ENOcast 20301212-1

The full history of drug M45R97, known as 'nirv', will never be written.
   My mistake was insisting on standard double-blind FDA trials. I released the first users into the community. Who could have imagined the darkness behind the facade of awareness, The reality-altering power of beta-thalamoids? We thought it was the ultimate antidepressant, a meaningless term now.

   Addiction is the wrong word. Our language can't handle emotions this real, sensations this intense. Every user finds their meaning of life, and the meaning is nirv. While secretly changed, they still function normally for a few weeks. The number of hidden users follows a classic Fibonacci sequence as the die-offs escalate.
   Let me repeat: nothing matters to users but nirv. You can't even talk to them safely. That's how it spreads. Despite all precautions, CDC and WHO have both been infiltrated.
   We never captured any of their labs intact. They use unthinkable slavery and fear no punishment. All morals and values have been overwritten. Withholding the drug . . . well, you've seen the suicide videos.

   Only denial remains as society collapses. The Super Depression hasn't slowed nirv's spread, of course. Our disintegrating governments and the Z-Laws are symptoms of the reality infection. People can't think straight anymore.
   According to projections, the number of users has just crossed the 6% threshold. I won't be around for the horrors to come.
   This talk about speeding the spread of nirv, accelerating the collapse so that a few Clean survivors can rebuild is as absurd as the plan to implant human DNA in apes so they can eventually replace us.

   I've seen the future. End-stage users become catatonic after a final burst of perverse activity. Memory pathways erase themselves as the mind contracts to zero.
There may be a tiny sliver of hope, if you can call it that. I think users want everyone to experience nirv. If we go extinct, there'll be no new users. I think they might stop just in time.
   Users communicate in ways Cleans can't understand, so we could theoretically negotiate by capturing one very smart user alive. Could they compromise?

   Can you hear me? We want to live. We'll accept any terms!