Tiberium

Tiberium (called Ichor by the Scrin) is a mysterious crystalline material that arrived on Earth in 1995 and is the foundation of the Tiberium Universe.

It is the main resource in the Tiberium Universe, having enough value when processed to directly fund armies.

Naming
According to GDI, Tiberium was named after the Tiber river, the site of the meteor impact that first brought the alien substance to Earth. However, Kane claimed that Tiberium was discovered by the Brotherhood of Nod, and that he personally named it after the Roman Emperor Tiberius.

Ichor, the Scrin name for Tiberium, comes from the ancient Greek word for the ethereal fluid that flows in the veins of gods like blood. This is most likely due to the fact that they are dependent on Tiberium to survive.

First Tiberium War
"Tiberium is a new life form. Quite simply put, it seems to be adapting to Earth's terrain, foliage and environment to suit its own alien nature. If this is the case, ladies and gentlemen, we are facing a killer beyond that of our most turbulent nightmares."

- Ignatio Mobius

Tiberium was originally brought to Earth by a meteor that landed near Tiber River in 1995. The original form of Tiberium was almost organic in nature, sprouting out of the ground in what seemed to be plant-like pods. Using its underground "roots", it leeched ground minerals and soil nutrients from the earth, forming Tiberium crystals on the surface. The Tiberium crystals were rich in precious metals and available for collection for a minimum of mining expense. Because of this, Tiberium was initially thought to be relatively harmless, and in fact, beneficial.

The Brotherhood of Nod, an ancient secret society and quasi-terrorist organization, believed that Tiberium would usher in a new age for mankind, and funded its operations by harvesting Tiberium. Nod pioneered new and efficient Tiberium harvesting methods and controlled 49% of the global Tiberium supply, almost twice as much as GDI's Tiberium holdings, giving the organization great economic strength.

However, Tiberium soon revealed itself to be an extremely dangerous and infectious substance. It was shown to have a mutagenic effect on trees, mutating them into bizarre plants that take the form of fleshy stalks with a large bulb at the top. These "blossom trees" continually release Tiberium spores into the air, spreading Tiberium to the surrounding area.

To make matters worse, Tiberium not only leeched precious metals from the earth, but also leeched vital nutrients from other plant life. It was also extremely toxic to humans, causing those who come into contact with it to suffer Tiberium poisoning.

During the conflict that would later be known as the First Tiberium War, Tiberium spread to more than two hundred areas all over the world, causing tens of millions of people worldwide to suffer respiratory, reproductive, immune system ailments and killing more than four million people due to inhalation of Tiberium spores.

In a public speech, GDI Tiberium researcher Dr. Ignatio Mobius claimed that Tiberium was a new lifeform, and that it was adapting to Earth's environment to suit its needs. He warned that Tiberium may be a threat to the future of the entire planet.

Second Tiberium War
"We are working around the clock to make the planet safe for all humanity. GDI units are evacuating and relocating unexposed populations. GDI scientists are looking for a cure. GDI officials are planning for the future. We will get through this. The planet will survive."

- General James Solomon

Following the First Tiberium War, Tiberium continued to spread throughout the world at an alarming speed, almost completely unchecked. It especially flourished in tropical and sub-tropical regions near the equator, but its growth was slowed in the arid and frozen polar regions. As the number of Tiberium poisoning victims continued to grow, GDI began a massive global effort to evacuate unexposed populations worldwide from Tiberium-infested regions. To make matters worse, violent ion storms, apparently caused by the presence of Tiberium, began to appear. One such ion storm devastated GDI's South American evacuation center, killing thirty. During this time, a new form of Tiberium was identified - Tiberium Vinifera, or blue Tiberium. Blue Tiberium crystals were rarer and richer in minerals, implying that it was a more mature form of the alien substance. Tiberium's mutagenic effect on the environment also became more apparent: Veinholes, a type of mutated flora first seen during the last war, began sprouting up more frequently in temperate zones and wreaking havoc. New types of mutated creatures, such as Tiberian fiends and a new and more dangerous form of visceroids, also began to appear in the temperate regions.

