Matter was not just stuff. It was atoms arranged in a specific way, held together by bonds. Those bonds existed because electrons were shared or pulled, and because charges balanced into a stable pattern.
When energy entered a material, it did not just make it hot. It made particles move faster, collide harder, and sometimes break their bonds. Heat melted ice because water molecules gained enough motion to stop locking together. Enough energy could even break molecules apart.
But energy could also build.
With the right ingredients and the right conditions, energy helped atoms form stable bonds again. That was why reactions needed heat, pressure, catalysts, or a precise environment. The final result depended on what atoms were present and how they were allowed to connect.
Structure decided properties.
Even metal changed when its crystals formed differently. The grain structure decided whether it bent, cracked, or held.
That was why space power was not a cheat code.
