A ceramic made by providing a composition and pyrolyzing the composition. The composition has siloxane polymer, metallic polymer, siloxane thermoset, and/or metallic thermoset having a backbone having: an acetylenic repeat unit; and --SiR.sub.2--(O--SiR.sub.2).sub.n-- and/or --SiR.sub.2--(O--SiR.sub.2).sub.n-[Cb-SiR.sub.2--(O--SiR.sub.2).sub.n].su- b.m--. R is an organic group, Cb is a carborane, and n and m are integers greater than or equal to zero. Any crosslinking is a crosslink between acetylene groups and/or a polycarbosiloxane crosslink. The composition also has free metal atoms, metal clusters, or metal nanoparticles dispersed homogeneously throughout the composition; (ML.sub.x).sub.y-acetylene complex in the backbone; and/or a metallic compound for forming a (ML.sub.x).sub.y-acetylene complex. M is a metal, L is a ligand, x and y are positive integers.