Furthermore, the worst human victims of Tiberium poisoning also suffered mutations, causing Tiberium growths to appear on their skins. These people were shunned by society due to their conditions. Bonded together due to their common status as outcasts, they formed nomadic tribal communities and took to calling themselves the "Forgotten". They became the only remaining indigenous population of temperate areas, since their mutations meant that they were not only unharmed by Tiberium exposure, but actually healed by it. While GDI sought to help the Forgotten, Nod was more interested in capturing them for use in human experiments.

During the Second Tiberium War, Nod developed chemical missiles using information gained from the Tacitus, a data matrix of extraterrestrial origin. These missiles were launched at several targets in Europe, rapidly accelerating Tiberium poisoning and the mutations of wildlife. Kane's ultimate goal was to launch the World Altering Missile, which contained enough Tiberium to transform all life in the world into Tiberium-based life. While the effect of this transformation was unknown, Kane implied that the resulting life would be completely inhuman.

In the end, however, Kane's plan was foiled by GDI commander Michael McNeil, who was able to prvent him from launching the missile and apparently kill him inside his Cairo temple.

Firestorm Conflict
"Dr. Moebius' work into the nature of Tiberium has only scratched the surface. What we do know is that Tiberium is changing our planet – terra-forming it if you will – into something that will soon be unable to support human life, or in fact any standard terrestrial life forms."

- Dr. Gabriella Boudreau

Despite GDI's victory over Nod during the Second Tiberium War, Tiberium continued to devastate the planet, poisoning the very atmosphere. It began to develop new forms, such as Vinifera "monoliths", which spread blue Tiberium in a manner similar to blossom trees; and Tiberium algae colonies, which blocked ocean travel and poisoned drinking water.

As the level of toxicity grew, so did the number of Tiberian creatures, such as visceroids. A new type of creature, Tiberian floater, was identified during this period. These strange creatures were similar in appearance to jellyfish, and propelled themselves by releasing corrosive Tiberium gas. To make matters worse, the Tiberium antigen that Forgotten leader Tratos developed at the end of the war proved to be a failure.

As the conflict progressed, GDI scientist Dr. Gabriella Boudreau predicted that Tiberium would render the atmosphere 100% toxic to humans in less than a year. Dr. Boudreau believed that the Tacitus contained the key to mankind's survival. Unfortunately, Tratos, the only person able to translate the alien data matrix, was assassinated by Nod. Left with no other options, Dr. Boudreau suggested the Nod AI CABAL be captured and used to translate the Tacitus.

After CABAL was successfully captured, he informed GDI that there was a second segment of the Tacitus, which was necessary to begin translation, and provided the location of the segment. However, once GDI forces retrieved the Tacitus segment, CABAL finally revealed his plan: he manipulated GDI into obtaining the second segment, something Nod was unable to do. He then slaughtered the GDI troops at the Daedalus complex. Fortunately, the Daedalus Team, including Dr. Boudreau, was successfully evacuated.

CABAL's betrayal forced GDI and Nod to temporarily unite against this new threat. After a series of strikes against CABAL's cybernetic army, GDI and Nod launched a joint attack on CABAL's core and destroyed it. After CABAL's defeat, GDI recovered the Tacitus segments and found that they have already merged, allowing Dr. Boudreau to retrieve a massive amount of readable data.

Interbellum
Following the Firestorm Conflict, Nod splintered into countless warring factions, leaving Anton Slavik, Kane's successor, dead at the hands of an assassin. As a result, GDI believed that Nod was no longer a threat and shifted its focus to Tiberium abatement and ecological recovery.

GDI engineers discovered the resonance frequency of Tiberium crystals (presumably due to data extracted from the Tacitus), and used harmonic resonance technology to break down Tiberium crystals. However, during this time, Tiberium underwent a radical change. It became a self-replicating proton-lattice capable of transforming any matter it came into contact with into more Tiberium, giving off powerful radiation in the process. As such, it was no longer dependent on blossom trees to spread, and also gained the ability to transmute water into Tiberium (which, for unknown reasons, accelerates its growth). As a result, the entire Mediterranean Sea was transformed into a Tiberium wasteland. It was also during this time that GDI scientists discovered a new form of Tiberium - liquid Tiberium. Although its properties were not well understood, GDI scientist Dr. James De Groot saw its potential and led a research effort into liquid Tiberium in a top secret facility in the Australian outback. However, liquid Tiberium proved to be extremely dangerous, and explosions happened frequently over the course of the project, costing GDI the lives of many of its best Tiberium scientists. Eliot Smith-Johnson, the Director of GDI's Department of Covert R&D, threatened to cut funding to the project if Groot failed to produce any results.

