The Additive
The scientist glanced around the office nervously, abstractedly noticing the tasteful, stylish, and undeniably expensive decor. Evan Sammat was generally not a man who paid much thought to appearances, but he acknowledged the expression of the company’s prosperity. He ran a wayward hand through his hair and reflected that he was about to bring disturbing news to the very person who had brought Capitol-Morrison Tobacco such success.
Ms. Elizabeth Charp, CEO, strode into the room. Stylish but professional, experienced but not old, she could be a role-model for ambitious young women and a redefinition of beauty to men of all ages. She removed her hooded coat, exposing thick auburn hair, and set down her briefcase. Her skin, flawless and pale, nestled dark eyes that gleamed with whatever emotion she chose. For now, it was the welcome of a genial superior.
“Sam, good to see you again. Can I have you brought anything- a drink, perhaps?” She motioned for him to sit and took her own seat behind the carved wood of the desk.
“No, thank you.”
“I don’t think I’ve seen you since the Quarterly- how is R&D coming along?” She knew very well he was there to confess something and ask for help; among other things, her reading of body language could unravel deeper secrets than this. She was very curious as to what the brilliant and eccentric biochemist had done.
“Things have become a bit complicated,” Sammat began. He was weighing various slants he could use to put the situation in a different light. Under Ms. Charp’s inquisitive (and for now, benevolent) gaze, he resolved to plow ahead with the truth.
“It’s the additive we’ve been working on, the one I mentioned last time.”
She made a show of trying to remember to give him time to form his words. She already knew many details of the situation- information came to her in other ways than reports and memos- but wanted to hear the whole story from Sammat. “Ah, yes...you were trying to augment addictive qualities while minimizing health risks. You were fairly far along, as I recall.”
“Yes! Quite finished with the theoretical phase, and moving on to development, when we last talked. Since then, we’ve had a number of breakthroughs, and some luck, and finally managed to concoct a formula that did all we wanted- much more, in fact.” His pride surged, wrestling with his discomfort. “We could produce a substance that could be smoked with tobacco to negate any health impact, and at the same time reinforce the desire to smoke.”
“It would be a monumental feather in our cap to offer this product in the marketplace, Sam.” An understatement, she smiled.
“We studied the pathways and chemical reactions of pleasure and desire in the brains, and tried to isolate out any combinations of foreign catalysts that would damage normal biological systems.” Sammat settled into a conversational lecture rhythm that was natural to him. “We were limited at first, as nearly anything that produces a persistent need alters the physiology for the worse, but we found some obscure researches had been done- in the case of sexual dysfunction, and the even shadier realm of aphrodisiac research- that allowed us to concentrate on utilizing the body’s own pleasure mechanism.”
“I was unaware that any real aphrodisiac had ever been discovered,” she interjected.
“Oh, no, nothing for mass market consumption, anyway. Individual response is so subjective that even a large sample of test subjects never produces consistent results. No, the composition of any given substance itself was not as important as the reaction mechanism. Once we discovered what happened- inside- when someone responded, we were able to isolate a formula to trick the body into enjoyment, so to speak. We were able to bypass arousal and go directly to aroused.” His face resumed its tension. “And quite immediately caused this state of pleasure to become a physical necessity.”
“I take it there was a mishap.”
“Yes,” he said, his face darkening. “While we were still doing animal testing, Karen Christiansen- one of my assistants- decided to take a short cut. Our conclusions on the definite lack of health risks perhaps seemed like too much of a safety to her.”
“She sampled the additive herself.” Charp, having taken many risks herself to speed up her career, could understand the motivation.
“She thought she’d measured a small enough amount of the additive-we’re talking about parts-per-million amounts here- to guarantee her safety. Possibly she estimated low, to gradually bring herself up to a measurable effect level. By the time we realized what she was doing, she was fully affected.”
“Was she hurt?” Charp knew the answer, but wanted the scientist to feel that she was concerned.
“No! Nothing like that,” he answered quickly, “but we realized immediately that we had to take special care of the situation. Since then, we’ve had her stay here. It would do nobody any good to have her out and about just yet. We have been administering the additive- she’s powerfully addicted, of course- and hoping to find a way to get her free of its effects so she can safely return to some kind of normal life.”
“I don’t think I understand. Is she mentally damaged?”
