}}</ref></blockquote>[[File:Vialyellow.png|alt=A yellow vial.|thumb|Soothe and Cooper's Heartease Tonic]]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,<ref name="suffering heart ache" /> and for keeping secrets unspoken.<ref name="ask how the metal balls are formed" /> It is a strange liquid with a silvery color, and when spilled, it hardens like ice into a cold,<ref name="break into warehouse" /> brittle, and very sharp substance.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Ice_cold_silver|Story description|Sunless Sea}}</ref> This tonic is manufactured by Soothe in his workshop, where he melts leftover heartmetal shavings in a cauldron for later bottling.<ref name="visit to soothe and cooper" />

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,<ref name="ask how the metal balls are formed" /><ref name="the professor">{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Observing_the_Latest_Autopsies|The Professor|Sunless Sea}}</ref><ref name="the sister">{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Observing_the_Latest_Autopsies|The sister|Sunless Sea}}</ref> though the most common place of the metal's accumulation is right over the heart, giving the substance its name.<ref name="watch with medical interest" /> Unfortunately, consumers of Heartease Tonic often grow dependent on it, allowing the metal deposits to grow and grow until they risk damaging internal organs.<ref name="ask how the metal balls are formed" /><ref name="watch with medical interest" /> [[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.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Observing_the_Latest_Autopsies|The Rubbery Man|Sunless Sea}}</ref>

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,<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Observing_the_Latest_Autopsies|The Confessor|Sunless Sea}}</ref> while if an academic keeps a discovery hidden, the deposit may develop within their brain.<ref name="the professor" /> 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.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Observing_the_Latest_Autopsies|The drinker|Sunless Sea}}</ref> Exposure to said pellet can make a person relive the memories and feelings associated with that secret, which can be extremely disorienting,<ref name="the sister" /> 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]].<ref name="ask why she sings">{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Questions_for_the_Acolyte|Ask why she sings|Sunless Sea}}</ref>

== References ==
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