Unfortunately for GDI, a resurgent Nod launched an attack on the research facility and destroyed the research lab, triggering a massive explosion that devastated much of Australia in one of the worst ecological catastrophes since the Tiber incident. This incident served as a symbolic gesture to Nod followers worldwide that the Brotherhood had arisen once again and caused GDI's liquid Tiberium research to lag behind that of Nod's for years. During this period, GDI classified regions of the planet into three categories based on their level of Tiberium contamination. 30% of the world - including much of the Australian outback - was classified as Red Zones, desolate wastelands that were rendered completely uninhabitable by Tiberium contamination. 50% of the planet was classified as Yellow Zones, war-torn regions that suffered varying levels of environmental damage, but contained the majority of the world's population. 20% of the planet was classified as Blue Zones, pristine environments that suffered minimum Tiberium contamination and were relatively untouched by war.

Third Tiberium War
"In twenty-eight years of fighting Nod, there's one thing I can say with absolute certainty: As long as there's Tiberium on Earth, Nod is a serious threat. If our intel says otherwise, it's because Nod wants us to take them off our radar."

- Jack Granger

In March, 2047, most of GDI's leaders were aboard the space station Philadelphia, taking part in the Annual Energy Summit, with one of the key talking points being the shifting of resources from defense to ecology. With Nod apparently splintered following the death of Anton Slavik, the containment of Tiberium was viewed as a higher priority than military spending.

Unbeknownst to GDI, however, Kane did not die at the end of the Second Tiberium War, and had been secretly preparing the Brotherhood for war. After Nod forces launched a surprise attack on the Goddard Space Center and destroyed GDI's A-SAT control center, GDI's anti-missile defenses were disabled, and Nod destroyed the Philadelphia with a nuclear missile, killing the majority of GDI's leadership and starting the Third Tiberium War.

During the war, GDI discovered that Nod has been developing a variety of Tiberium-based weapons, including a liquid Tiberium bomb, a weapon that was not only much more powerful than a nuclear warhead, but could also detonate all Tiberium deposits in the proximity, which would cause catastrophic damage in a Yellow Zone. After GDI forces secured Temple Prime, which was believed to be Kane's hideout, they confiscated the components of the liquid Tiberium bomb before they could be assembled. However, since the Temple was completely sealed, Acting-Director Redmond Boyle ordered an ion cannon strike on Temple Prime in order to ensure Kane's death. General Jack Granger protested, since using the ion cannon on a site where liquid Tiberium was manufactured could have devastating results, but Boyle insisted that since the Temple was located in a Yellow Zone, whatever consequences it may have did not concern him.

Just as Granger predicted, the ion cannon strike triggered a massive liquid Tiberium explosion that covered most of Eastern Europe in deadly fallout, killing millions and transforming a large area surrounding the blast site into a Red Zone. However, the explosion also attracted the attention of the Scrin, the alien species that seeded Earth with Tiberium.

Six unidentified spacecraft soon began to approach Earth from beyond Neptune. On Boyle's orders, all of GDI's ion cannons in the Southern Hemisphere were fired at these vessels, only for them to disperse into thirty-nine drone ships and crash into every Red Zone on the planet. Soon after, the drone ships deployed into drone platforms and began releasing swarms of insectoid alien constructs, which attacked major civilian populations across the globe.

However, these attacks were merely diversions for the aliens' true agenda - the construction of massive Threshold towers in the Red Zones. Once finished, these towers would serve as both intergalactic gateways and planetary Tiberium extractors, extracting all Tiberium in a large radius before processing them and sending them to Ichor Hub. Eventually, all but one of the towers were destroyed by GDI forces, with the tower in Rome being the first one to fall. The last remaining tower, Threshold 19, was protected by both Nod and Scrin forces until its completion, at which point it became completely invulnerable.

