Performance and Lifestyle Enhancers
These drugs are for enhancing strength, intelligence, and other attributes. Steroids, birth control pills, and antidepressants fall into this category.
| Name | Source | Uses & effects |
|---|---|---|
| Allswell | Neal Stephenson's novel Anathem | A chemical present in nearly all food consumed by the "Saeculars", Allswell produces the feeling in whoever consumes it regularly that all's well. Negative thoughts are easily dismissed when under its influence. |
| Alosun | Nedor Comics publications, Tom Strong series | Developed by Dr. Tom Strange, Alosun is a distillate of sun atoms. Ingesting Alosun gives the person superhuman strength, the ability to fly, and invulnerability. |
| Altruizin | Stanisław Lem's Altruizin | A drug which causes the user to feel emotions, pain sensations, etc. of other people in proximity. Invented to promote altruism. |
| Anti-Gerasone | Kurt Vonnegut's Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow | A liquid which halts the aging process. A more recent development, super-anti-gerasone, is purported to produce actual rejuvenation. |
| Aphrodisiac | Galactic Civilizations | A substance that increases sex drive, and therefore population growth. It is also used as a trade good. |
| Appolinar | Galerians | Stimulates blood circulation, and as a side effect increases absorption. It is very dangerous when taken with other drugs as it quickly raises blood concentration and the rate of drug absorption. To be used with caution. |
| Ascomycin | James Blish's Cities in Flight series. | An anti-aging drug. Blish invented the name in the 1950s: besides Blish's fictional drug, there is now a real immunosuppressant named ascomycin |
| Azrael | Azrael by Wolfgang Hohlbein | A secret drug created by German scientists to enhance human skills. Extensive use of the drug causes addiction, hallucinations and madness. It can also make a group of people's imagination become reality. |
| Betathanatine | Altered Carbon | Betathanatine, also known as "The Reaper" or "Stiff", is a drug which reduces metabolic rate and also cause emotional detachment. Betathanatine is used in military situations to either (implied) make soldiers willingly follow distasteful orders, or to reduce metabolism, body temperature, and life signs to avoid sensors. |
| Blinkmoth Serum | Magic: The Gathering | Blinkmoth serum is created by killing and harvesting blinkmoths. It grants the user extreme intelligence, self-awareness, and understanding. It is extremely addictive, and long-term use leads to physiological changes. |
| Bliss | Nova by Samuel R. Delany | Gold powder found on rocks on some planets at the galactic rim. Effects appear to be heightened concentration and loss of critical judgement. |
| Bliss (2) | DC Comics | A sedative and euphoric drug delivered by the villain of the same name during the "Aftershock" story arc in the Batman comics |
| Brilliance | Origin's Privateer | An illicit drug (contraband) which apparently acts as an intelligence enhancer. |
| Boosterspice | Larry Niven's Known Space stories | A drug used to extend the human lifespan. It can be used indefinitely. |
| Brawndo: The Thirst Mutilator | Idiocracy | A fictional energy drink. Many mock advertisements have been made on the Internet. These ads make ludicrous claims (comparable to Chuck Norris facts) about how awesome it is, comparing its consumption to such activities as "shaving your chest with a lawn mower" and "having sex with a tractor trailer in a parking lot." In addition to an energy drink, some people use it to water plants. |
| Bubbleshake | Doctor Who novel The Highest Science | An appetite suppressant, which resembles a soft drink. If taken without an accompanying pill it is highly addictive and can lead to memory loss. |
| Buffout | Fallout series | A green tablet that boosts the user's physical attributes for a while, at the risk of addiction. |
| Celestial Cocaine | Exalted | Cocaine extracted from the coca trees grown in Yu-Shan, the home of the gods, and made into a luminous white powder. In addition to providing a powerful high like its lesser cousin, it will strengthen the user's body and mind and allow him to see essence flows for its duration. This drug is not without its risks however, over the course of its use the user is likely develop fatal trauma. One dose last five hours. |
| Chanv | Prince of Nothing | Chanv is an addictive narcotic, although many eschew it because of its uncertain origins. Chanv reputedly sharpens the intellect, extends one lifespan, and drains the body of all its pigment. It is produced in the nation of Jekhia. |
| Chemical X | The Powerpuff Girls | A black liquid which grants various, apparently permanent abilities via skin contact. Chemical X gave the Powerpuff Girls their superpowers and gave Mojo Jojo his enhanced intelligence. |
| Clithni | Clark Ashton Smith's The Plutonian Drug | A clear, emerald liquid which is found in geysers located in dormant volcanoes on Ganymede. Clithni has rejuvenative and anagathic properties. |