“That is not an easy question to answer. From various tests and conversations, I’d have to say that she seems as intelligent and capable as ever...underneath. She simply has lost all interest in anything but her own pleasure.”
“I’ll have to come down to the lab then,” she said. “Let’s see what the poor woman has done to herself.”
The observation room was coldly dim, lit by a few glowing displays on the instruments and the spillage of the light from the other side of the window overlooking the inner room. The lab assistant looked up as they entered. “She’s been getting a little restless, Sam. I think she’s pretty much aware of the schedule now.”
Charp peered through the glass, fascinated. The large curving pane allowed a complete view of the dim, sparsely furnished room beyond. Cross-legged on the small bed, absently twirling a strand of dark hair in one finger as she stared at a television, a woman sat. Charp took in her disheveled hair, hungry look and somewhat vacant expression and compared it with the bright, attractive lab assistant in the photo Sammat had showed her.
“She’s lost some weight- not much interest in our cafeteria food, can you blame her?—and not getting any real exercise hasn’t helped. Still, all in all, no different than you’d find in any long-term hospital patient.”
“What does Legal say about this?” Charp asked. She knew he’d been to the company lawyers, asking about ‘hypothetical’ situations.
“Well, she’s not demanding to leave, and that’s the main thing.” Sammat shrugged. “She’s had some phone contact with friends and family- after some coaching, of course- and she’s let everybody know that her work has been requiring her to stay at the lab a lot lately. I’m hopeful that we can get her into reasonable shape before there are any serious complications.”
“I still don’t understand- why the containment?”
“For her safety, of course, and to make observation easier...but mostly to protect ourselves from exposure. That’s what I was saying before- even trace amounts of the additive in the air are sufficient to trigger the response. We are currently investigating it, but there’s plenty of evidence to support the conclusion that even the ‘secondhand smoke’ is potent enough to seriously affect anyone breathing in the area.”
Charp considered this briefly. “Do you mean to say that non-smokers will become smokers just by being around one?” If so, this is a big silver lining, she thought- the product sells itself, advertising can be all but eliminated- why, there’s no reason why we can’t achieve total market penetration.
“Well, yes, potentially...but...as I said, we still don’t fully understand the effect at this stage. In animal tests, there seems to be a marked discrepancy between male and female subjects. Response is always potent, but the addictive nature seems to have different manifestations. Nevertheless, we still cannot find a percentage of the additive that will produce noticeable results without drastically affecting the behavior of the user.”
“Well, if it’s about time, I think I need to see it at work,” she stated.
Sammat and the assistant exchanged glances. “Very well,” Sammat said heavily. “Tom, initiate delivery.”
The assistant donned a pair of gloves and opened a glass jar which contained a few long white cigarettes. Removing one, he carefully but swiftly placed it in a clear plastic container, which was in turn inserted into a slender, tubular pipe that ran under the control board. He closed the lid and pressed a button. There was a slight hissing sound, and a soft thump from the far end.
The woman jerked around when she heard the noise and an excited light came into her eyes. Charp could read relief and need on her face as she removed the container from the tube and opened it with trembling hands.
“Just plain excitement, I assure you- motor skills are unaffected,” said Sammat quickly. Charp hushed him.
The woman had grabbed a lighter from the nightstand and placed the cigarette in her mouth. She quickly ignited the end and took a deep pull. The orange yellow flame blazed up in contrast to the blue coldness of the surroundings. She opened her mouth and let the smoke curl back over her lip up her nostrils. Her eyes half closed and rolled back and her body slowly fell back on to the bed. She exhaled with an audible moan. The cigarette dangled from her lips as her hands roamed her body beneath her loose garment, stroking breasts, belly, thighs, and finally diving under her waistband into her crotch. She left one hand there and held the cigarette with the other, taking long drags in short succession as her hips writhed in increasing tempo. Her moans came faster and loader, echoing in the bare walled room, until a screamed “Yes!” trailed off into a happy, sleepy, sound as she took one last drag. Her face was beyond bliss.
There was silence in the control room for many seconds.
“Sammat, a word outside,” Charp said. He followed her out, mentally preparing his defense. When the door had closed she wheeled on him, but with suppressed excitement, not anger. “This is big. Huge. Hold on, let me think...” she tapped her chin with her forefinger as the thoughts raced.