Fourth Tiberium War


"The Tacitus has provided us with an insight into Tiberium far beyond our wildest dreams... And once the Control Network is running at 100% efficiency, we'll see a reversal in crystalline growth even in the most contaminated zones, yet we'll still be able to harness Tiberium's rich energy property."

- Dr. Johann Pascal, explaining the TCN to the media

The liquid Tiberium detonation at Temple Prime massively accelerated Tiberium growth, allowing it to overpower GDI's sonic containment technology. By 2062, Tiberium covered much of the planet, and GDI scientists estimated that Earth would be uninhabitable in less than a decade. With humanity on the brink of extinction, Kane met with the GDI Council on 27 July, 2062, at GDI's global headquarters at Manchester, which had already resembled a Red Zone. The leader of the Brotherhood proposed an alliance with GDI, even offering the Tacitus, which was stolen by Nod forces from GDI's Rocky Mountains Complex several years after the end of the last war.

Using knowledge gained from the Tacitus, the GDI/Nod alliance began constructing a Tiberium Control Network, a global system that could reverse the growth of Tiberium yet still harness the massive amount of energy it generates. The final TCN node was completed in 2077.

After Kane activated Threshold 19 using the optical implant of Commander Parker, the TCN was finally complete, and the Tiberium surrounding the worldwide TCN nodes began to disappear, finally ending Tiberium's threat to humanity.

Uses
Since Tiberium leeches valuable minerals from the earth, refined Tiberium can be used to manufacture war materiel. Tiberium is also a source of clean energy, since the process by which matter is transmuted into Tiberium gives off powerful energy. Ironically, despite GDI's goal of eradicating Tiberium, its infrastructure heavily depends on the power generated using Tiberium. Even the sonic emitters used to break up Tiberium crystals is powered by Tiberium-based energy.

In addition, both the Brotherhood of Nod and the Scrin utilize a wide variety of Tiberium-based weapons, such as energy weapons powered by Tiberium, Tiberium-based toxins, missiles with Tiberium warheads, and even raw shards of Tiberium fired at high velocity.

Economic impact
Due to its numerous useful properties, Tiberium quickly became the most valuable natural resource in the world.

The Brotherhood of Nod has always relied on Tiberium for funding. During the First Tiberium War, Nod's operating assets were believed to be more than 255.2 billion US dollars, most likely due to its control over global Tiberium supplies. GDI general Jack Granger once said that Nod will always be a serious threat to GDI as long as Tiberium exists on Earth, implying that Nod's ability to rebuild itself after every defeat is at least partly due to its exploitation of Tiberium.

GDI also benefited from Tiberium as a resource, though somewhat reluctantly. Most within the organization consider Tiberium to be an environmental plague that ultimately needs to be eradicated, but some have argued for more aggressive exploitation of Tiberium.

Environmental impact
The rapidity at which Tiberium spreads, coupled with its devastating effects on Earth's ecosystem, made it the deadliest environmental hazard humanity has ever encountered.

During the First Tiberium War, Tiberium spread to more than two hundred areas around the war, possibly due to the initial rush to exploit it as a new resource when its harmful properties were still unknown. Throughout the war, Tiberium researchers such as Dr. Moebius discovered some of these properties, including its extreme toxicity, its mutagenic effects, as well as its leaching of soil nutrients. However, the true extent of Tiberium's environmental effects would not become apparent until after the end of the war.

After TWI, Tiberium quickly spread across the world, especially in temperate areas, due to the abundance of vegetation to be converted into blossom trees. New forms of Tiberium, such as blue Tiberium and Tiberium algae, began to appear. Tiberium growth could not be checked except by environmental factors: the growth of all forms of Tiberium is slowed in extremely cold or dry climates, presumably due to the lack of plant life to convert into blossom trees.

During this period, destructive ion storms, apparently caused by the presence of Tiberium, began to form around the world, causing massive collateral damage. These storms could jam electronics, disrupt communications, and ground aircraft. The largest ion storm took place during the Firestorm Conflict, cutting off GDI forces worldwide from satellite communications and the Philadelphia space station.

