Explained at the simplest level, matter is simply a number of subatomic particles which have become associated with each other in different combinations and numbers. The ReforMatter, then, can be said to rearrange those subatomic particles, disassembling the source material into its corresponding parts and reassembling those particles to create the desired substance.

Resembling a small toaster oven when set up, the ReforMatter has preset functions to provide safe food, water, and air from materials at hand )in quantities limited to what will fit in a unit roughly the size of a toaster oven or small microwave); spinner-goo tends to be a popular choice, and the ?? setting reproduces the user manual.

A user-programmable manual setting allows the user to specify substances with known chemical properties, experiment with variations of known substances, or create a frightful mess with very little effort at all.

A scanning function can determine the makeup and composition of items small enough to be placed inside. The results of these scans can be saved to one of 99 memory slots and duplicated as desired. Keep in mind that most governments take a dim view of anyone but themselves creating money; duplication of local currency tends to be a crime on most worlds. It should also be noted that while the ReforMatter can produce organic matter, it can not create complex living organisms. Thus, while viable plant matter might be created, any attempt to create small animal life has resulted in the still-warm corpse of a little dead animal.

Keep in mind that most governments take a dim view of anyone but themselves creating money; duplication of local currency tends to be a crime on most worlds. Duplicating rare artifacts or substances may be illegal or resented by members of the local economy.