“Ok, number one, keep this super quiet. Whatever security you have around this, triple it. Nobody says anything, writes anything down, and for God’s sake, keep the lab computers off the network. Whatever funding you need, get straight from me. I want this project our only priority right now. Get me a sellable product ASAP.”
“Whoa- we’re still cleaning from one unauthorized test and you want a finished product? We’re in damage control mode. This additive is in its infancy.”
“What we have in an incredibly enjoyable, instantly addictive yet completely non-harmful cigarette- and everyone who comes near one is going to want one- I call that a marketable commodity.”
“I wouldn’t say non- harmful. I worked with that girl in there-she’s definitely not what she once was, to put it mildly.”
“You told me yourself there’s no physical damage to her body. And otherwise...in your own words, she answers questions and performs tasks at the same level as before she was exposed. If she’s not hurting herself- and it did look like she was having a good time-what’s the problem?”
Charp caught the scientist looking at her, incredulous. She laughed dismissively, and relaxed her grip on his arm.
“Ok, ok, don’t get scared, Dr. Sammat. We’ll take this slow. Let’s meet after lunch tomorrow and draw up long-term testing plans and work out the budget. I need to give the FDA a lot of thought and do some research myself. I know you have concerns but I assure you: once we’ve worked out all the details I think you’ll be very happy with the rewards for what you and your team have done.”
Karen drifted with drowsy joy on the edge of consciousness. These moments after orgasm when the frilled trailings of ecstasy still caressed her tingling nerves had become her dwelling, deep within an ocean of awareness. Truth, profound and instinctual, lived there, and she marveled at her own recent awakening to it. A joy enveloped her, presently serene but capable of such delicious extremes. Darkness perhaps, but such warm and satisfying darkness. She let her mind travel carelessly over previous pathways of thought, and quietly smiled over now quaint concepts like repression, restraint, naughtiness, monogamy, orientation...so many structures crowding her old mind. The new one was quite open and unrestrained.
Except...she was aware she was alone, and isolated. A sadness at the very edges of her being, a lack that must be addressed. For her part, she remembered the world outside, and knew it to be full of people like she used to be. She had begun to long to show them her truths, to accept them into her world, to feel them and taste them and have them share in her joy.
The observers had not been wrong their assessment; she was just as intelligent and aware as ever. What they had been mistaken about, or observed incorrectly, was assuming that she was incapable of action beyond the fulfillment of her addiction. They could not know that she had been considering her situation almost from the first moment she felt the unprecedented orgasm hit her, that fateful evening in the lab. Had the sensations been less overwhelming, she might have avoided detainment altogether. As it was, it did not trouble her to allow them to study her for a while. In fact, it gave her time to form her own conclusions about the experience, and give her fresh (and delicious) data in the form of her regular dosage. Her future plans had started to crystallize the first time she was visited.
The scientist had arrived, with a clipboard full of questions, and she let herself answer them openly, all the time letting her eyes travel over his body. She could remember how people behaved- how she used to think it was correct to behave- but she could no longer see any reason not to touch and be touched, to kiss and be kissed. She realized that it was very possible that she alone in the world had come to this blessed state. It was her responsibility to bring this bliss to the world- if necessary, one person at a time. There was only their tradition, their resistance, which must be overcome.
It had been a mischievous challenge for her to try and collect enough loose material to make her own cigarette.
Her mind dedicated itself to the problem with the clarity and passion that marked all her thoughts now. Her movements must be secret but not visibly furtive, and the materials were not easy to work with. Plus, her own spirit of excess frequently won out during her regular sessions and she was left with little to hoard. Without knowing when the next in-person visit would be, she felt she was working against time. And the desire to be out among all the many warm innocent bodies who must be unconsciously yearning for her ministry was beginning to ache within her. The same day she finished her project she also noticed that they had been slightly ahead of schedule with the delivery.
Sammat had, after a quiet shot of scotch in his own office, decided to get some additional information to take to his meeting with the CEO. Although Charp had been excited about the possibilities-despite his protests- he could easily see her having second thoughts upon reflection. He was affected more than he liked to think by the promise of wealth and success that Charp had left him with, but his scientific and moral reservations screamed at him to be careful. He decided that objectivity needed a boost, and for that he needed to see and speak with his patient (the few lab workers seldom used her name anymore) and regain his critical outlook.
