Alkad Mzu is a scientist. She invented the Alchemist super-weapon. While at war with the planet Omuta, Garissa (her home planet) was attacked and millions of people killed. The few survivors were forced to abandon the radioactive planet, and Mzu now seeks revenge against Omuta on behalf of her people. Mzu intends to use her weapon on its more 'humane' setting to extinguish Omuta's sun, forcing the Omutans to evacuate and become homeless wanderers, without inflicting mass deaths. When she sees firsthand the mass destruction wrought by the possessed, she begins to realize that her weapon represents a great danger to the Confederation.
The Neutronium Alchemist Conflict