The Wayward Vagabond enjoying a tasty nugget of uranium.
Uranium is a highly radioactive substance frequently used in nuclear reactors to power energy-intensive machinery.
Significance[]
Real-life uranium, a metal, is not quite so green and radiant as it appears in Homestuck. Because of the distinct green fluorescence of uranium glass, however, uranium and radiation in general have come to be pop culturally associated with a green glow. Uranium's glowing green appearance is significant in Homestuck as an indication that other glowing green substances and phenomena are similarly radioactive, such as the powerful energy emitted by first guardians and the 
from which they draw.[1] This coloration also makes it an appealing snack to certain characters with a taste for vegetation and anything that looks like vegetation.
Perhaps because of its association with the cosmically significant , uranium and radiation are also closely associated with the Space aspect. The Witch of Space Jade Harley has plenty of it in her room, and her planet the Land of Frost and Frogs is covered in a blanket of snow which Andrew Hussie's commentary in the Homestuck books suggests is "brought about by something in the general department of nuclear fallout"; the is said to have "the whole session, and this planet in particular, on lock".[2] Suitably, uranium is the name given to a type of grist abundant on the planet. The name of the Sylph of Space Kanaya Maryam's Land of Rays and Frogs could also be taken as suggesting some connection to radiation.
Uses[]
Skaianet seems to prefer nuclear energy as the source of power for most of their products, with their laboratories containing vast arrays of portable nuclear hubs; even a simple cookalizer offers the option to completely irradiate your meal.
Transporting matter across timelines or universes can have a high uranium cost; the machine used to open the rift from Earth to the A2 session required a whole chunk for just one trip, while a transmaterializer sending material across a scratch uses a “massive amount of power” and can burn through large quantities of uranium in just a single use.
Advanced robotics can also run on uranium; Jake English's final version of the bunny ran on some, which had to be plundered from another robot of Dirk Strider's design. It might be presumed that Jade's dreambot, itself another product of Skaianet, also runs on uranium; on Alternia, meanwhile, where technology is more similar to biology, the same power source takes the form of an artificial heart.
Trivia[]
- Uranium's atomic number is 92; the hex code for the bright green-blooded Calliope's grey text is #929292.
References[]
- ↑ Andrew Hussie. "WV is not a vengeful, righteous, or revolutionary figure. Not anymore. He is only regretful and full of sorrow for the losses he's responsible for, which has probably resulted in his mild demeanor and preoccupation with more benign pursuits, such as lofty thoughts about democracy, silly model building, and chalk drawings. He also seems to be subconsciously aware that the uranium in his belly is linked to the fearsome, radioactive green sun energy the ring will grant him." Homestuck: Book 6: Act 5 Act 2 Part 2, p. 99.
- ↑ Andrew Hussie. "The "pollutant" of Jade's land is thick snow cover, brought about by something in the general department of nuclear fallout. Her bedsheet pattern has stylistically flipped to green, with the recurring sun icon conspicuously assuming this hue, in direct reference to—brace yourselves—The Green Sun. I know, the symbology is getting pretty hard to interpret, but hang in there. Much like Bec's head on top of the frog ruins reminds us of Bec Noir's sudden domination over these realms, flipping the familiar sun sigil to green also Signals that the Green Sun and its infinite energy supply are fully presiding over events now as well. It has the whole session, and this planet in particular, on lock. The green Bec-powers have always been associated with a sort of radioactive energy, so that would seem to be the impetus for this wintry nuclear fallout that's enveloped this planet, which is otherwise covered with banyan trees and frozen lakes full of frogs in icy stasis." {{{source}}}, p. 385.