| Cortexin | DC Comics | Drug used to increase the intelligence of animals to human level in the Kamandi, Hercules Unbound, and other series. |
| Cortexiphan | Fringe | Given to young children during trials in an attempt to stimulate suppressed mental abilities. The trials were ended and most of the children grew up and forgot about their powers. However, once reactivated as adults during a series of Pattern events, the powers became unstable and uncontrollable resulting in the loss of sanity or even death of many "Cortexiphan children" and others exposed to their powers. A handful were saved and put in medical comas by Massive Dynamic and Fringe Division until they could be awoken and taught to control their powers. |
| D-Felon | Galerians | An injectable, it enables users to form an anti-gravity field around an object. This produces an invisible wall that isolates and entraps the object. Depending on their ability, users may be able to move objects they have entrapped. |
| Delmetor | Galerians | Capsule developed to counteract the effects of short circuiting. It temporarily blocks blood vessels from absorbing drugs and quickly breaks down or neutralizes any drugs remaining in the system. This drug must be taken quickly after a patient has shorted from overuse of ability enhancement drugs. |
| Dimoxinil | The Simpsons | Hair regrowth drug. Requires daily application or regrown hair is lost. The name is an anagram of minoxidil, a compound which is actually used for treatment of male pattern baldness. |
| Dioxynl | Monk - episode Mr. Monk Takes His Medicine, and novels Mr. Monk Goes to Hawaii and Mr. Monk Goes to Germany | A medicine prescribed to Adrian Monk for treatment of his obsessive compulsive disorder. It relieves him of his fears and phobias, but also limits his detective skills and changes his personality dramatically. |
| Dr. Porkenheimer's | Saturday Night Live episode "Ben Affleck; Nelly" | Erectile dysfunction drug. |
| Distral | Swallow (film) | An anti-depressant drug which induces rapid dependency. Giving up the drug causes terrible side effects. |
| Drive | Xenogears | Drug used by some persons like the Gebler forces; causes extreme aggression after ingestion. It could be that it also enhances their physical powers. The Drug has terrible overdose effects. |
| Dylar | White Noise (novel) | Psychoactive drug supposed to remove the fear of death. |
| Ephemerol | Scanners | Tranquilizer, used as a morning sickness remedy; a mutagen, it induces telekinetic and telepathic abilities. Ephemerol also suppresses those abilities in adults so affected. Loosely based on thalidomide, a morning sickness remedy that was discovered to cause physical birth defects. |
| Equanox | Grand Theft Auto III | A Lifestyle drug used to treat numerous conditions such as depression, melancholy, sexual dysfunction, narcolepsy and such. However, it also comes with a humorously lengthy side-effect list. |
| Eucharist | Empire (comics) | A highly addictive performance enhancing drug, doled out sparingly by the Emperor Golgoth to ensure the loyalty of his Ministers. |
| Ethical Birth Control Pills | Kurt Vonnegut's Welcome to the Monkey House | Drug which totally inhibits the ability to experience sexual pleasure. Originally devised as a means of suppressing the tendency for monkeys to masturbate in public view, it was used, in combination with assisted ("ethical") suicide, to control massive overpopulation. |
| Flash | Andromeda | Highly addictive drug, causes improved reflexes, designed for better slipstream navigation. Administered by being dripped into the eyes, causing the iris to turn white. |
| Flaxamax X3 | Tom Goes to the Mayor | A non approved body mass growth stimulant intended for race horses. In the form of a pink powder, the drug is snorted through a straw. Primary use gives the same apparent effects of cocaine. However, use over longer stints results a deepened voice and large amounts of body fat. Late stage side effects include the drying out of the spinal column as well as the inability to communicate or use simple motor skills. |
| Focusyn | "Brother's Little Helper" episode of The Simpsons | A Ritalin-like drug. |
| Fukitol | Robin Williams' stand-up comedy; Fukitol website | The commercial name for fukalthanol eutopiata, an all-in-one drug parody designed to maintain positive thoughts through many of life's obstacles and challenges. Are you living the lifestyle? From the official website Fukitol. |
| Gamma Glipheptin | Mobile Suit Gundam SEED | A liquid stimulant that, when drunk by the Biological CPU pilots of the Earth Alliance, enhances their stamina, reflexes, and reaction time, allowing them to fight on the same level as Coordinators. Gamma Glipheptin has severe withdrawal symptoms, and the fact that the Alliance is the only manufacturer of the drug ensures that its valuable pilots can never rebel against them. |
| GC-161 (Formula 1-6-1) |
