Orbs

Orbs (also known as Skorbs as they are called by Anesh) are commonly found throughout The Dungeon, appearing from defeated Monsters or Traps. Depending on the size and type of Monster the Orb can vary in size and color.

Orbs can be used in several different ways. They may be broken, absorbed into yourself, imbue into something mundane, or built into a ward/totem/node. Different colors of orbs have different effects for each useage, and larger orbs have effects of greater magnitude.

Of note is that orbs will appear the same colour to all people, including those with forms of colour blindness. It is unknown how this appears to those who are blind.

Known Orb Colors

• Yellow - Skills
  • Imbuing a Yellow orb into a mundane object results in Life. To reclaim the orb, one must kill the creature.
  • Absorbing a Yellow orb causes you to gain operational time. For humans this removes all bodily needs for the duration, while for dungeon creatures this seems to be a nessicity of life.
  • Breaking a Yellow orb results in instantly gaining skill in a specific subject.
  • The warding properties of Yellows are unknown.
• Green
  • Breaking a Green orb results in an improvement to the local area.
  • The imbuing, absorption and warding properties of Greens are unknown. Rufus and Ganesh are seen referring to enemies that drop green orbs as 'Puppets', raising questions about the dangers of absorbing Greens.
• Blue
  • The effects of imbuing blues are unknown.
  • Absorbing a Blue orb grants an ability with a set number of uses. This demonstrates that tools created by blues and absorption are different as objects such as the horse magazine have apparently infinite uses.
  • Breaking a Blue orb results in a 'problem' of some type being solved. This effect is random and uncontrollable.
  • Despite not being seen thus far, Blue orbs have been said by Sarah to create tools when used in a totem.
• Red
  • The effects of imbuing Reds are unknown.
  • The absorption properties of Reds are unknown.
  • Breaking a Red orb results in an increase in "emotional resonance". It is not clear what this means.
  • Building a Red orb into a totem causes all individuals in the affected area to receive live updates as to a specific piece of information. The one known Red totem projected knowledge of the local temperature into nearby minds.
• Orange
  • The imbuement and absorption properties of Oranges are unknown.
  • Breaking an Orange orb results in gaining credentials, but not the associated skills.
  • Building a Orange orb into a node warps space and time in the affected area. These are the only nodes found naturally in the dungeon so far. It is noteworthy that one such ward was found inside the copier Puppet.
• Purple
  • Imbuing a Purple orb into a mundane idea results in a living meme. It is not known how to reclaim these orbs. The proper term for living memes is not known.
  • Breaking a Purple orb results in an improvement to your body.
  • The absorption and warding properties of Purples are unknown.

Notable Uses

• The Stuffed Shirt James killed dropped the single largest orb either James or Anesh had seen. It is also the only multicolored orb so far, although it is described as being mostly yellow. For many chapters, it was being scanned by Lily, James pet iLlipede. The scan finished in chapter 44, and revealed that it it was "Power unit type : Personal. Operational time : 15,670 hrs/1k. Contains : Jerome."

• Allana used a purple orb after killing the Stuffed Shirt that was about to use the Orb on James for currently unknown reasons, but suspected by James to be related to Secret. It gave her a "Shell Upgrade" increasing her "Surface Fracture-Energy Value" by 2,250 Newtons. Is it currently unknown what effect this will have on her or whether it will be beneficial at all.
• James, with the help of Secret, was able to absorb a blue orb by perceiving it as a Monster would. It gave him the ability to "sublimate rubber", and has only tested it once since. Currently one other member of the party has knowledge of it, and he has yet to share it with anyone else.

Used orbs

(By chronological order of use)

• Green
  • [Local Area Shift : Internet speed increase, +32Mbps Down/+18Mbps Up] – Dungeon
  • [Local Area Shift : Hours of operation +1] – 24 hour Diner
  • [Local Area Shift : Average crime rate, -18%] – ER
  • [Local Area Shift : Increased Value, $22,825] – ER
  • [Local Area Shift : Ambient temperature adjustment, +/- 2°C toward 21°C] – Apartment
  • [Local Area Shift : Rent change, -$255/month] – Apartment
  • [Local Area Shift : Exercise efficiency, -280 kcal use/hour, +14% muscle development rate] – Playground
  • [Local Area Shift : +1 Friendly Dog/Day] – Apartment
  • [Local Area Shift : +.8 Hours Allocated to Sleep / Day] – Apartment
  • [Local Area Shift : +1 Closet] – Apartment
  • [Local Area Shift : +2 Kilowatts Generated] – Apartment
  • [Local Area Shift : +1.4 Comfort] – Apartment
  • [Local Area Shift : -10% Entropy] – Apartment