Varkassa Mold

-Mold cuttings from Varkassa; initial reports concerned the flavor value of the mold when used in the production of corpse starch.

-Tests are ongoing, but initial findings are somewhat concerning:

-Fruiting bodies resemble neurons in approximate appearance, growing up to a meter in size, gray in color and slimy in texture. 

-The mold is characterized by a mild psychic static charge; this may be linked to its propensity to tap into the central nervous system of corpses it infects (indeed, the mold is incapable of reaching its fruiting and blooming stages without such a connection point). Some element of quality seems to be involved with the degree to which the fruiting bodies develop; servitor corpses produced smaller growths than others. One might hypothesize this is due to a reduced immaterium potential, leading to the interesting hypothetical of how the mold would react to a null presence.
*Note: The mold did not, at least, indicate signs of corruption when exposed to the purifcation/purge protocol of Redressor.
**Note: Though targeting the fungus with biomancy yielded no results of interest, divination focused on the mold yielded sensations of discomfort, and telepathy yielded a strange vision in which Lazarus was in a hive city filled with people with terrifying faces running through an around him; upon awakening, he realized the body he had occupied in the vision was the same as the corpse he had targeted with telepathy. Based on this information and the other listed traits of the mold, I hypothesize that the fungus in some part consumes and traps remnants of the corpses soul.
***Note: Lazarus is not to be allowed near the fungus without supervision, as he has demonstrated an astounding lack of sensibility with regard contamination threats.

-The lifecycle of the mold involves the spores taking root in a dead body, tapping the central nervous system through mycellium growth, and producing an array of fruiting bodies which then release spores. The spores remain in an inert state until reaching a suitable growth medium; notably, though they will not begin to germinate in a living body, the inert spores will cause the host's body to bloom shortly after death.

-The spores are not overtly resilient to environmental factors; though they can remain inert for long spans of time, they are susceptible to standard fungicides and other methods of sterilization, including high heat. Crucially, the standard process of transforming a body into corpse starch is insufficient to destroy the spores, and an individual who has consumed mold processed starch will also bloom after death. Though this is some cause for concern, it appears that a regimen of antifungals can cleanse a living or dead person of such spores.
*Note: bearing this in mind, instructions have been dispatched to Varkassa concerning a means to cleanse the population of spores and hygienically prepare corpse starch with bloomed corpses, to prevent contamination from leaving the planet.

-Research indicates that the mold does indeed vastly improve the flavour of corpse starch; if preparation protocols are rigorously observed, it should be possible to utilize this quality without infecting consumers. To this end, the company has purchased the currently defunct Norimar Corpse Starch Manufactory, which is currently undergoing resurrection under the supervision of Magos and Enginseer Theta-9.