He walked down the hall to the control room, and laid an understanding, almost fatherly hand on the assistant’s shoulder. “Tom, take a break for a while. Is the particulate count back down to normal? I’m going to give her a test and double-check some things. Grab a shower and a few winks- I’ll be here going through the data all night.”
The assistant thanked him and scuttled off quickly. Like his colleagues, he was unnerved with the situation and had put in many long hours since the accident. Sammat removed his jacket and set down everything but his clipboard, looking at the vital signs. No worries there- a healthy, normal readout.
He left the control room and rounded the corner to the recessed entryway of the containment. The freshly installed card-activated security lock seemed out of place on the aging stonework, and his fingers slid the access card though dismissively, as if the need for such things was something Sammat barely acknowledged.
Deep breath, and enter.
She was in her usual post-climax position, her body seemingly thrown across the top of the bed. Her head was bent back slightly over the top edge of the pillow, her eyelids closed but fluttering slightly. One hand lay at her chin, the fingertips touching the parted lips, and one arm lay in a wide sprawl, hand out of sight between the side of the bed and the nightstand. Sammat knew she would stay this way for hours, seemingly asleep but merely on the edge.
He cleared his throat. “Karen? May I have a few minutes?”
Her eyes slowly opened, and gradually saw him. She shifted her head toward him, but her body remained flush and still. Without lifting her fingers from her lips she breathed, “More questions, Sam?”
The recognition stung him slightly- she had been such a bright, eager worker!—but he lowered his eyes from her heavy gaze and focused on the stark words of his printout. “That’s right, just a few questions. I won’t disturb you for long.”
“Take whatever time you need, Sam,” she whispered. “Will you turn around while I sit up and fix my clothes a bit?”
He filed the request as an interesting, possibly hopeful attempt at decorum. “Of course,” he said, and turned to regard the door. He heard her moving about on the bed behind him, her thin lab-issue clothes slithering across the cheap bedcovers. Then he heard an unexpected sound, a quick rasping click. Just as the word “lighter” came to him, the tiniest hint of an odor crept into the air. His heart dropped into his stomach and he whipped around. All his terrified eyes could see were lips parting and a cloud of white smoke billowing towards him.
Suddenly, the fear left him, blown away by the smoke. He felt startlingly clear and calm.
No, he realized, not calm; an excitement was building quickly within him. Untroubled, maybe, but full of vitality and passion- calm was definitely not the word. As his vision cleared he saw Karen, breathing heavily, looking at him with mingled desire and curiosity.
“Can you feel it?” she whispered. She dragged again on the homemade cigarette and french-inhaled, her eyes rolling back for a moment. She exhaled towards him again, moving forward as the smoke buffeted his face. He seemed to feel it entering him, filling him and also emptying him of secondary considerations. He was speechless, and throbbingly erect.
His desire held him paralyzed as she pressed herself to him, and buried her face in his neck. She was smelling and feeling his flesh on hers, a new sensation, and she liked it. Her tongue darted out to taste his salty skin, and with her free hand began to burrow beneath his clothing. She pulled back to take another drag, and again blew smoke at his face as she nimbly unbuttoned the shirt. His eyes and hers closed as she began to caress his chest, and press her hips tight against his. She let the cigarette dangle between her lips as she pulled her own shirt over her head. His hands, emerging from paralysis, cupped her breasts, her nipples hard beneath his newly sensual touch She made quick work of his zipper and tugged down his pants in one smooth movement. She wriggled out of her moist, baggy scrubs and circled one leg around Sammat’s midsection, pulling him down to the bed with her. She spread her knees wide and took an anticipatory drag as he positioned himself.
He thrust into her, and she exhaled with a gasping sound of delight. As good as it had been alone, the addition of a hard cock inside her brought the feeling to a new level. She dragged hard on her cigarette as he entered her again and again, his face joyous and twisted with passion. Her breasts shook with each thrust, sending beautiful chills through her, and she stroked her nipples while he increased his rhythm.
They fucked like animals, and came like a blast from the horns of paradise.
After some time, she raised herself up on her side and lovingly ran her hand over his chest. “Dear Sam, you understand now. No more tests, no more questions. I have told you all you need to know now or ever, with my body.”
