jpmschweitzerandClaude Opus 4.6
68867894e9
All 36 commodity stubs fleshed out with lore context, production chain descriptions, and economic intelligence briefing voice. Key treatments: fusion_fuel (D-187 8:1 ratio), services (location-bound mechanics), brands distinguished from commodities per D-185. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
2.1 KiB
Drive Cores
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Name | Drive Cores |
| Tier | intermediate |
| Elasticity | elastic |
| Base Price (Tractus) | 200 |
| Bulk Class | compact |
| Unit | units |
| Production Ubiquity | concentrated |
| Demand Model | market |
| Commission Certified | No |
| Compact Contested | No |
| Shadow Viable | No |
| Panic Threshold (weeks) | 0 |
| Description | Propulsion components. High-value, specialized. Double rare-minerals dependency. |
Drive cores are the propulsion assemblies that power commercial and industrial vessels — standardized across a size range from light freighter to heavy cargo hauler, but manufactured to precision tolerances that limit production to well-equipped industrial facilities. The recipe requires 0.4t of rare minerals (direct) and 0.8t of advanced alloys — which themselves require 0.3t of rare minerals in their production. This gives drive cores a double rare-mineral dependency: each unit produced consumes roughly 0.64t of rare minerals across both the direct and alloy-embedded inputs.
Elastic demand reflects the commodity's capital goods nature. Vessel operators do not replace drive cores on a fixed schedule; they replace them when degradation reaches a threshold or when procurement pricing makes early replacement economically rational. During a rare mineral price spike, operators extend core service life rather than replace at elevated prices, and demand contracts. When mineral prices normalize, deferred replacement demand returns in concentrated buying pressure. This cyclicality makes drive cores one of the more interesting freight commodities to track for timing-sensitive traders.
Concentrated production ubiquity means a small number of industrial systems produce essentially all commercial drive cores. Transport vehicles, freight haulers, and heavy equipment all require drive cores as inputs (0.3t, 0.5t, and 0.2t respectively), anchoring demand to the general manufacturing cycle. No shadow channel: the specifications and serial-number tracking on commercial propulsion units make informal trade impractical.