Catalytic Resource Cycles
Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2018 3:24 pm
So I recently came across the concept of self-sustaining catalytic cycles, especially relating to biology and the metabolism-first theory on the origins of life . While I am certainly no expert on the subject, it did give me an idea, namely that of enclosed resource cycles, where resources are combined in reaction chambers, and the products of one reaction form the catalyst for the next reaction, in an A>B>C>D>E>...>A enclosed loop.
Now if the products of these reactions solely provided the resource for the next reaction, it would be a gigantic and pointless "So what" mechanic, however if these reactions also produced important and useful resources that could only be produced via these reactions, then you could start to have a vibrant economy based on maintaining these catalytic cycles.
For this, I propose 3 resource classes, reagents(R) and catalysts(C), as well as the special reaction-only resources(P). Reagents would be fairly common resources in the universe like say Iron, Copper, or Water, while Catalysts would be resources that exist in only trace amounts in the wild, and would be equivalent to elements like Osmium, Mercury, and Tantalum (Though we're not talking real chemistry, just in terms of rarity).
Some C class resources would have useful functions on their own, but their natural rarity would likely make them prohibitively expensive...However these reaction chambers can create much greater quantities of C class resources than what's found in the wild...and with a completely enclosed catalytic loop, potentially infinite quantities. The reactions themselves would require a high ratio of R class to C class resources in a reaction chamber for the reaction to occur, though the specifics should vary by reaction, and perhaps by universe seed (I expect there would be a not insignificant amount of balancing to be done here).
As an example, if we take reaction A, utilizing reagent Ra and catalyst Ca it would produce Cb and Pa. Pa could then be used in other processes or as materials for manufacturing. Cb would then primarily be used in reaction B with Rb to get Cc and Pb.
For a completely enclosed cycle, you would need at least 1 C class resource to get the first reaction started, and then sufficient amounts of all R class resources to keep the cycle going. If you use biology as a metaphor, then C class resources are the internally produced enzymes, R class the necessary nutrients, and P class are the waste products . And similar to a living organism, if you cannot acquire sufficient amounts of an R class resource, the cycle essentially dies. Given that a completely enclosed cycle may require all sorts of R class resources which would be distributed throughout numerous systems, unless you're a large regional faction then trade will be essential, and even if you are a large faction, logistics will be essential.
There are some optional variations to this idea, first and simplest is that some C class materials could decay, so if its producing reaction doesn't occur frequently enough, the catalyst will have an unreliable supply. Second, is having branching cycles:
A>B>Ca>Da>Ea>...a>A
A>B>Cb >Db >Eb >...b >B(or)Cb
This would allow for separate enclosed cycles, perhaps using different R and C class resources, and would additionally turn the catalyst where the reaction branches into a reagent for the branching cycle.
So, thoughts?
Now if the products of these reactions solely provided the resource for the next reaction, it would be a gigantic and pointless "So what" mechanic, however if these reactions also produced important and useful resources that could only be produced via these reactions, then you could start to have a vibrant economy based on maintaining these catalytic cycles.
For this, I propose 3 resource classes, reagents(R) and catalysts(C), as well as the special reaction-only resources(P). Reagents would be fairly common resources in the universe like say Iron, Copper, or Water, while Catalysts would be resources that exist in only trace amounts in the wild, and would be equivalent to elements like Osmium, Mercury, and Tantalum (Though we're not talking real chemistry, just in terms of rarity).
Some C class resources would have useful functions on their own, but their natural rarity would likely make them prohibitively expensive...However these reaction chambers can create much greater quantities of C class resources than what's found in the wild...and with a completely enclosed catalytic loop, potentially infinite quantities. The reactions themselves would require a high ratio of R class to C class resources in a reaction chamber for the reaction to occur, though the specifics should vary by reaction, and perhaps by universe seed (I expect there would be a not insignificant amount of balancing to be done here).
As an example, if we take reaction A, utilizing reagent Ra and catalyst Ca it would produce Cb and Pa. Pa could then be used in other processes or as materials for manufacturing. Cb would then primarily be used in reaction B with Rb to get Cc and Pb.
For a completely enclosed cycle, you would need at least 1 C class resource to get the first reaction started, and then sufficient amounts of all R class resources to keep the cycle going. If you use biology as a metaphor, then C class resources are the internally produced enzymes, R class the necessary nutrients, and P class are the waste products . And similar to a living organism, if you cannot acquire sufficient amounts of an R class resource, the cycle essentially dies. Given that a completely enclosed cycle may require all sorts of R class resources which would be distributed throughout numerous systems, unless you're a large regional faction then trade will be essential, and even if you are a large faction, logistics will be essential.
There are some optional variations to this idea, first and simplest is that some C class materials could decay, so if its producing reaction doesn't occur frequently enough, the catalyst will have an unreliable supply. Second, is having branching cycles:
A>B>Ca>Da>Ea>...a>A
A>B>Cb >Db >Eb >...b >B(or)Cb
This would allow for separate enclosed cycles, perhaps using different R and C class resources, and would additionally turn the catalyst where the reaction branches into a reagent for the branching cycle.
So, thoughts?