Original & Other Elements: 28/? Manganese
He opens his eyes, and he looks at his hands—and perhaps, they don't belong to him. They are familiar yet strange, slightly wrong—slightly out of time. And hasn't he always been so, after all? He isn't sure. But still, the question falls into his mind like a feather, like a raindrop. Like a knock on a door.
And he walks past dark corridors and hallways, like someone caught in a dream, searching for his own name. He feels shapeless, fluid, almost back to his elemental, molecular state—back to his own beginning.
Manganese is an actual element, part of Group 7, along with technetium, rhenium, and bohrium. It was first isolated in 1774, although its usage dates back to prehistory as a pigment in cave paintings. It is a hard, silvery transition metal, often found with iron. It is also a vital part of human biology and diet, particularly in the functioning of the bones, liver, kidneys & brain, although a too high intake or overexposure can lead to various kinds of neurological degeneration.
It has many industrial uses, especially in alloys (often with aluminium), including in the making of stainless steel, glass, ceramic glazes, batteries, resistors, coins, fertiliser, and as an oxidating agent. It can be toxic to marine life.
Manganese isn’t mentioned in the series, but has appeared in fic at least once, in The sky outside by theseatheseatheopensea (quoted above), and certainly seems like an interesting possibility for a new element!