Toxic Expectations

Substance abuse existed for a long time. It still happened at an alarming frequency even during the Age of Mechs despite many, many measures in trying to stamp it out.

These days, the focus on the use of stimulants and drugs mainly fell into two categories: recreational substances and performance-enhancing substances.

Leaving aside the strong demand for recreational substances, many humans constantly made use of performance-enhancing stimulants in their daily lives.

From cramming for an upcoming exam, to performing more vigorously at work, performance-enhancing stimulants filled a very desperate need to humans who ordinarily lacked confidence.

To Ves, it sounded like a sad occurrence, but it wasn't necessarily a bad tradeoff for their users. By absorbing a potent stimulant, they could temporarily boost their performance in their studies or their work for a critical event.