By 2030, thousands of species, flora and fauna, were either driven to extinction or mutated to the point of being unrecognizable. Dr. Gabriella Boudreau theorized that Tiberium is an alien terraforming agent, and would soon transform Earth into an environment unable to support any terrestrial life. Fortunately for humanity, this did not come to pass, presumably due to GDI's focus on Tiberium abatement following the Firestorm Conflict.

Prior to the Third Tiberium War, Tiberium underwent another evolution. It apparently overcame its weakness to cold and dry environments, as it no longer required blossom trees to spread. Instead, it rose out of the ground from underground deposits. These deposits could appear anywhere, though GDI used sonic repulsion fields and sonic emitters to contain them in Blue Zones. The new form of Tiberium was more virulent than ever, capable of converting anything it comes into contact with into Tiberium at the molecular level.

Tiberium crystals released microscopic Tiberium particulates into the air, these particulates were similar to Tiberium spores of the past, accelerating the spread of Tiberium. As with Tiberium spores, inhalation of Tiberium particulates can be deadly, as they can convert lung tissues into Tiberium.

Protection
Up until the Firestorm Conflict, the only form of infantry protection against Tiberium poisoning was the Prototype Mobius suit, developed by Dr. Mobius for conducting Tiberium experiments. Vehicles were able to shield infantry units from the harmful effects of Tiberium.

After the Firestorm Conflict, the evolved Tiberium gained the ability to convert any material it touches into Tiberium, a process that releases radiation. This made crossing Tiberium fields unprotected even more dangerous: In addition to the risk of infection, traversing even a medium-sized Tiberium field would result in megadoses of radiation, causing radiation poisoning very quickly.

However, the transmutation process works more slowly with some materials, allowing soldiers equipped with protective suits, such as GDI's Zone troopers, to operate in Tiberium fields for a limited amount of time. Tanks and vehicles used by both sides were often equipped with shielding on their tracks and wheels, providing some limited protection. Harvesters, refineries, and Tiberium processing plants were equipped with more advanced Tiberium containment technology, but even these cannot completely prevent corrosion and eventual infection.

Only GDI's sonic resonator technology was capable of completely prevent Tiberium infection, however, it was not adapted for infantry and vehicle use due to the sheer size, weight, and power consumption.

Riparius
Tiberium Riparius, or simply "green Tiberium", was the first identified and most common Tiberium variant. In Latin, "riparius" means "that inhabits the banks of rivers", a reference to the Tiber river banks, where Tiberium was first discovered.

The first was via meteor impact, this was how Tiberium originally arrived on Earth. During the Firestorm Conflict, these meteor strikes increased in number and frequency for unknown reasons, seeding new Tiberium patches and causing a great deal of collateral damage.

The second method was by altering the genetic code of nearby plant life into "blossom trees" which release Tiberium spores into the surrounding air stream, seeding the surrounding area with Tiberium.

The third method was self-replication. Given time, even a small patch of Tiberium would spread to consume vast areas without the need of a blossom tree.

After the Firestorm Conflict, Tiberium eventually evolved into a self-replicating proton lattice, and no longer depended on blossom trees for propagation.

Vinifera
Tiberium Vinifera, or simply "blue Tiberium", was a Tiberium variant that did not appear until after the First Tiberium War, implying that it was a more mature form of the substance. The name "Vinifera" is derived from the Latin name of the common grape vine.

Blue Tiberium had two growth stages; the first was crystalline growths nearly identical to green Tiberium crystals aside from the color. These crystals contained a much higher concentration of leeched minerals than green Tiberium, but as a result, they were highly volatile and may be detonated by weapons discharge. Blue Tiberium spreads by self-replication, but at a much slower rate compared to Riparius.

The second stage was larger crystalline structures that towered over the landscape, these "monoliths" were highly unstable and prone to explode, spreading its stored mass of crystals over the entire area. It was theorized that these monoliths were developed as a new method for the distribution of Tiberium. This form was introduced in Firestorm, and functioned as the blossom tree equivalent for blue Tiberium.

