Ambix, the Spirit Salamander

As you well know, the latest spirit to be discovered is Ambix, a Fire and Water Geomon that somehow combines these two opposing elements into the form of a salamander!

Many of you must be thinking, ‘How can there be another fire salamander? We’ve already got Mandra!” Well, it would seem that for some reason fire lizards are quite popular ideas in today’s culture, spawing enough instances that this particular meme has started to mutate into different species.

Ambix was first speculated to exist by Agent xxxBlackxxx in the Espercorp Spirit Speculation Spectacular. We originally thought ‘Siren’, as it was named, was simply a different breed of Mandra, but further investigation proved them to be a fully unique species. Here are some of the initial scans Espercorp made while researching Ambix:

Mr. McDouglas is attributing this latest discovery to an upgrade in our scanners in the latest version of the Geomon Software. In his words our scanners  ”weren’t slick enough to pick up these slippery little sprites.”  I have had only a day to observe Ambix since its discovery in the wild, but I am so excited about it that I simply had to publish my findings.

Appearance and Behavior

Ambix resemble a specific type of Salamander, notably those that have not yet undergone metamorphosis and still have gills outside of their body. One particular species, the Axolotl Salamander, never outgrows this stage and spends its entire life in the water.

No water-bound life for Ambix it seems– they move as freely through the air as they do the water. There are some limitations to their powers of levitation, because they tend to appear at low altitudes. And yes, they can go in the water. Their flames disappear beneath a gelatinous membrane when they dive, and their bodies emit a sparkling glow from the furnace burning within.

Ambix come fairly small, the smallest being about the size of my pinky finger. At this time most of the Ambix discovered are relatively young and low-level, but even high-level specimens we’ve scanned do not exceed more than two feet. That’s not to say larger ones don’t exist. More likely they are clever at hiding and we haven’t found them yet. But so far research would indicate Ambix have either a minimal diet or a very efficient metabolism.

Location

Ambix appear mostly in warm weather in places with low to high amounts of water, but so far rare specimens have been cropping up occasionally all over the world– in cold areas as well as deserts!

This kind of uniform population dispersion tends to correspond with Geomon that are closely related to human beings. After all, the places we scan are almost all places where people are, too. Winglet, for example, can be found anywhere on earth, because they feed almost exclusively on people’s wishes. I suspected that Ambix might also share a similar ecological relationship with humans.

A rough indication of where Ambix have been scanned so far, and where we expect them to be based on that data.

Compostion

The first thing we did with the scans you Agents have been collecting was get better composition statistics. Dr. Nielson and Dr. Alister, as always, helped me to compile the scans and develop a picture of the average Ambix.

It turns out that the primary sources of Fire in an Ambix are these emotions: Passion, Excitement, and Ambition.The primary sources of Water consist of Confidence, Serenity, and Persistence. Determination, which usually forms with high concentrations of both Fire and Water was also found.

There are of course trace instances of many other emotions, and other emotions could be derived from the above list. But the ‘gist’ of the Geomon, as I like to say, is plain as day. Ambix is a Spirit of Inspiration.

Hypothesis

My more reserved colleagues would say it’s too early to make such a claim, but I have a hunch. I speculate that Ambix will form whenever a particularly strong idea erupts from a person’s mind. We’ve often scanned our brain while we’ve been engaged in different aspects of our work here at EsperCorp, and the effects of a breakthrough idea are not unlike an explosion, or a lightning strike. All of a sudden a series of intense chemical reactions shake the Thymos. Ideas crystallize and shatter into beautiful, radiant forms, and with it come a cascade of emotions and thoughts that burst into flame or melt or dissipate all around.

Based on our records, a good, strong idea would generate enough energy to create up to a dozen Ambix at once.

It’s easy to forget, not being able to see visually their effects, how powerful our thoughts can be. How much Spirit Matter we can create with just one powerful, resonating idea. Thoughts are the primary forces that move and change the Thymos, and we are the dominant thinking beings on this planet.

Conclusion

What do Ambix do, once they’ve been sprung into the world? Do they go out and seek other elementals like themselves? Do they search for another head to nestle in, to grow slowly into another burst of inspiration? Mere speculation, of course. More research into the life cycle of Ambix will have to be done before we can say what their behavioral tendencies and reproduction methods are.

I hope this was inpirational to some of you! Please share your own research about Ambix in the comments below!

-Dr. Rhine

Ask Rhine: What Happens When Espers Dissipate?

Greetings, Agents! This is the first entry of a ‘column’ of sorts that I intend to update periodically with elaborations on aspects of the Thymosphere. If you have a question you’d like me to answer, send it to support@espercorp.com c.o.  Dr. Cornelius Rhine.

Today I’d like to address a phenomenon that happens quite frequently in the Spirit World: Esper Dissipation. Often when I explain the average day of a Field Agent to those unfamiliar with Geomon, they react in shock at the notion of fighting creatures and causing them to dissipate. It strikes them as inhumane. But once you understand the nature of dissipation, you see that it’s really a natural part of the Thymosphere’s ecosystem, and is generally harmless to the Esper.

Dissipaton occurs when an Esper loses the ability to maintain a solid state any longer, usually as the result of some kind of outside force. Its energy is depleted and its physical frame damaged in such a way that it undergoes a rapid breakdown in structural integrity resulting in dissipation. The Esper literally breaks apart into a multitude of little pieces of Energy and Matter that fly off in every direction. During the process, parts of the Esper might break off, fuse, or crystallize in various manners depending on the circumstance.

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Your Brain Through a Spectrescope

Agents, I confess I’ve spent less time researching new Espers lately. It’s not that I’ve grown tired of the research, it’s simply that something new that is capturing my attention tenfold. The research I am conducting now is exhancing my understanding of not only all Espers, but of Life, the Universe and Everything.

As you know, the irreplaceable Mr. McDouglas recently perfected the Esper Screen (now officially dubbed the Spectrescope), which allows us to essentially view the Thymosphere! But Agents, have you considered what our spectrescope might show if we turned its gaze not on outward on the Spirits but inwardly, towards ourselves?

Matter of the Spirit World is created by output from the Terrestrial World, and the most prolific Spirit-matter-makers are us, human beings. Humans have more enormous, advanced brains than any species that has ever existed in the history of our planet, and we are constantly thinking. And every time we think, those thoughts are added to the Thymosphere.

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