Zoom

Zooming saved my job - at the expense of everything else I hold dear.
Zhuan Bo, Chinese computer programmer

Z

oom is a drug developed and sold worldwide by  Hegemony International. It's billed as a "productivity booster" and is freely available to all Hegemony employees. It is non-addictive and generally considered safe for widespread use, but it's not without side effectss.

Zoomers

Although "Zoom" is a registered trademark of Hegemony International, the drug's ubiquitous nature has led most to refer to it colloquially, in a non-capitalized form, as simply "zoom". Those under its effects, or those who are frequent users, are commonly referred to as "zoomers".

Utility

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oom was originally developed by Hegemony Labs for military use. It's been proven to enhance focus and overall cognitive function. The original goal was to keep soldiers alert when they're performing mundane - yet mission-critical - tasks. (For example: When a soldier is on watch for long periods of time where nothing extraordinary seems to be happening - but losing focus for even a brief period of time could lead to a breach in the encampment's security.)

Unique Mechanism

The drug is often misidentified as an amphetamine because some of its effects are perceived to be similar. But this is inaccurate. Zoom does not act on the central nervous system. Nor does it affect dopamine receptors. Rather, it accelerates brain activity in the higher-level synapses. This increased activity (referred to by users as "juice") can lead one to feel invigorated and alert.

Quantifiable Enhancement

Zoom is distinct from traditional stimulants in that it's been shown to produce a measurable increase in cognitive function. Users of "regular" stimulants often feel as though they're operating with increased clarity and intelligence. Yet when those users are administered cognitive tests, those perceived benefits fail to materialize. Indeed, stimulant users often perfom at impaired levels of cognitive function, despite their conviction that the opposite is taking place. But zoom has been proven to provide a repeatable, quantifiable boost when performing mental tasks.

Dosage

Users are instructed to take no more than one pill per day, and to take the drug for no more than three days in a row. Taking additional pills in a shorter timeframe yields swiftly diminishing results, with most users reporting no increased effect after the third pill. When a user comes off the drug, they're instructed to abstain from use for the same length of time during which they were using.

Toxicity

When used as directed, zoom has no immediate physical side effects. However, the drug's potential toxicity increases exponentially when the recommended dosage is exceeded. While one pill per day has been shown to be safe, and excess dosage up to three pills per day is generally considered tolerable (albeit, highly discouraged), liver failure has been recorded in users who've taken as few as six pills in a 24 hour period.

Although it's manufactured exclusively in pill form, it can be crushed and ingested with food. It can also be stirred into any common liquid, but this approach is rarely used since the resulting powder has a strong, bitter aftertaste.

Zoom Fugue

While the drug is believed to have no long-term physical side effects (with the major caveat that users abide by recommended dosing instructions), its short-term mental side effects are well understood. Zoomers are prone to periods of confusion directly after its effects wear off. This is often referred to as a "zoom fugue". This period tends to be roughly as long as the person's continued use. So someone who was under the drug for two days may experience zoom fugue for as long as two days after they cease using.

The resulting fugue state is not debilitating in its severity. Users suffering from zoom fugue can usually still function, but they report feeling lethargic and generally unmotivated.

I'm fairly certain that I've made some of my most significant discoveries while zooming.
Marko Lehtonen, Finnish physicist

Amnesia

Zoom is also associated with mild amnesia covering the time period while the drug was active. Zoomers rarely report full-on black-outs. Rather, they can remember taking the drug and they have a general understanding of what they did while under its influence. But specific details can be hazy. Furthermore, their memories of any zoom-induced activities tend to fade from their long-term recollection at a faster rate than "normal" memories.

Manufacturing

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he drug was first made available by Hegemony International in 2031. While it was originally only available to national governments via tightly-controlled defense contracts, by 2035 they'd received permission to offer it to the general public. While it's typically available only by prescription, it can be purchased over-the-counter in many developing countries.

Patent Hoarding

Hegemony's natural patent protections should have expired in 2051. But through aggressive lobbying and alleged bribery, the company has maintained its exclusive patent to this day in all countries except Canadia. Nevertheless, there is now a thriving black market economy for bootleg formulations of zoom.

Social Impact

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oom enjoys a widespread reputation as a miracle drug. This reputation is fostered both by the general populace and directly by Hegemony's corporate marketing. While there is scarcely any demographic that has not been influenced by the drug's introduction, it's particularly popular amongst college students, bio-hackers, long-haul truckers, and any group that feels they could benefit from an occasional mental "boost". Popular media is replete with tales of people who've supposedly achieved grand feats and epic breakthroughs while zooming.

Exaggerated Effects

That being said, zoom's effects have also been shown to be highly exaggerated. While its cognitive benefits have indeed been verified in numerous double-blind studies, those benefits are typically more subtle than the average person has come to believe. In tests designed to measure intellectual performance, zoomers rarely achieve anything more than a 10% improvement. Some studies have even pegged this enhancement as being under 3% (which would qualify it as a potential placebo effect). There have also been negative societal consequences attributed to rampant zoom usage.

Mental Dependence

While the drug is not physically addictive, research is ongoing into its mentally addictive qualities. Frequent zoomers can come to see the drug as an absolute necessity to their performance, sometimes going so far as to beg off from work and isolate themselves in their home whenever they find that their supply has run dry. Once they believe that zoom has enhanced their abilities, they fear that any "normal" work they produce will be seen as substandard.

Overdoses

Those who are chasing the drug's diminishing benefits (or those who simply refuse to follow the dosing instructions) can overdose when they chase its effects by chugging ever-more pills in a single day. This has caused the global list of those awaiting a liver donor to swell to unprecedented levels.

Ruined Lives

Even for those who steadfastly adhere to dosing guidelines and use the drug in the most responsible manner possible, the resulting periods of zoom fugue and amnesia can wreak havoc on zoomers' personal lives. Careers have been ruined and relationships have been destroyed when zoomers, believing that they are operating at a superhuman level while taking the drug, then struggle to manage the inevitable side effects in the days and weeks that follow.

Amphetamines nearly ruined my life. But once I found a zoom supplier in India, I never had a desire to touch amphetamines again.
Viktoria Askin, Austrian ballet dancer

Black Market

Finally, Hegemony's aggressive and longstanding protection of their own patent has fostered a thriving shadow industry that supplies counterfeit zoom on the black market. While much of this "zoom" is formulated by ethical manufacturers, there's also a significant percentage of this illicit product that is either poorly produced or blazenly adulterated with lesser - or, more dangerous - ingredients.

Amphetamines

Counterfeit zoom can occasionally be nothing more than sugar pills. Far more troubling is the preponderance of traditional amphetamines that are pawned off as "zoom". Given that the effects can feel so similar to the user, some zoomers unknowingly ingest amphetamines for years. Often, they don't even realize their mistake until they try to abstain from zooming. Many regions now report skyrocketing rates of amphetamine addiction amongst the general population.

Even when counterfeits contain only "real" zoom, their precise dosage can be skewed. This can cause zoomers to suffer liver failure even when they are strictly adhering to the accepted dosage guidelines.