Think for a second about what the world would be like if we could only process “positive” feelings such as enjoyment, pleasure and happiness. Nothing else. Forget about pain, fear, sadness and other ways of suffering. It would be nice… right?
-Doctor Leo Strootman, a 47-year-old rawboned neurochemical scientist, stood up, glass of scotch in hand, and had a good gaze on the city through the window.-
- “Look at them, Mayor. Poor creatures; they are all suffering. Endless souls wandering around in a world that has no mercy on them. They waste their entire lives on such trivial things to fill in a void they have inside. Social media, sports, art, music, video games, gluttony, alcohol, entertainment! All of that to soften the pain their mere existence implies. They are nothing but selfish pricks trapped in an infinite pursuit of happiness. Instead of focusing their efforts on things that matter, they waste their entire days and plunge into an abyss of vanity. Our city is going through such a difficult crisis because of those lazy monkeys. We were able to handle the problem the first couple of decades, but now, I am afraid the social decay has accelerated. Jobs are being lost, production in every sector has decreased, students are dropping school. It’s a gloomy future… But thanks to me, to us, that will all change for the better.”
- “I understand. And by the way you are speaking, doctor, I can only assume you have finally made it.”
- “Yes, indeed I have, Mayor. The toxin has already been tested on human subjects and the results are utterly satisfactory. It was able to alter the stimulation of dopamine, oxytocin, endorphin and serotonin within the individual’s endocrine system as expected. All we need to do now is apply it on every citizen and soon you will see how their perception of happiness will change. Every interaction they have will do nothing but create satisfaction. No matter what we are talking about. A breakup, a needle tearing a hole, financial issues and even a close person’s death, it will all active said hormones and solve their problems. We will do them a great favor and they will now have time to focus all their efforts on productivity. The effects will not display all at once, though. They will increase their intensity in the individual’s system exponentially, reaching their highest after four weeks. Now, we just need to release the toxin inside the whole water supply system, including pipes and the distribution of bottled water.”
- “I don’t think we should do that. I am sure there must be another way so they consume it voluntarily!”
- “No, there is not. People won’t accept measurements like this one. They are too arrogant for that. A government interfering in their lives at such a scale will only generate disapproval. But do not worry, Mayor, you must trust me, once it’s done, we will put a smile in their faces.”
-The toxin was inserted into the whole water consumption of the city. The actions taken were thoroughly delivered, so no mistake would occur. Only a handful of men knew of the operation, and every witness was forced to take the toxin one way or another. After just two days, it was spread out across the whole city. It’s time to see the world becoming a better place.
-The Robertson’s were a married couple who were going through a divorce right before the events. They have been married for 12 years already and have 3 children. Their lives had become a boring routine, which made them cheat on each other several times. After they found out about each other’s affairs, every day was a war zone in the house. They argued about everything, their children cried all day, Bob lost his job and nothing seemed to go right for them. But after the first week consuming the toxin, something seemed to change. Their levels of stress decreased. They started appreciating each other once again. They made love after so many months and all their problems seemed to have vanished.
-Their son Charles saw something similar happening to his life. He was a tiny 15-year-old boy who suffered a lot from his parents’ situation. It could be noticed at school just as well. He was very depressed all the time and no one seemed to understand him, which made him the perfect victim for bullying. His grades were looking pretty bad, as his teacher was very mediocre and mean in his opinion, and was yelled at by his parents in a daily basis. He tried to forget about his hardships playing video games and excluding himself from society. He had even tried cutting himself once or twice. However, the toxin was starting to react positively on him. Now he felt joy when talking to other classmates. Even to the girl he felt so anxious about before. He asked her out and she happily accepted. He became friends with his bullies and enjoyed the time he spent with his family at home. He didn’t feel the need of playing video games any more, as he felt he had all he wanted in life already.
-Ms. Patterson was Charles’ chemistry teacher. A 37-year-old single mom, who had to drop her PhD course to take care of her baby at the age of 23. She felt so disappointed every time she thought of the great things she could have accomplished in her life if she hadn’t gotten pregnant. And she does it often. All she did was sit inside a room full of kids who aren’t interested in her classes during the mornings, and get drunk on a bottle of vodka every night sitting in her couch in loneliness at night. But now that she has the “divine toxin” within her, her life has taken a 360° turn. She is no longer mean to her students. She is enjoying teaching again after so many years. Before, she would not even care about her looks, but now she feels pretty and quickly started to go out with a cop who lived next-door. She hadn’t had the company of a man after her boyfriend left. She stopped drinking right away too. That void was already “filled”.
