Plasma is a novel compound, first discovered by mankind in limited quantities on Mars in the Amenthes region, from which it draws its scientific name, Amenthium. Various "ores" of plasma exist, including Amenthite, Memnonite, Thaumasiatite, and Hellasite, each with varying amounts of plasma and other impurities, and almost all coming from the vast plasma mines of Mars. Of these, Amenthite is the most commonly found in human space, comprised of around 78% plasma, with 17% silicon and 5% trace impurities including iron oxides and carbon.
Plasma is held as being almost wholly responsible for enabling humanity's rapid ascension into the space age and beyond, as it is instrumental in the creation of viable engines for long distance space travel- however, the supplies found within easy reach of Earth are quite finite, and to sustain the modern plasma-based economy it was necessary to look further afield in search of larger and larger deposits. Many corporations began private expeditions in search of new sources of the purple stuff, and were generally met with limited success. Cybersun Industries famously found a source of gaseous plasma which could be extracted from a gas giant in a nearby system to Sol, but the expense of this operation limited their financial gain. Other non-viable sources were explored, including extraction from plasma-rich swamps on Hawkings-Eta IV, but very little was to be gained from such expensive methods. Any viable plasma mining operation would need to find a source of solid ores to remain profitable.
And then, as part of a speculative expedition into uninhabited space in the Spinward sector, Nanotrasen hit the motherlode. Indescipheres had been known to humanity for decades- it was discovered and charted, but very little surface probing had been undertaken due to its extremely hostile environment. What little data there was suggested remarkable mineral wealth, but no company had been willing to take the financial risk involved with setting up mining operations in deep space on a planet that was so dangerous. As a hail mary, Nanotrasen decided to organise a small expedition to survey the surface in person. What began as a random shot in the dark ended up becoming the largest discovery of plasma in human history, with the funding given for a mining and research outpost to be constructed in orbit of the planet by the end of the day, and construction beginning on "Space Station 13" within 2 weeks. The plasma found on Indescipheres was also of a remarkable purity, with plasma ore from the planet containing as high as 97% plasma content. This ore was named Pudicitite, derived from the Latin word for purity.
As a result of this find, Nanotrasen now holds close to a monopoly on high-grade plasma within human space. Their competitors, naturally, resent them for this, particularly Cybersun Industries, who are in second place for plasma production (owning a dominating stake in the Martian mines) and seek to usurp the top spot at any cost.
Plasma, while extremely reactive in its base form, forms very stable alloys with numerous metals, including iron (plasteel), titanium (plastitanium), aluminium (plasmalum), and copper (plasma-brass). The chemistry of these reactions is not well developed, but it is expected that plasma is a complex hydrocarbon with a number of possible isomers, which can be transferred between with a sufficient application of energy. At least one of these isomers adopts a crystalline structure, while another has strong but disordered intermolecular interactions, allowing plasma to adopt solid, liquid and gaseous forms at the same temperature- both a scientific curiosity and marvel.
Bluespace Crystals first became known to humanity in 2459, following an event that collectively opened the world's eyes to the material's incredible power. In a near catastrophic event, Zhang's Comet deviated from its expected close flyby of Earth into a direct collision course with Toronto, Canada. As TerraGov scrambled to organise an emergency response, the comet suddenly, and incredibly mysteriously, vanished- and reappeared near the Moon, which it promptly crashed into. Investigating the impact crater, researchers were puzzled to find a massive number of brilliant blue crystals in colossal veins throughout the rock- crystals which, when energised, be it by radiation, or heat, or even something as simple as crushing a crystal in the palm of your hand, would result in short range teleportation. Scientists theorised that the comet was hit by a large burst of radiation from a solar flare, resulting in a large scale translocation of the crystals, and, in turn, the comet.
As testing on the crystals progressed further, researchers discovered that they were no mere mundane material- Bluespace crystals acted as a manifested link to a parallel dimension, which came to be known as the Bluespace. Better technology allowed for the harnessing of this link, leading to the rise of bluespace-based devices and materials. How exactly they link to this parallel dimension is unknown.
Fairly rapidly, it was discovered that bluespace crystals could be synthesised via a combination of plasma with diamond at extreme pressure and heat. This discovery, however, was unable to be utilised to its fullest due to the limited supply of plasma with which humanity could experiment. The newfound abundance of plasma from Indescipheres, however, has been instrumental in kickstarting humanity's Bluespace Age- with Nanotrasen at the centre of it all.
Bluespace technology almost universally focuses on manipulation of space, in ways never before thought possible. Via use of the Bluespace, circuits shrink, massive amounts of storage become possible in handheld packages, and a new form of faster-than-light travel was invented via the Wattson Drive- allowing for incredible FTL travel in a fraction of the time of plasma-based engines. This makes bluespace crystals (and in turn the plasma used for industrial synthesis of them) extremely valuable in almost all areas of science, engineering, and manufacturing.
Current areas of bluespace focus include longer and longer range teleportation, further advancements in FTL, the direct and safe use of Bluespace pocket dimensions (which has shown little promising advancement since the disappearance of Doctor A. Hilbert, the leading scientist in this field), and the creation of Bluespace alloys.
Supermatter is a novel state of matter, initially found in trace quantities in the gaseous orbit of a neutron star. Scientific analysis has not yet pinpointed exactly what supermatter is- however, it is theorised to be formed from extremely dense clusters of ionised gas, which collapses due to extreme forces of pressure into a nominally solid (supermatter is actually better described as an amorphous solid, as it does not possess the rigid structure of a true crystal) and incredibly dense material. Upon contact with materials of standard density, it is capable of ripping them apart, atom by atom, at which point they will be incorporated into the crystal on an atomic level.
Despite the lack of understanding about what Supermatter is, a method of producing viable quantities has been established. Supermatter conglomerate crystals are made via the skimming of these neutron stars to obtain enough material to produce a "seed" crystal. This "seed" is then expanded via the introduction of massive amounts of material in a controlled environment, with particular care given to prevent catastrophic disruption of the lamina, and to avoid making the crystal so dense that it collapses into a singularity. Typically a hypernoble gas environment is used, which keeps the crystal at a safe energy level. Various materials can be used to alter the crystal's properties, though again care must be taken to not spike energy production too high (uranium and plutonium are common materials used to increase energy production) lest the crystal become unsustainably energetic and delaminate.
The crystal maintains stability via the creation of a thin layer of gas which is held by the crystal's gravitational pull. This layer, known as a "lamina", keeps the crystal stable, and also allows for the interaction of gases with the crystal superstructure. The decomposition of these gases via contact results in the release of radiation, which has allowed for some experimental power production methods to be set up utilising a large supermatter crystal- working on these prototypes, however, has proven to be a job for the brave or foolhardy. Different gases have different interactions with the crystal.
In the event that the lamina is allowed to completely dissipate, a delamination event will occur. In this event, the crystalline structure of the supermatter will collapse, resulting in a massive release of energy as the supermatter decays to regular matter. In the event that the crystal is sufficiently dense (due to the surrounding atmosphere being too dense, resulting in a catastrophic gain in density for the crystal that overcomes the stabilising effect of the lamina) it may collapse into a singularity. Needless to say, this is not good. High energy delaminations may result in a remarkable release of energy, including the potential for a release of a tesla-ball.