Element X

Element X (or commonly known as Xenon), is an element on the periodic table that plays an important role in Codename: War. In the story, the Blue Suns terrorist group uses Xenon as an ingredient in the production of the Proto-Bomb as well as some of their weapons in the form of specialized "Element X" bullets.

Founding and History
Element X was discovered by English chemists William Ramsay and Morris Travers on July 12, 1898, shortly after their discovery of the elements krypton and neon. During the 1930s, engineer Harold Edgerton began exploring strobe light technology for high speed photography. This led him to the invention of the xenon flash lamp, in which light is generated by sending a brief electrical current through a tube filled with xenon gas. In 1934, Edgerton was able to generate flashes as brief as one microsecond with this method. In 1939, Albert R. Behnke Jr. began exploring the causes of "drunkenness" in deep-sea divers. He tested the effects of varying the breathing mixtures on his subjects, and discovered that this caused the divers to perceive a change in depth. From his results, he deduced that xenon gas could serve as an anesthetic. Although Lazharev, in Russia, apparently studied xenon anesthesia in 1941, the first published report confirming xenon anesthesia was in 1946 by J. H. Lawrence, who experimented on mice. Xenon was first used as a surgical anesthetic in 1951 by Stuart C. Cullen, who successfully operated on two patients.

In 2011, it was reported that the Al-Quaeda and Taliban forces contracted several large amounts of Element X and the samples were last seen being taken away in a heavily-guarded convoy. What happened to the samples was not revealed until 2013, where it was discovered by Echo Four that the Element X samples were "enhanced" with more dangerous compounds that would further increase the volitile effects brought on by exposure to them. Due to this, it was labeled as a possible weapon of mass destruction.

Danger to Others
However proved medically safe for procedures, Element X is dangerous as it quickly displaces oxygen in the human body and eventually, the person inhaling Element X will be asphyxiated.