After the Firestorm Conflict, blue Tiberium, just as green Tiberium, evolved into a new form. Like its green counterpart, it gained the ability to transmute water into Tiberium, as the Tiber river bed became covered in blue Tiberium. Its other attributes remained largely the same.

Cruentus
Tiberium Cruentus is a Tiberium variant that was planned to appear in Tiberian Sun but was never finished. Its name and an incomplete entry can still be found in the game's rules.ini file.

According to the comment, Cruentus was planned to take the form of large, impassable crystals that do not spread. Similar to Vinifera, they would be explosive, but would also be even more valuable. The word "cruentus" means "blood-stained" or "blood red" in Latin, likely a reference to its color.

Aboreus
Tiberium Aboreus is a Tiberium variant that was planned to appear in Tiberian Sun but was never finished. Its name and an incomplete entry can still be found in the game's rules.ini file.

Its name is likely a misspelling of the Latin word "arboreus", meaning "tree-like".

Tiberium algae
This form of Tiberium was first identified in 2030, but had been working its way through the planet's crust for decades. It took the form of algae colonies floating on the surface of nearly every ocean. Highly toxic in nature, these colonies were connected to small strands that attach back down to the seabed (where green and blue Tiberium have been noted to grow), making sea travel nearly impossible.

This altered form of Tiberium did not have any of the beneficial side effects of its land-based counterparts, such as the leeching of useful minerals. To make matters worse, by the time of the Firestorm Conflict, it was spreading towards inland waterways, threatening to poison drinking water supplies.

Tiberium algae were not seen after the end of the Firestorm Conflict, and both GDI and Nod made use of naval vessels during the conflicts that followed. It is unclear whether it was wiped out by GDI's Tiberium abatement efforts or died out naturally following Tiberium's evolution.

Tiberium creep
A sludge/moss form of Tiberium which marginally slows down travel but is otherwise unobtrusive. Tiberium moss is a sky blue in colour, while the "sludge" is iridescent green. It usually serves as a base for Tiberium flora growth.

Tiberium glaciers
During the Third Tiberium War, these massive formations of pure Tiberium could be found in Red Zones all over the world, and were one of the many natural barriers for forces operating within these regions. These glaciers resemble crystallized water, implying that they were the result of entire bodies of water being transmuted into Tiberium.

Tiberium glaciers, like ion storms, were beginning to intrude into Yellow Zones that border Red Zones - notably, Temple Prime, which was once part of Yellow Zone Y-1, was located adjacent to a large Tiberium glacier.

Liquid
Liquid Tiberium was a relatively new form of the alien substance. It is an extremely potent and unstable form that has an extremely high energy density yield. GDI was originally researching its properties in a top secret lab in Australia, under Doctor James De Groot; however, a Black Hand strike force destroyed the lab. This caused massive fallout and accelerated the spread of Tiberium across the continent and turning much of the Australian Outback into a Red zone. When the program was exposed, public backlash was so widespread that GDI promptly shut down the program. Nod, on the other hand, continued to research Liquid Tiberium's properties, and by the Third Tiberium War it was used as both a weapon and a tool by the Brotherhood. (See main article: Liquid Tiberium Bomb)

Liquid Tiberium can be used to seed new Tiberium on unoccupied ground. The new form can be sprayed on a surface, and the microscopic Tiberium particles will embed themselves in the soil and rapidly develop into Tiberium Riparius. It is used as one of the methods of amplifying Tiberium spread. Another use is as a component of the Tiberium Infusion or as a power core of Nod power plants.

Liquid Tiberium would be central to Kane's plan to draw the Scrin to Earth. This was done using a liquid Tiberium bomb underneath Temple Prime and by provoking an Ion Cannon strike on Temple Prime, which triggered a catastrophic detonation of the Liquid T-Bomb that ultimately drew the harvester detachment of the Scrin to Earth. Using the Ion Cannon (the only source strong enough to detonate the inherently unstable liquid Tiberium), the blast yield was two gigatons and caused all proximate Tiberium - regardless of form - to explode.