The Secret World of Alex Mack | A weight-loss drink that the show's villain, Danielle Atron, tried to market off to consumers nationwide. The main ingredient in this "FDA Approved" substance is GC-161, an extremely dangerous mutagenic compound that can develop various superhuman abilities to those who use it to excess. |
| Gem injections | GURPS | Made of alchemicly liquefied gem stones. Injection produces a speed-like high accompanied by the ability to use certain types of magic depending on what gem stones are used. This drug is popping across several quantum 4 worlds. |
| Gravy | Eclipse Phase | A nano-drug for acclimating to high gravity environments. It comes in a variety of favors and is often added as a sauce to food. |
| Gingold extract | DC Comics | Ralph Dibny isolated the extract from the fictional gingold fruit (a favorite of contortionists) and in doing so, acquired stretching powers. He used the extract and its results to become the superhero called the Elongated Man. |
| Gleemonex | Brain Candy | Anti-depressant that effectively cures depression rather than alleviating the symptoms. It is a blue hue in its synthesized state, but it is distributed as an orange pill. An unfortunate side effect permanently locks users into his/her happiest memory, effectively making the user comatose. Rumor suggests the drug may contain monkey semen. The proper or common name of Gleemonex is revealed to be Duoroflouriximinimum 602. |
| Happy Trick | Free Collars Kingdom | A silverine based performance enhancing drug for cats. Extremely powerful, a small amount can enhance the strength of the subject considerably. It also seems to dull pain. Overdoses cause hallucinations and frequent users often become addicted. |
| Hardovax | Philip K. Dick's Galactic Pot-Healer | A simple pill to counteract erectile dysfunction. |
| Homocil | Saturday Night Live | Provides relief for parental anxiety disorder resulting from having a gay child. |
| Hyper | Shadowrun (Shadowtech sourcebook) | Direct neural stimulator which acts on the nerves connected to the temporal and occipital lobes of the brain. Induces hyperaesthesia, a condition of excessive sensitivity to sensory stimuli. |
| Jet | Fallout series | A powerful methamphetamine that stimulates the central nervous system. The initial euphoric rush rarely lasts more than a few minutes, but during that time, the user is filled with a rush of energy and strength. Highly addictive. |
| Jumpstart | Transmetropolitan | An amphetamine-like stimulant, taken orally in pills or smoked. Used to dilute space dust, it is known to cause constipation. |
| Kamikaze | Shadowrun (Shadowtech supplement) | A tailored amphetamine, used to increase strength, quickness, and pain tolerance. Long-term use causes permanent damage. |
| Ketracel White | Star Trek: Deep Space Nine | A white liquid drug to which the Jem'Hadar super-soldiers are born addicted, a genetically engineered trait to keep them obedient. If they fail to receive a steady supply, they turn on each other and/or their superiors, then die. |
| Kerasine | Gunsmith Cats | A liquid drug that can also have effects if inhaled in aerosol form (either intentionally or through burning of the drug). Also referred to as "Powerball". In small doses it induces a trance in which the drugged person is highly susceptible to hypnotic suggestion or brainwashing. In larger doses it can act like PCP, inducing mania and feral strength. |
| Kick | Marvel Comics | An addictive drug used by mutants to enhance their powers. Kuan-Yin Xorn (often referred to as Xorn I by comic fans) became addicted to it, masqueraded as Magneto and then went on a rampage through New York. Later determined to be an aerosol compound for distributing an ancient primordial organism known only as Sublime. |
| KR-3 | Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said | An experimental compound which disrupts the brain's ability to distinguish alternate realities. Even if they do not consume the drug, people involved in the drug user's life can be shifted into an alternate existence based on the drug user's mind. |
| Ladder | Jacob's Ladder | Aggression-enhancing drug created by the U.S. Army's Chemical Warfare division in Saigon during the Vietnam War and tested on American troops in the Mekong Delta, with horrific results. Based on the Army's purported experimentation with a hallucinogenic drug called BZ. |
| Lot Six | Firestarter | Mild hallucinogenic substance designed to induce extra sensory perception in patients. Administered by a government organization known as The Shop to 12 subjects in 1969. Scientifically known as di-lysergic triune acid, but nicknamed "booster acid" by the team developing it. A side effect includes chromosomal mutation. |
| Love Potion No. 9 | Song from Fraggle Rock | A red potion given to Wembley by Marjory the Trash Heap in episode thirteen of season one, "We Love You Wembley". The vapours of the potion cause the inhaler to fall madly in love with the fraggle who opened the vial. The effects, while potent, only last twenty minutes. |
