Derived Resources

We can think of resources in terms of their availability:

• Ready-to-use resources are resources that exist in a visible, recognizable state – in other words, they can be used "as is."
• Derived resources are "hidden" and become available only after undergoing a transformation of some kind.

Resources are transformed through the Operators and application of one or more inventive fields:
Mechanical, Thermal, Chemical, Electrical, Magnetic and Electro-Magnetic (MeThChEM).

The nature of a resource is such that there are "natural" ways to exploit it - i.e., different types of resources are associated with one or more types of effect. The diagram below illustrates the relationship between resources and effects. Of course, some overlap always exists in a system. Thus, all effects are usually available simultaneously.