[UA] Narcomancy / tEotW&so

[Gaston Phillips]

on 6/10/01 12:05 AM, Matthew Rowan Norwood at matt at adsubtract.com wrote:

> 
> A lot of discussion on this topic so far. A summary, and a few other
> points:
> 
[SNIP]

> 8) Burroughs. Duh. Naked Lunch practially provides a blueprint for an
> addiction-based school. If only I could _read_ the blueprint, I'd be
> able to decipher the mystical significance of his insight into the
> phenomenon of addiction. Anyone want to give it a shot?
> 
> -Matt Norwood

on 6/10/01 8:29 AM, Radoslaw Galus at grey_man at priv.onet.pl wrote:

>>> This is where I have my doubts. The school is based on the idea of
>>> puryfying
>>> your mind by tinkering with the chemistry of your body. That pretty much
>>> leaves no doubt that there would be constant "experimentation".
>> 
>> Not purifying so much as perfecting for me anyway.  Uniting knowledge of
>> chemistry and knowledge of self to push yourself to the next level.
> 
> That would bring it closer to the "consciousness expansion" hype of the
> '60s. Was that the beginning of Narcomancy/Pharmacomancy? Little communes -
> "mind ranches" - gathered around someone who would preach the gospel
> of drug use as a way to enlightment, who would come up with all sorts of
> "cocktails" and test them on (more often than with) his devoted followers.
> 
> A decade or two later somebody comes up with the link to alchemical
> practices, decides to find himself an influencial sponsor who will provide
> financial resources and protection (that's how it worked in the old days -
> "give me everything I need for my experiments, my Lord, and soon I'll reveal
> to you the secret of turning led into gold!") and opens up a more modern
> version of a "mind ranch". And there you have it - pomo alchemy.
> 
> Just an idea.
> 

I'm conflating the two threads, since they seem to be colliding.

The Pharmacomancy school sent to the list back in July '99 describes a very
different school.  They use drugs to enhance their bodies, ala Frothers from
SLA Industries or Juicers from Rifts.  Narcomancy, as a latter day alchemy,
has a decidedly different feel.

I want to comment on the Burroughs angle and its relation to Immortality.  I
think it was in the preface to _Junky_ that Burroughs said that heroin could
make you immortal.  That every time a Junky kicked, his body would regrow
its cells again, or reset them.  That, basically, if you could stay in
withdrawl forever, you'd never die.

Now, I know this is probably going to change the flavor of the school a lot,
but what if, just as Dipsomancer magic only works when the Adept is drunk,
narcomancers must be in withdrawl to function?  This would probably make the
school heroin specific, or at least greatly limit the admissible chemicals.
But it does come with its own taboo and, to me at least, a school of magic
that involves continually coming down off drugs and staying in withdrawl as
long as possible very much fits the flavor of Unknown Armies.

Perhaps the charges are gained by taking drugs, but can only be used while
the user is in withdrawl?

This is veering away from the alchemy flavor, I'm afraid, since the emphasis
is shifting to the taking of the drugs, instead of synthesizing them.  But,
on the bright side, it _is_ getting twisted and weird, so maybe we're moving
in the right direction.

gaston


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