-Scott was an overweight cop in his mid 40’s. He had always had a hard time establishing a long term relationship for his self-esteem was low. At work, he wasn’t the best either. It was very easy for his workmates to mock him due to his ineptitude and low performance. Food was the only thing that kept him sane. However, thanks to the “miracle of science”, he is now dating Ms. Patterson and stopped eating that much. He could focus better at work. Once, in a kidnapping situation at a bank, orchestrated by some German group, he showed the courage and accuracy necessary to stop them. Life couldn’t look better for him.
-And it couldn’t look better for anyone in the city either, and that’s with the drug only having a 25% of effects on them. Its full effects will be seen just after four weeks. It seems like the professor was right after all.
-After the second week was over, things had a much better look than before. Now, it was not only that the toxin amplified the sense of happiness on things, but even for those things you didn’t like, you would feel like doing your favorite thing in the world.
-Let’s get back to the Robertson’s for instance. Bob used to work in an office with no one around but four walls and a door. He only talked to his boss, who resides in Europe, to hear him yell very loudly about the reports he didn’t make. That’s what had made him quit in the first place. Nevertheless, he asked his boss for an opportunity of getting it back, and seeing his new attitude, his boss accepted. Bod couldn’t be happier. That uncomfortable chair, annoying ticking light bulb, sense of absolute loneliness, that all started to feel so good to him. It would take him a whole moth to finish a report on the financial situation of the company, but now, he finished it in four days. He got home every afternoon and his wife awaited him with lots of surprises. He would have never agreed on a man-woman-man threesome in a million years before. However now, he feels so comfortable with it, and loves it so much.
-In the meantime, his son is so dedicated at school. He wakes up very early and helps to do all the housework in no time. He is in love with it. He asked his parents for permission to lose his virginity with his girlfriend at home, and they cheered and told him to bring her that same night.
-Ms. Patterson is so good at her job now, that they saw most of the school subjects of the whole month in just a week. In the past, she wouldn’t care much about her students, as she kind of hated them. But currently, she listens to what they have to say, even if it took her hours after the bell rang. Definitely, her love for kids grew bigger. To the point that when she saw a vacant at the kindergarten, she applied right away. Cleaning up their mess and poop became one of her favorite things in the world.
-The crime rates have plummeted for Scott and the whole Police Department would do an excellent job (also, the criminals did not have the need of committing crimes any more).
-As you can see, their lives are not just better, but the entire city’s. Everybody from the outside was wondering what the cause for such dramatic changes was, as the financial crisis ceased because of the great level of productivity. Whatever they did, they did it with the best of enthusiasm. It was such a pleasant feeling, that it became addicting. Soon, you could see how the community got involved in any kind of activity they could. New experiences generated more intense emotions that they had never sensed before. The thing is that they were all charged with an increasing level of passion and pleasure, making each new experience more addicting than the previous.
-It was the middle of the 4th week, when Bob received a phone call from his wife. She felt so happy about the orgy the had the night before, that she was now describing what other things were awaiting for them. He was so distracted by all she was saying, that he accidentally ran over and old woman. What a great sensation. He had never felt that way before. Such an addicting feeling that the next thing he does is run over the next person he finds. In this case, a 20 year old whom, as soon as he noticed the car crushing both of his legs, cracked in laughter. It was a new experience for him, and it was very satisfactory. Almost orgasmic. The people witnessing the event loved what they were seeing so much that they wanted to do it themselves. Some wanted to be the victims and others the killers. Some wanted to do both. It was mayhem spreading across the city, and they could not feel better about it.
-Charles was in class with Ms. Patterson. They were having a conversation, as it was common lately. They feel so good there, that they start getting closer until they make out. They had lost any awareness of prohibition. Nothing seemed to be wrong. There was just pleasure. His classmates watched all of that in such amazement, that all they wanted to do was join in.
-The police, contemplating the chaos that stunned the city, decided to take action pretty soon. But a man under such effects, would just feel uncontrollable pleasure watching the scenario described above. Scott felt an impulse that he could hardly resist to load up his gun and start shooting. Amusing.
-The more chaotic the scene was, the better it made them feel. But it did not matter. No one wanted to stop. And they didn’t. Not until every single one of them stopped living. All but one of them. The person who saved everyone from their suffering, who sits now behind a keyboard, and describes all the events to you, the reader.-