“Mmmm,” he mumbled happily. “I was going to write my findings up for Charp. Big meeting tomorrow.”
Karen began to knead his chest softly with both hands. “The whole board or just the two of you?”
“Just us,” he said.
“Perfect,” she said. “You’re going to convince her absolutely.”
Ms. Charp was unsure whether to applaud the scientist’s work ethic or remonstrate him. It certainly looked like he’d been busy all night- unshaven, somewhat wild-eyed, his clothes rumpled and unchanged from the previous day. And his manner irritated her- he seemed casual, much too familiar of speech with her. She was working to get him to elaborate on some new information he’d just mentioned. “So we have more data on the male/ female reaction differences?”
“Yeah,” he said. She waited, fuming, as he shifted his position, sprawling across her best chair. “Apparently, the addiction mechanism is causally misplaced in the male perception.”
“And that means...”
“We’re not gonna be able to use the secondhand smoke quality to attract male consumers. Hey, can I get some water?”
“Sure, sure,” she buzzed her receptionist, who failed to respond right away. Charp continued her probing. “What happens with males exactly?”
“Well, the same pleasure state results, definitely, but focused instead on the actual smoker, you see, not on the cigarette. We believe that’s shared- a female would have a similar fixation, but is also able to focus directly on the prime cause.”
“Can you be clearer?”
“Ok,” he drawled, and shifted again. “Say a man and two women are in a room. One of the women is smoking. The other two become aroused, and develop an addiction to the feeling, but only the woman will additionally develop the need to smoke. The man will develop only a desire for the smoker, but one which matches addiction to the point where he requires her.”
“Requires her to do what?” she asked.
“Nothing. He just needs her,” he said. His eyes looked far away and his mouth traced a slight smile. “Needs her.”
Ms. Charp began to feel a bit concerned. Between Sammat’s appearance and behavior a trickle of fear had pierced her unflappable composure. She slapped a hand down on the call button. “Donna, will you get us some water, please?” she demanded.
Donna responded, “Right away, Ms. Charp,” and let go of the button. Her eyes moved from her desktop back to Karen’s approving smile. Donna took a long drag as Karen continued to stroke her under her skirt. Karen and Sammat had been very busy indeed last night, and Karen was now armed with dozens of additive-drenched cigarettes, some of which she now gave to the pretty, young personal assistant to the CEO.
“Are you ready, sweetie?” asked Karen. “I promise we’ll finish what we started, when we’re safe.” Donna nodded eagerly, and quickly composed her clothes and hair. She retrieved a few bottles of water from a small refrigerator, and knocked on the door.
Sammat had risen and was looking out the window behind the desk. It was a pleasant view of the suburbs, with green hills in the background, a fine drizzle draping the earth in mist. Ms. Charp was straining her neck, trying to talk to him over her shoulder as well as refer to the notes on the desk. Between the discomfort and her growing apprehension, she was feeling less than in charge, and it frustrated her. A knock on the door startled her slightly, and she turned wondering. “Donna?”
“Your water,” said the blonde as she entered. Donna moved toward the desk with a rolling stride, almost like a model on a catwalk, keeping her eyes locked with those of her boss. Charp, now thoroughly flustered, motioned for her to place it on the desk and turned her chair back towards the scientist. She discovered he had abandoned the view and was now directly behind her. She realized her face was mere inches from his body, and she looked up at his face. He was gazing down at her, slightly smiling, with a look of appraisal. She recoiled a bit, and rotated back to face her receptionist, to ask her why she was still there. Her words dried up as she registered that the girl had a burning cigarette raised to her lips. As confident and self-assured as Charp normally felt, the events of the past several minutes were just too strange and unexpected for her to process quickly, and as such she was unprepared when Donna leaned across the desk and blew a cloud of smoke directly into her face.
Elizabeth Charp was neither promiscuous nor a prude; she had divorced her husband several years ago and had a number of small flings here and there- nothing that could get in the way of business. Her ambition thrived somewhat from a hushed libido, but mainly from a raw need for control. Her life revolved around control, of herself and of others. Her sexuality she regarded as a sometimes useful tool; she was aware that she possessed physical beauty and she had no objection to utilize it when necessary. She regarded her own sexual needs as marginal concerns, and was only vaguely aware of those needs being unfulfilled. Had she examined herself more closely in that respect, she would have been perceptive and honest enough to admit that it was the loss of control, so necessary in sex, that she avoided.
