So /tg/, I'm getting to work on revising a sci-fi setting of mine, and given that the setting focuses primarily on the criminal element on the fringes of "civilized space," drugs are going to happen.
Problem is that when it comes to shit like this, I'm not that creative, and I'd rather not just completely rip off Shadowrun or something.
So, sci-fi drug thread? Sci-fi drug thread.
Preferably non-combat and non-medical drugs, but I'll take literally anything.
If it's an alien drug you can make it do whatever you want whenever you want. Wing it if you have to.
Low orbit : Two types of druges, one stimulant and one depressant held inside a slow release capsule. The stimulant hits first, then the depressant and then the stimulant again. It's called low orbit because it's kind of like the rush of takeoff, then zero gravity and then freefalling.
>>44591589
>Low orbit
This is the shit I like to see. That's going on the list anon; thank you kindly.
>>44591295
Hey. Drugs are not cool, m'kay.
"The Lucas": A drug that induces false nostalgia by selectively erasing bad memories while at the same time making the perception of the present to appear bad. Taken by old people who had a shitty past or young contrarian cyber-hipsters.
>>44591295
Space Viagra.
Makes your dick bigger and able to fly, people take it for the lulz in space rave parties.
>>44591772
>Makes your dick bigger and able to fly
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zU-ur7PL9Vk
>>44591631
Glad you like my idea.
Mirror dust : This is a combination of drugs inverting the emotional response of the brain. Things that usually get a positive response from you will get a negative one and vice-versa. Happinness and sadness are switched. Insults will boost your ego while compliments will make you angry. The upside is that if you live in a shithole, it will make you feel better. The downside is you're probably going o destroy anything that actually makes the shithole better.
>>44591295
"Dumbox/Purity": A drug that interferes with the neo-ganglia organ so that your cognitive function drops down to the average 21st century level. Initially used by ascetic monks of the Church of Pure Man, nowadays, it is used by LARPers to simulate Homo sapiens var originalis.
I have a running gag with "Schneef" in a Pokemon game I run, it's the healing powder item that in game has numerous negative effects of you give it to Pokemon. Addicts use it like Coke and make 80's snorting jokes when using.
Thinking of doing somethings with "Rumple-mints" or "Goofer Dust" in a DnD game I'm running.
>>44591295
Obligatory:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0ruRVOCijA
One of my favorite worldbuilding parts of Ship Breaker/ The Drowned Cities was how a combat drug made forbioengineered animal-man soldiershad found its way into common use as a street drug used by ordinary humans.
They call it "crystal slide", but there are a few other terms for it as well.
>>44592321
Food is the most addictive drug there is. Ban it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50HsOJuvaKY
>>44591295
Psiannabis (Third Eye) - Genetically modified abberant strain of Marijuana
> 250% THC content, genes spliced from psilocybin mushrooms allows production of Baeocystin.
> Plant is much larger, produces sap like dabs from pores in its trunk.
> Produces strong and consistent synesthesia effect.
>>44592624
Beautiful.
>>44592624
>Why not just call it PyrE?
>>44592624
>250% THC content
Plant is more than 100% THC.
That's some pretty dank kush.
I always prefer drugs that turn people into monsters.
lil alien scorpion lookin things that tranquilize their prey, however anything larger than a dog will typically just vibe like they're on ketamine. Similar in appearance to deadly poisonous variety, breeders trying to get more potent offspring selling them out the back of exotic pet shops, color of parts of exoskeleton denote potency, etc...
>>44592489
... okay, that video is kinda cool.
A big part of fictional drugs is making them seem foreign, not just in name but in application.
Varying addiction potentials aside, stimulants are probably the most commonly traded. The utility makes them desirable for a variety of reasons, and even one drug can have a mild legal iteration as well as increasingly potent varieties. For instance, Comet's Trail might help you focus or move a little faster, but Comet's Landing will basically slow time as it eats away at your nervous system.
Depressives are also a big seller. Human alcohol might be cornering the market, or simply not as effective as an alien muscle relaxant that basically renders you comatose and chill- unless you get it in your eyes or mouth, in which case organ system failure is quite possible.
Also, don't be afraid to mix up the methods of imbibing. Drinking and smoking is pretty mundane, and injections are likely common with sci fi medical treatment. Doing a line of crystalized alien fish spinal fluid cut with opal is a lot more fun than just rolling it up and puffing on it, but it's even better if you get the fresh stuff and drop it in your eye.
If you're really rich, hollow teeth filled with personal doses of a dozen drugs, one for every occasion, means you won't leave them in your coat when you stumble back to your ship.
>>44591295
Skrillax!
In the far flung future its a well known fact that listening to Skrillex is detrimental to the brain. With the advances in neural science it wasn't long before we'd learned how to use music, tonal beats, and neural beats tuned to our natural thought frequency for therapeutic uses.
The real break through came with pain relief through reliable Audio Therapy. A new form of recreational drug was born practically overnight. Wanna get loose with some pals? Hit up a torrent and download some drugs! Before it could truly get managed and legislation in place it was downloaded, uploaded, and copied countless times.
