Fly
The addictive recreational drug Fly, is manufactured from the seeds of the Great Flag tree, which grows in the mountain table lands of the Triambic Escarpment on the planet of Inuwarmah.
Properties
Material Characteristics
Fly is sold in small packets of crimson coloured powder. It is consumed by dissolving the powder into a drink, most commonly an alcoholic drink.
Physical & Chemical Properties
Fly has a powerful and addictive psychoactive effect on human consciousness. It induces hallucinogenic visions populated with the deep desires of the user and accompanied by a profound sense of wellbeing. Users often say that they feel powerful and invulnerable when fly is affecting their mental state and foolish actions performed under this delusion have been the cause of many deaths. Users of Fly display a distinctive purple blush under their skin. Withdrawal symptoms from frequent Fly use are painful and can be fatal.
In the first half of the 26th century, there was a growing problem with Fly addiction both on and off Earth.
Origin & Source
The Great Flag tree is a tall species with a smooth grey trunk, spare and very straight with a broad crown. It has elegant palmate leaves which twist in the wind showing the front and back sides in two complementary shades of pale yellow and green. The geometry of the forest and the flow of air creates waves of synchronised motion in the leaves so that seen from the ground, patterns of green and yellow sweep across the sky in great gusting arcs of transformation. Small clusters of heavy dark red seeds peek between the high branches, alternately hidden and revealed by the play of the wind. Each seed is roughly the size and shape of a coconut, but smooth of skin, mottled and faintly scented with a bitter aroma.
Great Flag tree seeds are rich in the compound that becomes Fly.
History & Usage
Cultural Significance and Usage
On Inuwarmah, the Inuwar, whilst not using the refined form of the drug, do take and break the Great Flag tree seeds and eat the pulp which only produces a very mild euphoric effect for them, nothing like the much stronger reactions induced in human metabolism.
The seeds themselves, however, also provide a chemical which is an important aid to Inuwar fertility and the delivery of a seed by a male to a female Inuwar is part of their established courtship rituals.
Refinement
In the production process established by the BXR, nimble robot pickers are used to harvest the ripe seeds. These are old Tetratic Empire technology which has been adapted for modern use.
The seeds are crushed, the shells winnowed out and the marrows distilled. The residual pulp is strained through a methanol compressor and redistilled before the concentrated product is dried. It is then cut with a base substrate to turn it into the street ready form of the drug.
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