Anomaly

Anomalies are defined by Division Five as any entity, object, or event of a physical or metaphysical nature that poses a threat to the collective human consensus reality. Due to this, a large number of anomalies are in fact mundane items originating from universes with significantly different physical laws. While anomalies on their own may range from harmless to extremely destructive, the primary concern with their existence stems from their potential to cause a severe paradigm shift in the local consensus reality, exposing the human race to incomprehensible dangers it is not fully equipped to deal with. The study of anomalies is called anomalistics.

Origin
Exophysical anomalies have always existed, albeit in exceptionally small quantities. They often manifest spontaneously and particularly in areas of weak consensus reality, where physical laws exist in relatively regular flux and may result in random creation from the primordial chaos. However, the destruction of the QED at the end of the Unification War was punctuated by a powerful, exophysical morphic field, resulting in an unnaturally large number of anomalies being created within human space.

Paraphysical anomalies are majorly created with intent, often by entities from outside or from the edges of human consensus reality, and have increased significantly with the proliferation of paraphysics knowledge and reality bending capability throughout the human race. Many anomalies of this type were also created by ThoughtForms as weapons or utility for their followers.

Prior to the Collapse, the Stateship held the majority of the containable anomalies discovered.

In the First Unified Human Empire
In the UHE, the vast majority of anomalies are handled by the Office of Anomalous Defense, or Division Five, one of the main branches of the Ministry of Defense. The primary objective of Division Five is the containment, destruction, integration or weaponisation of anomalies in order to inhibit the rate of expansion of human consensus reality, and therefore reduce the number of exophysical threats. However, many more magically-oriented anomalies are handled by the Magical Intervention Bureau, or as part of a joint operation.

According to Division Five, should too many anomalies roam free and the consensus reality is damaged beyond repair, resulting exophysical incursions would in the best-case scenario lead to the collapse of human civilisation, or in the worst case cause a reality-restructuring event that would destroy the entire multiverse.

In other human space
The UHE Ministry of Defense operates both in and out of UHE space, but due to the vastness of the multiverse, it is practically impossible for all anomalies to be secured by Division Five. Coupled with the destruction of the Stateship, many Stateship Remnants and insurgents have gained possession of a number of anomalies or weapons developed from the study of anomalies, which have been used in efforts against the UHE and its allied colonies. The most infamous of these remnant cells are those under the Jack of Spades, known for weaponising anomalous bacteria capable of hijacking complex organic creatures and partial selective intangibility.

In extraterrestrial space
The Artus are known to deploy the Brine, an anomalous virus which forcibly transforms its human victims into painful amalgamations of marine life. Additionally the Brine appears to originate from the Midnight Zone, an anomalous B-class universe also known to host the ThoughtForm known as Mother Hydra and its servants, which are also used by the Artus.