Drugs In Mage
"I in my grandeur have surpassed the sky and this vast Earth. I am
great! Great! Flying to the skies! Have I not drunk the soma?"
Rigveda 10.119.8, 12
Mages have never been constrained by the morals of the sleepers, and have
always explored realms far beyond mortal comprehension. One such area is
the use of various drugs to alter perception, consciousness or reality
itself. Mages have always been seeking ways to bring their visions to the
unenlightened or help their followers to understand transcendent reality,
and many have found drugs quite useful in this respect. While many mages
have used various substances useful to their own magick and inspiration,
most regard them as a bit of upaya (Sanskrit, "Skillful means"), simple
tricks to help on the path to Ascension.
Drugs
Alamut Black
This mixture was reputedly developed by Hassan i Sabbah (the founder of
the Assassins) himself, and used for initiating members of the order or
to achieve mystical insights. Since then the secret of its preparation
has been handed down in the Cult of Ecstasy through generations, from
mentor to disciple. It is almost pure hashish with a pinch of belladonna
and stramonium (20:1:1). Like ordinary hashish it is hallucinogenic, but
the visual imagery is much more brilliant and persistent; it has been
likened to an episode of Quiet and allows the mage to seek hidden
knowledge and illumination in his own mixture of reality and imagination.
Nephente
This drug was used in the Mediterranean during the Greek Era. It was
probably a mixture of opium and a rare kind of lotus, and induced in its
users a languid, pleasurable state of mind with an intense sensitivity to
beauty. On the downside, it made its users passive and somewhat sluggish.
It is believed it was used by both the Seers to gain insight into the
aesthetics of the world and by the Pythagoreans to become able to
experience the music of the spheres directly.
The Sacrament of the Black Mother
This red-black elixir is made by the Cult of the Final
Ecstasy. Its exact ingredients are not known, but are most certainly quite
vile. Its effect is dramatic; it breaks down the will and rational mind of the
imbiber, allowing the repressed sides to appear. During the influence (which can
last for several days) the person will wander around in a daze, filled with strange
emotions and visions (many latter describe the experience as being both dead and
alive, surrounded by the immense presence of the frightening and comforting Black
Mother). The Cult use this both as a way of controlling people and as an initiation
rite; it is not uncommon for drugged people to gain deep insights in the ecstasies
of life and death.
Soma
This is a legendary drug of the tantrics of India, known since Vedic
times, when it was often offered as a sacrifice to Indra and the other
gods. It was made from a plant that originally grew in heaven but was
brought to earth by a heroic eagle that planted it in the mountains. Wise
men gathered it, pressed it between stones into a wooden bowl, filtered
the juice through wool and finally sprinkled the soma with clarified
butter. Today this sacred plant have become very rare, and only the
tantrics know where to find it. Soma is said to give both health and
immortality, and its users feel exhilaration and rapture at the beauty
and power of the world. Some mystics even worshipped it as the creative
power of God. Among the tantric mages it is used in the ceremonial
preparations before sex magick, both as a sacrifice to Indra and Lakshmi,
and to make their own union truly divine.
Theta-norepinephrine ("Crystal")
This drug was developed by the Progenitors and is currently marketed by
the Syndicate. It is expected to become the new big designer drug, and
currently the Mobsters are concentrating on spreading it among
up-and-coming businesspeople and the jet set to give it the same air of
glamour they gave cocaine. The drug (brilliant crystals which are placed
beneath the tongue to dissolve, hence its nickname) stimulates the
user and helps him handle stress better. This has some quite profitable
results (from the perspective of the Syndicate): the user becomes more
effective and thus can afford the drug without getting burned out, his
improved results will entice others to try out Crystal, people slowly
learn to cope with the fast pace of modern life but become dependent on
the drug which the Syndicate controls - and the best part is that it
doesn't cause any physiological or mental addiction, but since the users
will have taken upon themselves an excessive workload they can't stop
using it without getting hopelessly inefficient. It has a tendency to
promote high blood pressure, ulcers, heart trouble and other stress
related diseases in the long run, so the Progenitors foresee a huge
market of their next generation of tranquillisers and relaxation methods.
The Dancing Powder
This powder is made from dried crushed spiders of the poisonous species
Aranea Praegustator (common in most equatorial America). When ingested
it causes hyperactivity, an inability to remain still (it is quite common
for users to begin to dance uncontrollably) and ecstatic trance states.
The drug is generally used to facilitate possession by spirits or gods,
who enter the user and manifest through him.