| Magic Potion | Asterix | An elixir brewed by the druid Getafix, it gives the imbiber temporary super-strength and allows a Gaulish village to hold off the Roman Empire. It apparently has permanent effects if one is immersed in the liquid, especially during childhood. An overdose turns the user to stone. It contains fish and petroleum oil, however, beet juice works as well as crude oil and tastes better. |
| Maiden’s Heart | Unhallowed Metropolis | This dark red, heart-shaped root of a brilliant red flower, called Maiden’s Heart for its curious shape, possesses unique medicinal properties. If Cooked properly and eaten, this root gives the user extraordinary stamina for a period of time, reducing fatigue and allowing pain to be largely ignored. |
| Mañanacillin | American Flagg! | Combination antibiotic and contraceptive, heavily classified studies show long term use leads to sterility. |
| Melange | Dune series | A substance in the Dune universe only found on the planet Arrakis, where it is produced by the sandworms. It is an addictive geriatric drug that gives the user longer life, greater vitality, heightened awareness, and can unlock prescience in some subjects, depending upon the dosage and the consumer's biological makeup. It is also used by the Spacing Guild's navigators to see safe paths through space-time, hence making interstellar travel possible. It is better known as Spice. Addictive: whites of the eyes turn blue as a side effect. |
| Melatropin | Galerians | An injectable, it interferes with objects in various ways. It has been proven to have various effects depending on how it is used such as psychometry for reading minds, scanning for extracting information, and telekinesis for moving objects. |
| Mentamite Five and Mentamite Six | Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman | Created by LexCorp, Mentamite Five is an intelligence booster, but eventually burns out the user's brain. Mentamite Six originally burnt out the user's brain immediately, but Phillip, a Mentamite Five user, corrected the flaw in the formula. |
| Mentats | Fallout series | A pill designed to improve mental ability for a while, at the risk of addiction. It comes in at least three different flavours: berry, orange and grape, which affect different faculties. A reference to Mentat in Dune. |
| Metaphorica | Mad TV | Erectile dysfunction medicine whose effects are described in metaphors. |
| Miraclo | Hourman by DC Comics | Originally, an orally ingested (later developed for hypodermic spray) drug that gives the user superstrength and possibly other powers for the duration of exactly one hour. Used by Hourman. The original version of the drug was heavily addictive, enough so that it caused both the first and second Hourman to give up the costume while they fought their addictions. Eventually, Rick Tyler (the second Hourman) developed a non-addictive variant. |
| Miseth | The Malloreon | Miseth is used commonly as an aphrodisiac. The aphrodisiacal effects are actually side effects. In Sorceress of Darshiva, Sadi said that miseth could "arouse a stick". |
| Mnem | Tarot (series) by Piers Anthony | Mnem (Pronounced Neem) is an illegal memory enhancer, allowing the user precise and complete mental recall. It was often used by students in colleges cramming for exams and the like. Withdrawal and overdose leads to extensive permanent memory loss. Likely named for the mythical titaness Mnemosyne. |
| Mutant Growth Hormone | Marvel Comics | Extracted from superpowered individuals in the Marvel Universe, MGH is usually presented in pill form. It grants temporary powers to whoever takes it. Supposedly, these powers are duplicates of those belonging to whomever the genetic material necessary to make the drug was extracted from, although this seems inconsistent. Usually, the effect is increased strength and aggression. This drug can be refined from superpowered non-mutants as well. Patriot, of the Young Avengers, abused the drug to earn his place on the team. |
| Nalcon | Galerians | An injectable, it enables users to focus their mental energy to produce a powerful shock wave. The shock wave's power depends on how the drug agrees with the user and their mental energy and brain waves. |
| Nardane | Murder, She Wrote: 'The Error of Her Ways' | A tranquilizer, comparable to Amobarbital, but having allergic side effects. |
| Nectar | Haze | A nutritive supplement/steroid/hallucinogen that is used by the paramilitary/pharmaceutical corporation, MANTEL Industries. MANTEL's private soldiers are fed nectar through their advanced battle suits. The drug advances the strength, speed, and senses of the user and renders them incapable of seeing the corpses of living creatures. If a soldier takes too much nectar at one time, he loses control and attacks anything that moves. If he goes without nectar for a long time after the 1st injection, or if the main feed line of his battle suit is severed, he'll go into a near-catatonic depression. |