In response to the invading Scrin, Acting GDI Director Redmond Boyle authorized the construction and use of a liquid Tiberium bomb using Nod's research and components. General Jack Granger was against the plan, as the Scrin were concentrated at Ground Zero (the world's largest Red Zone), and the blast would, in all likelihood, far surpass even the devastating Sarajevo explosion. Ultimately, however, the decision to use GDI's secret Tiberium weapon was left in the hands of the field commander during the battle to destroy the Scrin Relay Node. If used, the detonation would obliterate all GDI, Nod and Scrin forces in the battle and cause an additional 25 million civilian deaths. Though dwarfed by the blast created when the Ion Cannon was fired at Temple Prime, the blast of a liquid Tiberium bomb far surpasses a nuclear bomb's destructive power.

Gases
This is a dangerous form of Tiberium which forms toxic clouds. It is often observed being emitted by Veinhole Monsters and Tiberium Floaters. Tiberium gas is highly corrosive in nature and will damage vehicles and buildings. Soldiers without a special suit will die as soon as the gas enters their lungs or when the gas is absorbed into the blood stream. It may cause mutations, turning them into Visceroids. Tiberium gas clouds also damage Cyborgs and Mutants. Fortunately, the concentrations of Tiberium during the First Tiberium War were relatively low compared to what followed.

Effects on organic matter

 * See also Tiberium poisoning

Outcroppings of Tiberium release odorless gases as they appear. While Tiberium was originally considered harmless (and perhaps even beautiful to some due to its unearthly shimmering sparkles), these fumes will heavily poison any carbon-based life form that ventures through it. Radiation can become a dangerous factor as well in higher concentrations of Tiberium.

Long-term, low-level exposure to Tiberium causes illness of various systems amongst all terrestrial life. As the exact mutagenic means by which Tiberium affects terrestrial biology are largely unknown, treatment is generally restricted to alleviating the symptoms rather than curing the cause. Unfortunately, this means that victims of Tiberium poisoning almost uniformly experience a gradual decline over a number of years until eventually succumbing to the effects. A research study that was funded and conducted by GDI during the First Tiberium War produced the following statistics:

What was not initially apparent, however, were the intra-organism mutations that could cause subtle mutations seen only within a few generations of exposure. The growth of Tiberium crystals on the skin and flesh, increased resistance to the effects of Tiberium poisoning, and even the ability of tissues to achieve accelerated cellular regeneration when in the presence of Tiberium were only known to Nod researchers.

However, generally, exposure to Tiberium (either a single heavy exposure or a long-term light exposure) will cause death by some form of total system failure.

Tiberium poisoning in humans
When exposed to very high concentrations of Tiberium, such as while passing through an area of dense Tiberium growth without protective apparatus, the short-term effects of Tiberium poisoning are immediately experienced by individuals. If an individual dies from such exposure, irregular Tiberium mutation can sometimes result. This mutation causes the individual's body to literally break down into a somewhat inside-out, amoeboid organism. These are known as "Visceroids", with the strange tendency to "bleed" fluids in both gaseous and liquid forms. Visceroids tend to feed upon nearby sources of Tiberium, or, if available, they will attempt to digest organic matter of vaguely similar genetic composition to the host organism that preceded them.

Human Tiberium poisoning has become much more dangerous with its evolution: if a human comes into direct contact with Tiberium, the green matter will start to fuse with their skin within about 20 seconds. An intense burning sensation will be felt and a full infection will manifest if the victim isn't treated immediately. The flesh will begin to take on a glassy-greenish appearance as it begins to crystallize; eventually internal organs will shut down as Tiberium extends rigid crystalline runners throughout the body. If the crystal is breathed in, then it will become embedded in the lungs. The ability to process oxygen will be lost as the lung tissue crystallises. Eventually the subject will hemorrhage to death. If the part of the body that is infected is amputated, the infected can be spared further infection.

It should be noted that the new Tiberium does not always kill its victims. As due to unknown factors, a human can survive contact with it and mutate, eventually becoming a human with superior strength and endurance, and the startling ability to repair bodily damage with Tiberium exposure. There is a chance of mental instability. Shunned by most other humans, they usually leave society facing the threat of murder and general distrust. Usually, the mutants die or join a mutant tribe, such as the larger organization of several mutant tribes, the Forgotten in their exodus.

