Back to work

I'm a man of my word. Ashley might not believe me, but I will do what I said. My mind has already navigated to web of events to take me there. It's only a matter of time. For now, I need to focus on the immediate steps and continue setting up the latter ones. That means skipping breakfast, despite wanting to spend time with Kelly and Mom, to focus on the most immediate task: getting more pills. A lot more.

I text Brad, checking if he's around. While I wait, I continue to tweak and refine my plan for Noox, until it is near perfect. Then, I shift back over to studying. I'm halfway through a textbook on advanced networking concepts when he responds. I check the clock. It's nearly eleven.

I change into pants and a polo, then walk downstairs. I find Mom cleaning the living room floors with a broom. "Hey, Mom. I'm going to meet someone for a little bit. I'll be back in a couple of hours."

"Oh, going out? That's new," she says, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Your sister left for school a while ago. I guess you're leaving me here alone, then? Not often I get some alone time, might throw a party later."

I roll my eyes at her. "I meant what I said earlier. I'm taking measures."

She gives me a smile, then returns to sweeping. She might not believe me either, but that's alright. She will. With one last look at her beautiful form, I walk out the front door and head into town.

A while later, I knock on an apartment door. I check my phone. Almost twelve. I've never been to this complex before, but that isn't saying much. To my mom's earlier comment, I don't get out often. Or ever, really. The apartment building is obviously luxury, with huge glass windows and contemporary decorations everywhere. My nootropic mind catalogs the details for later, but my present thoughts ignore them. I'm here for one thing.

After a moment, Brad opens the door. Like before, he's wearing a suit, this time charcoal gray. His hair is perfectly slicked back. He beams a brilliant grin at me, then opens the door and motions inside. "Come, come. Make yourself at home."

I follow him inside and find myself in a clean, perfectly decorated apartment. Brad's home is the pinnacle of modern design, with abstract art, uncomfortable furniture, and unnecessary angles everywhere I look. I take in every detail as I follow him into his living room and take a seat on an overly stiff couch.

"So, how is it?" he asks.

"If I ever did crack or heroine, I'd imagine it's something like those mixed together. Minus the bad things, of course. This shit is killer, Brad. I don't know how your company made it, but this will change the world once it gets out there."

"So, about that. I have a small confession to make. Our encounter the other day wasn't entirely random, and I didn't truly give you those pills out of the kindness of my heart. See, we're doing a... study on the effects of the pills on people with chronic depression, low drive, and so on. I was tasked with finding someone that fit the bill. Fortunately or unfortunately for you, you're probably the least successful person I know. And I don't mean offense by that. It just is what it is."

"That sounds... ridiculous. Is that even legal? Your company won't be able to sell this as a polished **** once the FDC finds out how you tested it." Thoughts run through my head. "But, you don't care. It doesn't matter, because the FDC will never review it. Your company isn't planning to sell this ****, are they?"

Brad smiles. "Impressive. I guess the **** really does work. No, this pill will never hit public market. It is reserved for select clientele."

"But you can't test on those people, so you're limited to testing with people you already have a relationship with. Can't kill your clients, can't bring in new people you don't know, so you have to guinea pig the fuck up from high school." The pieces slot together in my mind as I continue. "You haven't ever used this ****, have you?"

"Not once."

"You mentioned side effects. They're bad, aren't they? That's why you have never used it, and that's why you gave it to me. To see how I'd react to it in my system."

"There are side effects, like I mentioned before. They used to be worse. We've steadily been improving the ****, trying to remove them completely, but some things remain that we are aware of."

"And what are those? ****? Vomiting? Stroke?"

"No, nothing so obvious. The thing about this pill is that it alters the mind. It evolves you. I'm sure you've already noticed that things you did on the nootropic carry over somewhat after the effects end." I nod in agreement. "That's part of the side effect. The other thing isn't really a side effect so much as a natural occurrence. It turns out that once you unlock the furthest corners of the mind, once you take away all of those barriers, strange things start to happen. Morals start to shift. Cultural norms suddenly don't seem as normal. We think we've limited that in the version you're taking, which is why we wanted to pull you into the test. You're about as vanilla as they come, so any perception changes should be fairly harmless."

I nod along with his words, my mind already placing events alongside the effects Brad described. "And headaches?"

"A minor effect. It was never shown to be anything more than an annoyance, like a hangover."

I stand up from Brad's couch and pace the room. "I should have known. I knew something was up the second I took the first pill. A real dealer would never have freely handed me so much value in pills, nor would you have invited me to your home. So, what's your plan then, Brad?"

"It's easy. You want to keep taking these pills. I want you to keep taking these pills. All you have to do is pay me one thousand per pill, as we discussed. If you experience any effects, you let me know. We'll tweak the formula and try to improve it before we distribute it to our clients."

My mind races at the turn of events. I should have seen this coming! But I keep a stoic face. I've found myself in a strange position, but that doesn't mean I need to stay in it. I have a superpowered mind, I can roll with the events and determine a plan later. Already, whisperings of a solution poke into my consciousness.

"What about the longevity of the effects? I can only take one per twelve hours, but they don't last that long."

Brad nods along. "That's right. One per twelve hours, max. Each pill will last anywhere from six to ten hours, depending on a lot of factors. You'll have to try it and see, unfortunately. Just don't go over the limit."

"What happens if I do?"

A serious look crosses Brad's normally grinning face. "Seriously, don't. That's when the vomiting, strokes, and other bad things start."

I gulp. I wonder if he's telling the truth, but I don't have any other basis to determine the potential side effects, so I accept it for now. "Alright," I say. "As I said on the phone, I'll take four pills. You take ACH transfer?"

"Sure do, we're a business afterall."

An hour later, I've made it back home with another baggie of little blue pills. I check the clock. Nearly one. I may still have a few hours of nootropic left.