| No-No Powder | Glitch (video game) | When sniffed, No-No Powder grants the user 6 real-time minutes of unlimited energy and mood, followed by a crash which saps the user's energy and sends them to Hell. Actions made during the No-No rush grant no XP to the user. No-No's effects diminish with each subsequent use. Can be made by players and traded at auction. Signs warning against No-No use can be found in the subway. |
| NZT-48 | Limitless | A nootropic that comes as a small clear pill which vastly increases a user's intelligence. If already smart, the gain is exponential. However, the enhancement is only temporary, requiring long-term commitment, and the user is at risk of death if he/she goes off it for too long. Psychologically addictive, withdrawal causes headaches and nausea. Side effects include blackouts and reduced auditory and visual focus. The later version of NZT at the end of the movie permanently enhances a user's intelligence without the harmful side-effects. |
| Omegendorph | Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy | A stimulating medication based on the brain's natural endorphins. Psychologically if not physically addictive. |
| Pax | Serenity | Fully known as G-23 paxilon hydrochlorate, it was created by the Alliance and administered to the settlers of the planet Miranda with the intent of making the populace less aggressive. It seemed to work, but rather too well: the populace became totally apathetic no longer working, eating, or caring about anything and simply gave up on life, simply laying down and letting themselves die. Worse still, roughly a tenth of a percent (0.1%) of the planet's population — approximately 30,000 individuals — had a drastically inverse response. They became extremely aggressive and borderline feral, mutilating their own bodies, and killing the researchers who had come to investigate. They eventually left the planet and became the much feared Reavers. |
| Pentazemin | Metal Gear Solid Series | An oral benzodiazepine which acts as a muscle relaxant; its main use in the games is to steady the hands when firing a sniper rifle. |
| Phazon | Metroid Prime series | Not a drug in the strictest sense, Phazon is a highly radioactive material originating from the planet Phaaze. Although Phazon has extreme bio-mutagenic properties, it can be harnessed and used in small doses to greatly enhance stamina, endurance, and strength. However, given its unpredictable nature, Phazon's effects are nigh impossible to control, making it foolish to think of it as nothing more than a performance enhancer. Its intended mutagenic effects are strong, capable of radically changing, for example, a simple Metroid (which resembles a small, floating jellyfish-like creature) into an enormous, black-carapaced, crab-like beast with glowing red eyes and apparent sentience. Phazon normally takes the form of a glowing, blue liquid or gel, although a stronger, orange-red version has been known. It also exists in a solid state in the form of black Phazon crystals.
It is normally stored in a "Phazon Enhancement Device (PED)", and is used widely by the Space Pirates for performance enhancement, as well as genetic experimentation. By the third Metroid Prime title, the Galactic Federation has begun incorporating PED's into their infantry ranks. Long-term Phazon exposure via PED can cause a condition known as "Phazon Fever", which involves rapid neural degeneration, delirium, and eventually complete insanity. As of the end of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Phazon is assumed to have become non-existent with the destruction of Phaaze, although this remains unconfirmed. |
| Plasmids (Adam & Eve) | Bioshock series | An injectable substance that grants various super-human abilities. Plasmids are refined from a substance called "Adam", which itself is extracted from a previously undiscovered species of slug that resides on the ocean floor. Plasmids work by altering a human's genetic make-up, and can engineered to grant almost any ability. Adam's counterpart, "Eve", also injected and refined from Adam, and is used as the fuel source to perform such abilities. |
| "Plutonium", aka the Plutonian drug | Clark Ashton Smith's The Plutonian Drug | A fine white powder derived from fossilized plant material located beneath the frozen gasses that for Pluto's surface, Plutonium sends the user's mind into a strange fugue, wherein he experiences all the moments of the future and the past as a series of bas-relief images stretching off to the right and left. The sensation lasts for up to half-an-hour, during which time the user can retrace his past experiences or even trace his path into the future. Due to the subjective time it takes to navigate this experience, it seems likely that the user can perceive at most a day or so in either direction. |