White Lightening
This is a very pure batch of LSD made by Richard Alpert in the 60's,
(accidentally?) mixed with a small amount of Tass. Its effect on sleepers
isn't unlike normal LSD, although it is much stronger and has the ability
of giving visions of the Umbra. On mages it has very different effects;
it focuses their inner vision towards Ascension and the total unity of
space, time, matter, consciousness and the mage. The effect is quiet and
gentle, but powerful as the movement of the planets themselves. When the
Akashic Brotherhood found out about the batch after Alpert visited Tibet,
they immediately acquired it from Alpert and made certain he would not
spread it among the Cult of Ecstasy. Apparently they were fearful of the
effects of the drug on untrained western minds, or they did not wish that
the vision of Samadhi would be replicated by mere chemistry.
Witches Ointment
This is an ancient Verbena concoction, consisting of fat from a
sacrifice, belladonna, henbane and frog skin consecrated at a new moon.
When applied to the genitals and anus it gives a feeling of drowsiness
and vivid hallucinations. In this trance state it is much easier to send
one's mind to remote places or worlds, giving rise to the myths about
witches flying to the Sabbath on broomsticks.
AUM
This drug was developed by the Erisian Liberation Front, a subgroup of
the Discordians. It is a complex extract of hemp, RNA, heroin, cocaine
and LSD. The heroin stills anxiety, RNA stimulates creativity, the hemp
and LSD opens up the mind to joy and the cocaine stimulates thinking and
activity. The net result is quite subtle, and not immediately apparent to
the user. The long term effect seems to be an increase in "constructive
gullibility", an extreme openness to new ideas and perspectives which
allows the user to move from paradigm to paradigm. The Discordians try to
give it to unknowing sleepers, attempting to turn them from neophobes to
neophiles. The results are seldom predictable, sometimes the users go
insane, sometimes they become creative and starts to develop their own
ideas, sometimes they spontaneously awaken - but might join the
Technocracy just as well as the Discordians. AUM is even more dangerous
to mages, who risk slipping into marauderdom by its effects if they are
not careful.
Poisons
Hydra Venom
This poison is sometimes used by the Euthanatos to bring the good death
to especially worthy persons. It is a rare distillate of dozens of snake
poisons gathered from the Shard Realm of Life, extremely toxic and
virulent. As soon as it gets into the organism of someone, it will spread
causing a burning agonising pain which only gets worse and worse. At the
same time the victim becomes less affected by other kinds of pain, since
they are so minor compared to the poison. Usually the victims commit
suicide after a few hours of agony, releasing their souls from this
incarnation.
Lacrima Tenebris
This alchemical preparation (a slightly salty liquid, indistinguishable
from tears) is made from lead salts, nightshade and tears from people in
sorrow. By distilling and consecrating the solution on a Saturday, it
will become filled with the powers of death and darkness. It can be mixed
in food or drink, and will quickly induce a stupor followed by apparent
death. In reality the preparation just freezes the bodily functions, and
the victim is still alive and fully conscious in an almost total darkness
with occasional glimpses of the surroundings. It is extremely hard to
tell that the victim is alive, and most are simply assumed to be dead and
buried.
Medicines
Tetramethylhypnol
This drug was developed by a research team led by Professor Heiselberg at
the TAU construct to combat the effects of dreaming. It is an
anti-hallucinogenic drug, which effectively inhibits all forms of
dreaming during sleep. The drug makes its users rational and more
connected to normal reality, draining away their creativity and
imagination. Unfortunately the lack of dreaming also makes learning
harder, and the unimaginative down-to-earth personality which emerges is
actually not very suitable for the complex duties of technomancy. The
drug is however widely used among field operatives and kamrads of
Iteration X and the New World Order.
Dr. Wilson's Radioactive Wonder Elixir
This mixture was devised around the turn of the century by a Son of Ether
with a sense for business. He wanted both to help the sleepers and earn
money, so he devised various more or less spurious medicines and wonder
drugs. His Wonder Elixir was one of his most successful, mostly because
it actually contains radioactive water (in addition to "animating and
potent minerals and herbs") - so much in fact that a Geiger counter will
give rather extreme readings around it. Despite the radioactivity it is
without doubt extremely stimulating and completely non-addictive, and
users report that it speeds up growth and improves their health quite a
bit.
SRA4I-23
SRA4I-23 (Serotenin Receptor A-4 Inhibitor 23) was developed by sleeper
chemists, but has so far been suppressed by the Technocracy until they
decide it is time to release it. It binds to the receptors in the
pleasure centres of the brain, making it impossible to stimulate them by
drugs of any kind. A user will not feel any cravings for alcohol,
tobacco, other drugs or even chocolate during the effect. It also has the
effect of decreasing the sex-drive and making the mood calm and positive.
This drug could of course permanently solve many drug problems and become
a tremendous weapon against the Cult of Ecstasy (as the NWO and some
Progenitors wishes), but the Syndicate and the Pharmakopists aren't as
thrilled. So far it has been mainly used within the Technocracy to ensure
efficiency and dedication with very positive results.
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Anders Sandberg / nv91-asa@nada.kth.se