Manna
Manna is the name of an incredibly calorie-rich substance produced by the Different Julia Chekov. Manna is the most calorie rich substance ever discovered by a factor of thousands. It is made up of a carbohydrate like substance, that is able to provide thousands of calories of energy per gram. A single gallon of Manna contains over 25 million calories.
It is the byproduct of a photosynthesis-like process that occurs within Julia. As with photosynthesis, Julia requires access to sunlight, water, and oxygen to create the carbohydrate-like compounds that make up Manna. Julia's production of Manna scales in accordance to her access to those three things. Ultracorps has created a facility to maximize Julia's production of the substance. That facility, located in the Manna Fields , provides Julia with water and oxygen, as well as incredible amounts of light, provided by the light producing Different Roberto Gomez. Julia is provided with water and nutrients intravenously. This allows Julia to produce approximately 10,000 gallons of Manna daily.
Manna is collected from several access points that have been created surgically within Julia's body. The sap-like substance is incredibly viscous and it is diluted with water almost immediately in order to make it easier to handle. The diluted Manna is then transported around the nation. Manna can be eaten alone and unprocessed. It has a gel like consistency and an extremely sweet taste. More commonly, Manna is combined with other natural and artificial ingredients and cooked. Manna is found in virtually every mass produced food product in the nation.
Manna is largely credited with keeping the nation from starving to death in the wake of The Plagues. The Plagues devastated crop production and made it difficult to transport what little food was produced. Manna became the primary food source for the refugee camps that housed much of the nation from 1984-1994. Not only could Manna still be produced during The Plagues, its incredibly dense nature made it much easier to transport. Although crop production has since increased, Manna remains the staple of the American diet. It comprises between 65%-70% of the calories consumed by the American public.
Manna's biggest drawback is that while it provides calories, it contains no other useful nutrients. Manna kept many refugees alive, but they still suffered from vitamin deficiencies. Ultracorps has attempted to address this concern by adding nutrients to its Manna products. This has been made more difficult by the unique nature of the compounds that comprise Manna, which often react to additives in unexpected and unpredictable ways.