| Polydichloric euthimal (PDE) | Outland | An amphetamine-type drug that in the short term makes human beings capable of doing fourteen hours' work in six hours, but in the long term induces psychosis and subsequent death. The name of the drug is the same with that of the explosive used in Terminator 2: Judgment Day and with a molecule simulated in The Relic. |
| Promicin | 4400 | Promicin enables people to use parts of the cerebellum no human has previously used. Promicin's behavior and effect are unpredictable, potentially giving any ability. An injection of promicin has a 50/50 chance of either killing the person taking the injection (by way of an aneurysm) or giving them a 4400 ability. |
| Project 5 formulas | The Lawnmower Man (film only) | A collection of drugs designed to increase neurochemical activity and enhance intelligence. Developed and tested on animals, their use on humans is strongly contraindicated. |
| Prozium | Equilibrium | An injected emotion suppressor used to maintain social control in Equilibrium's post-WW3 dystopian society. (The name of this fictional drug was originally "Librium", but that turned out to be the registered trade name of the real anti-anxiety drug chlordiazepoxide. The fictional drug was quickly renamed Prozium.) |
| Psycho | Fallout series | A military drug designed to increase the combat effectiveness of soldiers, at the cost of a degree of intelligence. It also carries a risk of addiction. |
| Qirri | The Aspect-Emperor | Qirri is a Nonman drug resembling black powder. It grants increased energy and quicker thought at the price of addiction. Qirri is created from the ashes of a Nonman funeral pyre; however, only the greatest Nonmen, such as Cû’jara-Cinmoi, are burned. |
| Quicken | Culture series | Speeds up the user's neural processes so that time seems to slow down, allowing them to think and have mental conversation (for example with artificial intelligences) in far less time than it appears to take to the outside observer. Secreted from drug glands in genetically engineered beings. |
| Quicksilver | The Invisible Man TV series | Secreted by an artificially implanted gland; when it reaches high doses in the bloodstream causes psychosis and fierce aggressiveness. This can only be prevented by administering "counteragent" intravenously. |
| Ramjet Proton Energy Pill | Roger Ramjet TV series | Invented by Roger Ramjet, when taken as directed by a physician gives the strength of twenty atom bombs for twenty seconds. |
| Regenerate | Resident Evil: Apocalypse | Regenerate is a skincare product that uses the T-virus to reanimate dead skin cells, making the user appear younger. Overuse causes zombification. |
| Recovery Capsule | Galerians | Blocks the transmission of pain, causes the rapid synthesis of structural proteins by means of a cellular division inducer, and promotes healing. It is only to be used in emergencies. Its effectiveness on serious wounds is limited. |
| Red | Galerians | An injectable, it enables a user to excite an objects molecules, causing it to heat up. If continued long enough, the object will burst into flames. |
| Ritalout | "Timmy 2000" episode of South Park | Reverses the effects of Ritalin. More specifically, it is taken to remove the obsession for Phil Collins that was induced by taking Ritalin. |
| Ridderall | It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Television series. S05E13 | An amphetamine class drug. Most likely based on a contraction of the real-world prescription drugs methylphenidate and dextroamphetamine, known under the respective trade names Ritalin and Adderall. |
| Rumble Ball | One Piece | A drug created by Tony Tony Chopper that gives people that ate a Zoan Devil Fruit four new transformations and makes the basic three ones a lot stronger. It is effective for three minutes, after which it must not be taken again for six hours to prevent dangerous side effects. |
| Sapho | Dune series | Plant root extract used by Mentats to amplify their mental powers; apparently addictive, and stains the lips red. |
| Short | Galerians | Impedes the functions of other drugs. When users of other drugs exceed a certain level of activity. they will start to sweat, feel feverish and have their blood pressure rise. All abilities become uncontrollable and dangerous. Consciousness fades and balance is lost, ultimately leading to death. |
| Silver Serpent Venom | Ultima | A mildly toxic but addictive substance that temporarily increases the user's physical strength. Plays a minor role in the plot of the game Ultima VII. |
| Skip | Galerians | Tablet for stabilizing and increasing mental energy. It lightens the tremendous mental load required to employ an ability and enables a temporary increase in the mental limiter level. Reportedly, this capsule dramatically increases abilities. |
| Slappers | Batman Beyond Babylon 5 episode "TKO" |
In Batman Beyond, a steroid, absorbed through the skin. Based on Venom (see below). In Babylon 5, a generic term for any drug administered through the skin via a dermal patch. |