A new movement was born, Virtual Drugs. Drugs that can be taken aurally, any time anywhere. Drugs that can be downloaded to mp3's and iphones, traded via email, burned into CD's and smuggled to less connected area's completely inconspicuous.
It seemed this was it, THIS was the peak of illegal drugs. cut out the dealers and backalley deals, no risk of injury or getting shysted, no worry of having cut or false product. Then the dealers, like all of humanity, got smart rather than die away quietly forgotten.
They started customizing already available product using previously discovered mind altering effect of music genres. Funny things happen when you expose the brain to music, things you wouldn't expect. Y'know Metal? Sure ya do, everyones heard it at least once. But heres a little tidbit you'd never expect, it calms you. Yeah. All that screaming and thrashing actually makes your mind go into a calmer state whether you like it or not. Guess what happens when you combine that with pain relief Audio Therapy mixed with Neural beats tuned to your brains natural frequency? You go for a ride like none you could ever experience. But that ride comes at a price. That bitch will grab the wires of your brain and start crossing and splicing to get the effect it wants and that spells trouble for you.
Read or listen to "The Little Match Girl" by Heather Shaw.
https://www.clowdy.com/vanvangtrangvang/cvjc40/escapepod-heather-shaw-ep249-little-match-girl
>>44593512
Around 30 years ago, i know thats further back than most of you could remember given more than half of you weren't even alive back then, we had a REAL problem. Some bastard somewhere got into archives that had been locked away for so long even WE forgot it existed.
An extremely early 21st century one man "band" going by name of Skrillex. AT research noticed early on that certain genres caused permanent neurological changes, some of them detrimental. Of course they had to dig deeper, learn everything they could. They finally came upon Skrillex and his "music" and tested its effects on volunteers. Testing stopped immediately after 2/3 volunteers developed brain hemorrhages and severe neurological decay while 1/3 showed no negative effects at all, this 1/3 was later shown to already be suffering from mental retardation.
The music and its creator were quickly locked away deep underground, the subgenre it belonged too was made illegal world wide and all were quickly forgotten. That is, until a certain cartel dug out this forgotten tomb in its search for ever more potent drug ingredients. Unspeakable experiments took place and soon after a new drug hit the street. The most powerful Auditory Drug ever seen before or since. Side effects include partial frontal cortex necrosis, blindness, chronic pain, and lifelong twitches.
NEVER Chillax with Skrillax!
>>44591741
Damn that's some timely social commentary
The award for the most retarded scifi drug ever has to go to the thing in Surrogates. The thing that looks like a dildo that the robots rub against each other and then giggle like retards.
I mean, the whole fucking point of the plot is that nothing the surrogates do or experience should actually affect the person controlling them, so logically it doesn't matter how much they fuck up their censors or whatever. And yet it's portrayed as all hedonistic and OH NO DRUGS ARE BAD when they sit around in a circle and take hits from their electro-bongdong.
So that should probably be something to remember: if you want to include any kind of criminal element to drugs, they need to have something that fucks you up in a way that cannot be shrugged off. If your scifi setting is so advanced that people can casually get fixed like it's nothing, then it'll be ridiculous if drugs are still considered to be the resident Bad thing that the law is always trying to stomp out.
>>44591741
>Implying that the Original Trilogy wasn't better.
>Implying that the New Trilogy only appeared bad and wasn't criminally shitty
>Appealing to old age or contrarian hipsterism as the only reasons why someone would not agree.
Millennial detected.
>>44594034
Lol, you on the "Lucas" son?
>>44592112
I can see that drug being encouraged because it helps keep the oppressed from ever threatening the oppressors.
Travel. On its own it's not exactly a drug. What it does is create a wormhole that moves you, and any items on your person, to another location. The problem is that going through a wormhole unprotected causes psychologically damaging sensations for an hour or two afterwards and these wormholes are too small for suitable protection.
The solution to that is a memory blocker. Block the memory, block the psychological damage from it. So proper use of Travel has three components:
- Travel
- Memory Blocker
- A clinic at the destination that prevents you doing anything you'd regret until the memory blocker has left your body. More expensive clinics can even flush the blocker from your bloodstream once the wormhole sensations have passed.
Pay enough money and all is fine. Trying to go cheap is where the risk is:
- Cheap Travel has a higher potential variance in where you end up. A few hundred meters horizontally is probably fine, though that depends on the owners of the building you arrived in. Being tens of meters above the intended destination is a problem unless you're arriving in a tall building. Being a meter or two below your destination is even worse so always include the ground sensing option with your Travel.
- Being cheap on the memory blocker can go badly, depending on what substitute you use. Maybe it doesn't block the memories well enough, maybe you're so drunk/high that the clinic tosses you out. Leaving you to wander the streets while drunk/high/tripping off the wormhole sensations with noone to stop you doing something stupid that you won't remember.
- Skimping on the clinic can work out if you've got a friend you can trust. The biggest problem is making sure you're in the country legally.
