The Safe Drug. A mood-altering drug with NO ill-effects. (standard:Satire, 2457 words)
Author: Oscar A Rat	Added: Jul 06 2020	Views/Reads: 1424/1033	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Finally, a drug that gets you high but lets you down instantly.

The object – a ten-mile-wide, almost perfectly-round missile -- glowed
bright red as it approached a blue and white world.  As though sensing 
the planet, the object changed course. 

It instinctively angled itself to circle the orb, slowing down with each
revolution.  To people on the dark side of the Earth who happened to 
glance upward, it looked like a streaking ring of fire.  Several hours 
later, having slowed down to a fraction of its original speed, the 
object tightened its orbit. 

Circling closer, and ever closer, it continued to lose speed at the same
time it approached the planet.  When the object had burned off its 
outer coating, it exploded. 

Billions of seed-pods fell onto the Earth.  Many of them blew into
others, shattering into individual seeds. Some stayed intact until they 
hit the surface, bursting on rocks and other hard surfaces.  Still 
speeding, others would burrow into the ground, their outer coating 
slowly dissolving from ambient moisture in the soil. 

The majority landed in water, serving as fish food.  Of the ones that
made it to dry land, many landed on rooftops or other places where they 
couldn't germinate.  Billions did land on fertile land.  Those began a 
battle for survival.  The process went largely unobserved.  A great 
many of them were eaten by birds and small creatures. The few people 
who deigned to notice a rain of small red seeds scattering widely 
weren't really interested. 

People did notice them later, when they grew to a substantial height. 
Lawns around the world were dotted with an occasional red plant, those 
not uprooted as weeds or mowed down.  The plants that survived grew 
tall, round, and proud.  A bright red color, they eventually reached 
six-feet in height with brightly-colored flowers and seed pods of their 
own.  The plants glowed slightly with a slow reddish pulsation visible 
at night. 

By that time, their defenses had matured.  They defended themselves from
predators by emitting a strong mind-altering substance.  Sensing the 
approach of possible danger, bellows-like cells within the leaves would 
contract and expand, sending a light mist out in every direction. 

When humans or other animals contacted or inhaled the chemical, they
would feel peace.  They would become too contented and loving to think 
of harming anyone or anything, particularly that beautiful crimson 
plant.  Worldly cares going away, they would remain high on love, any 
pain leaving in the loving comfort of a narcotic moisture. 

*** 

Jennie and brother Tommy were playing in the woods behind their house. 
They had noticed the strange plant before but it didn't seem 
interesting to them.   After a brief inspection a few weeks before, 
they had left it alone.  Certainly it was strange, but to four and five 
year olds, a lot of things were strange.  The sun was going down at the 
time, and they saw it glowing. 

“Hey, let's take a gooder look, Tommy.  I never saw it do that before. 
Isn't it pretty?” 

“Aw, it's just an old flower.”  He went along though, picking up a stick
while she wasn't looking.  He would show that flower, splash it all 
over the woods, was his thought -- see if it glowed then. 

They ran over to it and stood looking up at the flower.  Tommy raised
the stick but lost his train of thought.  The two stood silently for 
long minutes, minds filling with a peaceful feeling.  Tommy dropped the 
stick while watching Jennie stroke a leaf, a smile on her face.  They 
stayed for about a half-hour, until they heard their mother calling. 

“Come on, you kids.  Time for supper.”  She could see the flower glowing
in the distance.  Shaking off the effects, the children ran back to the 
house.  After that, they made a habit of visiting the flower every day 
after school, liking the peaceful feeling after a hectic day of 
learning. 



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