| Sleep-EX | Rat Race | Fights insomnia; in large doses it can cause unconsciousness in fully awake people. |
| 'Slaught | Warhammer 40,000 | 'Slaught causes bloodlust in users, administered as a combat stim. Addicts eventually require a constant stream of 'slaught and an antidote. Causes temporary swelling of the blood vessels. Used in penal legions and Chaos cultists. |
| Snap | Iain M Banks' Culture Series | Performance enhancer used to increase clarity and perception; produced in genetically engineered drug glands. |
| Snibbo | The World of Beachcomber | Wonder potion or pills capable of tackling various conditions in different programmes. |
| Soma | Vedas, Ayurveda | According to Hindu mythology, this is the elixir of immortality. |
| Soma (2) | Aldous Huxley's Brave New World | An antidepressant which is hallucinogenic if taken in sufficient quantities; developed under governmental subsidies and engineered to have almost no side effects. Large doses cause death by depressing the medulla oblongata's respiration centers. This has no relation to Soma, the brand name of the medicine carisoprodol, a real world muscle relaxant. In the novel, the hallucinatory effects of the drug are referred to as a "vacation." Typically issued to citizens in tablet form, but can also be prepared as a liquid (for religious services) or vapor (for quieting a mass disturbance). |
| Spaceoline | Isaac Asimov's I'm in Marsport Without Hilda | Medication given to prevent space sickness during interplanetary travel. Users babble, speaking in free association; the ability to react to stimuli (including sexual arousal) is reduced. The legal version is in common use, but slight chemical alterations can transform it into a hazardous narcotic. |
| Spectrox | Doctor Who episode "The Caves of Androzani" | Prolongs human life to up to twice the normal span. In raw form has a lethal toxic effect. |
| Sproingo | Saturday Night Live episode "Paul Rudd; Beyoncé" | Erectile dysfunction medication that creates silly noises at erection start and finish. |
| Stamina Potion | Diablo 2 | A white liquid that allows a character to run indefinitely for a set period of time. |
| Stim or Stims | various | A common name for performance enhancing or rapid-healing stimulant drugs in science fiction and video games. |
| Stimutacs | Sealab 2021 | Highly addictive drug including the positive and many effects of many drugs. Said to be "mostly Kelp" it was later found to contain the poison of the Fugu fish. |
| Stimpacks | StarCraft | Stimpacks are capsules of synthesised adrenaline, aggression hormones, and strong painkillers. They are used by Marines, Marauders, and Firebats to temporarily increase their speed and rate of fire. If a limb is severed, their powered armour injects a dose into the area. Side effects include tissue hemorrhage, manifested as a -10 hitpoint penalty. A unit taking a stimpack groans "Oh yeah!" or "That's the stuff!" Resocialized addicts often use them to calm down, completely opposite the intended purpose. |
| Stroon (Santaclara) | The Instrumentality of Mankind stories | Immortality serum refined from a secretion made by the diseased sheep of Norstrilia. Because it cannot be synthesized or produced elsewhere, the sale of stroon (also called 'Santaclara drug'), eventually makes Norstrilia the wealthiest planet in human-occupied space. |
| Substance D | Philip K. Dick novel A Scanner Darkly | A lethally addictive street drug which eventually splits the users brain into two distinct combative entities. The 'D' stands for Death. |
| Subtleflower | Two Kinds | An aphrodisiac that can be burned in censers like Incence. It's never smoked by any one person; it's like beer at parties in that everyone gets some. Also has a sort of magic about the seeds that cause "soul binding" in marriages. |
| Super Energy Pill | Underdog | A pill that transforms Shoeshine Boy into Underdog, and maintains him at his full powers. In Underdog's own words, "without my super energy pill I grow weaker, and weaker, and weaker still". |
| Superhuman Drug | Bleach | A fictional drug made by Mayuri Kurotsuchi that enhances the five senses to "superhuman levels". An undiluted dose of the drug causes the senses to speed up trillions of times while the relatively "slow" body fails to keep up, resulting in paralysis; on the other hand, it is implied that a diluted dose of the drug can greatly enhance the user's reaction speed. It is said that it can make one who is administered with it perceive a single second to last 100 years. |
| Superviagra | Nip/Tuck episode "Conor McNamara, 2026" | Presumably a drug with effects similar to Sildenafil. |
| Timoxeline barbebutenol | Johnny English Reborn | A drug that allows people to be controlled for a brief time before they die of heart failure. Has the same chemical structure as Pentobarbital |
| Velocity-9 and Velocity-10 | The Flash comics | Addictive drug that gives the user super-speed, created by the supervillain Vandal Savage. |
