OFFICIAL DOS DESCRIPTION - Coral Structures are physical manifestations of thoughts. They manifest in THE SHORE whenever a living creature capable of thought unprotected by ANCHORS steps foot in a Reef-tainted area and is exposed to IDEOFLUID. If the human remains in that area for a long enough period of time, usually around two to three minutes, Coral will begin to grow from the ideofluid, the person’s head, or out of thin air, depending on what the species of Coral.

Coral growth rates are influenced by ambient mental stability, meaning it can grow quite slowly or not at all if the mental states of humans nearby are stable and calm. On the contrary, panic, anger, and other strong emotions and thoughts can cause Coral to grow unpredictably fast. As far as existing research indicates, Coral is not inherently hostile nor does it possess cognitive ability; it is simply reactive to thoughts.

From a scientific perspective, Coral is a very interesting substance. It grows in its own patterns, ignoring existing terrain and infrastructure. While it grows, however, it does not cause trauma. Rather, it simply replaces atoms with its own, seamlessly blending and cementing itself within reality. The only substance it cannot grow through or replace is the Department of Stability’s Reality-Preservative Material v3, shortened as RPM3.

LIVE AND DEAD CORAL - By default, live Coral grows autonomously, influenced by a multitude of different external factors. However, DOS researchers have discovered that Coral can be cut away and maintain its properties. This is classified as dead Coral: chunks of Coral that have been cut away from its original structure and housed in special containers to be used in the field by Divers.

Although dead Coral maintains its qualities, it cannot regrow on its own and therefore exists as a singular chunk of Coral.

In order to suppress Coral behavioral patterns for safe transport, DIVERS utilize special canisters made of unique materials that create small, sealed environments for the Coral to exist in.

Several species of dead Coral have been used by Divers in many missions. In particular, TYPE-F and TYPE-I Coral, with the ability to alter time and gravity respectively, tends to be the most useful in certain cituations.

CORAL STRUCTURE CLASSES - Coral structures grow in different patterns and have different default growth rates depending on multiple different factors. Over time, the DOS has classified these as different species of sorts in accordance to the DOS Coral Classification System (CCS-1.7) created by DR. AIKO TANAKA.

TYPE // BEHAVIORAL PROFILE

TYPE-A // AGGRESSOR - Grows towards minds and will initiate contact

TYPE-B // CATALYST - Influences nearby minds

TYPE-C // NEUTRAL - Low reactivity, considered stable

TYPE-D // PHOTOTROPIC - Responds to light exposure

TYPE-E // HARMONIC - Responds to audible stimuli

TYPE-F // TEMPORAL - Interacts with local timeflow

TYPE-G // VOLATILE - Extremely sensitive to nearby mental states

TYPE-H // GRAVITIC - Influences local gravitational strength

CLASS // MORPHOLOGICAL STRUCTURE