Now her control had been blown away, literally, and she loved it.
She had accepted Sam’s hands gently removing her top with a quiver of pleasure, and thrilled to Donna’s lips on her exposed nipples. Karen had entered the room, closing and locking the door behind her, and Charp watched her approach with feverish anticipation. A shower earlier, and lately some makeup courtesy of Donna’s purse, had improved her neglected appearance; her thinness now merely made her features striking- a chic waifish look framed by dark straight hair. “Welcome, Elizabeth,” she said, and kneeled between the executive’s spread legs. She slowly pushed back the pleated skirt and began to stroke the auburn-haired woman’s thighs, as the two gazed into each other’s eyes. Sammat was nuzzling Charp’s neck and shoulders from behind, while Donna aided him out of his clothes.
Elizabeth had never so much as experimented with another woman, but was suddenly, resolutely bisexual as she felt Karen’s mouth begin to explore her pussy. So intense was her ecstasy that she made no objection when Sam ceased his kisses in order to concentrate on the things Donna was now doing to him. The receptionist had freed his hardened cock- no worse from the previous night’s wear, apparently-and was sucking on it greedily while she masturbated herself. His moans penetrated the bliss of the other two women, and they moved from the chair to join Donna. For several minutes, a playful contest ensued between the three women as to who would have her mouth around his cock. Eventually, however, Elizabeth stood up, drew him over to the corner of the desk and guided him inside her, gasping as he penetrated. Karen and Donna circled her, holding her in place for him and covering her face and breasts with kisses. His cock moved in and out of her, each movement awakening deeper tremors of pleasure for her.
Karen lovingly lit a cigarette and placed it between Elizabeth’s parted lips. The women locked gazes as she took her first drag, and was immediately shocked into orgasm. As overcome with desire as she had thought herself to be, it was a mere ghost of the soul-wrenching lust that hit her now. She felt her pussy a million time more intimately now, and the sensations that it was receiving from Sam’s increasingly faster thrusts pulled throaty screams from her as she tried to take another drag. Pumping her faster and faster, he triggered orgasm after orgasm within her until she was dazed and drifting with the sensations. She felt him explode in her, and she exhaled, trembling and happy.
The factory workers had plenty of overtime over the course of the next few weeks, as production of the company’s newest offering commenced. Some of the executives were unsure if the idea of introducing a new brand, marketed towards women, was wise. Ms. Charp assured them that the product had great potential. “I am completely confident that this will ensure our dominance in the marketplace,” she declared. None of the board members were moved to disagree- many of them were still responding to how uncommonly happy and friendly she had become to all of them. She was radiant and charming, with touches of mischievousness, and her clothes and hair seemed to reflect a much more youthful, sensual style than she normally sported. She had winked at some of them as she spoke. “We’re doing a limited run, at first. If the reports don’t deliver everything I have promised you, I will be very very surprised.”
One executive tore his eyes from her plunging neckline to ask, “But no advertising? How will anyone even be aware the product is out?”
“Oh, it may be a slow burn at first,” she quipped, “but believe me, this will take off in a big way.”
Karen and Ms. Charp had somewhat of a difference of opinion. The former lab assistant had taken the CEO’s offer to live with her, and in between intense sessions of smoking and sex, they debated the right course to take. Karen was all for total, complete exposure. She explained her desire to awaken everyone, and urged Elizabeth to convert each person they saw. In contrast, Elizabeth drew from the memories of her old self; her intellect and business acumen led her to foresee many complications that could arise. “Trust me, my darling,” she cooed as she stroked her lover’s hair, “I want to see the world changed as much as you do. But there are a lot of ways this could turn bad, lots of people who could cause trouble before we get to them and make them understand. Soon we will be able to count on more support, after the first shipment hits the stores.”
Elizabeth ran a loving fingertip across Karen’s lips, and fondly recalled those lips around a hardened cock. “But don’t worry; we’ll also be doing our share of recruiting ourselves. Tonight, if you want, we can go out for a drink or two...” The two women pictured a crowded bar, and giggled together.