| T'langen | Breakdown video game | Drug that produces various effect in humans depending on dosage and concentration. Less than 10 percent of those injected survive, with most dying from causes such as respiratory failure and seizures. For those that don't die, the drug creates a yellow glowing bioluminescence effect around the hands and forearms, increased strength, speed, endurance, and constitution, the ability to generate an invisible shield honeycombs when hit by projectiles or explosives if facing in the direction of the oncoming force, making the user invincible to such things. Also, humans can gain the ability to defeat the T' Lan, humanoid creatures invulnerable to harm from any direction, by hitting the T'Lan shield with their own shield. At higher doses (those who survive low doses are more likely to survive higher doses), the user can experience even greater strength, speed, endurance and constitution, along with sometimes also the ability to throw balls of energy, create shockwaves to kill or throw enemies to the ground, high jump, and move extremely quickly for short periods of time. |
| Tain | Adam Lisagor, Sandwich Video | Induces the growth of a lustrous beard, which is not a play thing. |
| The Formula | Heroes | Bestows superhuman abilities. |
| Venom | Batman | An experimental and highly addictive super-steroid, used primarily by the villain Bane. It increases physical performance and stamina, but must be taken constantly to avoid severe withdrawal symptoms. |
| Venus Drug | Star Trek episode "Mudd's Women" | Drug that radically enhances the user's physical attractiveness - apparently by placebo effect. |
| Viagrogaine | The Simpsons | A topical rub for bald and impotent men, or as its spokesman Homer Simpson says, "It gives you hair up there and what you need down there". May cause loss of scalp and/or penis. The name is a combination of both the erectile dysfunction drug Viagra and the hair growth treatment Rogaine. |
| Vitameatavegamin | "Lucy Does a TV Commercial", I Love Lucy | An elixir containing vitamins, meat, vegetables, minerals, and 23% alcohol. Allegedly to help people who are "tired, run-down, and listless". |
| Water of power | One Piece | The Water of power or "the water that eat lives" is a drug from Alabasta. When used, it focuses all the consumers remaining life into strength, When drank it wear out the body completely leaving the user only a few minutes to live. |
| Wraith Enzyme | Stargate Atlantis | A red liquid naturally produced and injected by the Wraith into the victims of their vampiric feedings. It produces effects similar to epinephrine, only longer lasting. In doses larger than are naturally distributed by the Wraith, users gain exceptional speed, strength, vitality, and reflexes. Side effects include paranoid delusions, anxiety, and lack of rational thought, although it does not affect lucidity. Withdrawal causes extreme pain, nausea, anxiety, and a weakened immune system. Overdose can lead to a stroke, or cardiac arrest. The potency of the drug is directly related to the dosage, so those who take higher doses experience bolstered effects. |
| Yinyang Weed | It Opens the Sky | Alien weed whose "flowers were an almost perfect representation of the symbol in red and blue, most vicious addictive drug ever known, because not only was it potent and virtually incurable, it increased the addict's intelligence fivefold and his physical strength two to three times, and he became an inhuman behemoth with the sole desire to destroy anything and everything between himself and his source of supply, able to outlast, outthink, outfight and outrun anyone of his species." (Theodore Sturgeon's "It Opens the Sky", collected in A Touch of Strange (1958)) |
| Zombie Powder | Zombiepowder | This powder, made from the remains of corpses and the undead, can be used to make its user immortal. However, since only certain corpses/zombies contain the necessary factor for the drug, it is extremely rare and one of the most prized items in the world. |
Read more about this topic: List Of Fictional Medicines And Drugs
Famous quotes containing the words performance and/or lifestyle:
“So long as the source of our identity is external—vested in how others judge our performance at work, or how others judge our children’s performance, or how much money we make—we will find ourselves hopelessly flawed, forever short of the ideal.”
—Melinda M. Marshall (20th century)
“The hippie is the scion of surplus value. The dropout can only claim sanctity in a society which offers something to be dropped out of—career, ambition, conspicuous consumption. The effects of hippie sanctimony can only be felt in the context of others who plunder his lifestyle for what they find good or profitable, a process known as rip-off by the hippie, who will not see how savagely he has pillaged intricate and demanding civilizations for his own parodic lifestyle.”
—Germaine Greer (b. 1939)