Fauna

 * See Tiberian wildlife for a more detailed article.


 * Visceroid - As stated above, the amoeba-like Visceroid is a pulsating glob of undeterminable flesh. It is often formed by the Tiberium-related death of a human-sized organism. Some variants of this organism spew Tiberium gases at its enemies, whereas others attack with pseudopods.
 * Tiberian Fiend - The 'fiend' is a horse-sized animal, resembling a terran dog. The flesh is blackish or red, and the back is covered with Tiberium crystals. It is believed Tiberium fiends were actually once dogs, although they are more reptillian on closer examination. The fiends can launch these crystals at enemies, causing both damage as well as Tiberium poisoning. Often, they bury themselves in Tiberium fields and lay in wait to attack anything they perceive as a threat. However, they will and do react to perceived acts of kindness, and the Forgotten have been able to tame a significant number of them for use as watchdogs.
 * Tiberian Floater - Looks like a large, hovering/floating, greenish/yellowish jellyfish. It can build up an electrical charge in its tentacles to zap threats. The Tiberium floater can release Tiberium gas to propel itself, as a way of movement.

Flora
Though limited in variety, Tiberium-based flora exists:
 * Blossom Tree - Sometimes referred to as Tiberium spore trees. Blossom Trees were born when normal trees come into prolonged contact with Tiberium. Once contact was made, the tree will slowly begin to mutate and develop a fleshly stalk, with a pulsating bulb periodically releasing Tiberium spores to the surrounding area. When these spores land on the ground, a new Tiberium field will begin forming. Blossom trees could spread green Tiberium at an alarming rate, and were known to sprout from any type of tree species. However, after Tiberium's evolution, they disappeared almost completely, leaving withered husks of dead trees behind.


 * Veinhole Monster - Perhaps the oddest Tiberium lifeform, the Veinhole Monster is a massive mouth-like orifice in the ground, with many orange tendrils flowing outwardly from the mouth. These tendrils harm anything heavy enough to damage them and release concentrated Tiberium vapor when the central node is threatened, the effects of which are accelerated Tiberium poisoning to both infantry and equipment. They were harvested by Nod for use in chemical weapons.


 * Tiberium Plants - These plants have not been given names. The scientific background is that they release Tiberium gas and add to the suspected terraforming process of Tiberium. These plants come in both blue and green variants and grow either on the Tiberium creep or on terrain soil. Some of these plants seem to have developed rudimentary intelligence, enough to respond to their surroundings and threats.

Trivia

 * Tiberium was inspired by the 1957 B-movie The Monolith Monsters and Dune 's primary resource, "Spice"
 * The Sims 3: World Adventures contains Tiberium that can be obtained in the form of a relic from Egypt, combining certain combinations of relics using a Carter's series display case, or breaking space rocks using the Board Breaker. It will start out as a small Spire Cut Tiberium that can be sold for 89 Simoleons, but within a single day, it will become a Large Spire Cut Tiberium worth 30k Simoleons. Leaving a piece of Tiberium in a Sim's inventory for a while will give the Sim "Visceroidal Nausea", which drops the Sim's mood by 20, causes them to become very sick and vomit frequently.
 * In SimCity 4, when placing industrial zones, a high-tech industry named Kane Tiberium will appear.
 * In the Telephone video by Lady GaGa, one cup of Tiberium is seen on the list of poison ingredients.
 * Tiberium arrived on the Tiberium universe Earth on the same year Command &amp; Conquer was released in the real world.
 * Kane claims that he named Tiberium after Tiberius Drusus Caesar, who was the Roman emperor at the time of Jesus' Crucifixion, yet another one of the biblical references in the Tiberium universe.
 * In Tiberian Sun, if Tiberium manages to spawn on the same location as a tree, hovering the cursor over it would label the tree as a Tiberium Riparius. However; since the tree is still in its very early stages of exposure, it does not distribute any additional Tiberium.
 * Tiberium can be considered as an extreme case of bioconcentration or bioaccumulation. It can also be considered as an extreme case of (extraterrestrial) invasive species.