Supply and demand. The root of all economics. If you're dying of thirst, you'll pay whatever
it takes for a bottle of Nuka Cola. When you're out of ammo, and facing down a mob of raiders,
you'll hand over a whole crate of soda for a couple of shotgun shells. Those Khans over
there have a supply of "Recreational chemicals", and those Fiends in the funny outfits - they’re
all hooked on chems. Supply and demand. Once you got a customer addicted to chems, you
got a customer for life... however long that might be.
Most chems are based on pre-war medical supplies that once served some benevolent purpose.
They can help the sick recover from injuries and illness, and can provide an edge in combat
for those who bite off more than they can chew.
Then there are those who want to live fast and die young. They use 'em just for fun – and
in dangerous combinations. A dose of Mentats with a whiskey chaser and it’s Party Time!
The problem for chem pushers is that pre-war meds are rare, and making your own requires
lots of resources, plus an understanding of science. After the Great War, the dealers
needed something that could be manufactured in the modern world, using readily available
materials, and not much gets manufactured any more. About the most abundant resource
the Wasteland has is Brahmin shi-
There’s not many people with degrees in
chemistry, but anyone can shovel Brahmin sh-
About forty years ago, a clever young man
in New Reno discovered a way to turn that plentiful resource into a product that could
be sold all over the wasteland. He was a boy genius and if he'd been born three hundred
years ago he would probably been a distinguished doctor. In New Reno, he ended up helping the
Mordino crime family make new chems out of anything that could be smoked, injected or
snorted.
He learned that when Brahmin were fed certain protein extracts, their dung would give off
peculiar fumes. Anyone inhaling that gas would get all hopped up, and full of pep. Took 'em
a while to get the formula just right - the graveyard outside of New Reno is full of test
subjects who OD'd on the experimental formulas.
Eventually they figured out how to minimize the death risk, extend the effects, and even
came up with a catchy name for their product: Jet. They delivered the first samples to workers
in Redding. The goal? Gain control of the city by controlling the supply of the drug
that feeds the miners' addiction. The drug also increased their productivity, but all
the extra money they earned was just used to pay for more Jet. That rush of energy only
lasts about an hour, and after it wears off- the Jet-heads say it’s like the world goes
into high speed while you’re standing still.
It was just the thing a New Reno crime family needed to rise to power in that town. But
calling the Mordinos a “Crime” family isn’t quite accurate. Back then, New Reno
was a completely lawless place. Imagine New Vegas, but without Robert House and his Securitrons
keeping the peace and that’s pretty much what Reno was like forty years ago.
Place isn't much better these days. Though it's part of the NCR, the Van Graff family
is mostly in charge now - their arsenal of energy weapons gave them an edge against the
other families. The secret to making Jet has spread all the way out to the Capital Wasteland,
so no single family controls the trade anymore. No one quite remembers the name of the kid
who invented Jet, or what happened to him. He disappeared not long after Jet addiction
swept through New California.
The Mordinos didn’t let him out of his laboratory very often, but they did bring in some local
working girls to keep the kid entertained, and a few of the older gals at The Cat’s
Paw still remember servicing a pasty-faced teenage genius back in New Reno’s heyday.
Even though history has forgotten the lad’s name, his creation lives on. Some enterprising
chemists have even improved upon the product. The modern variety of Jet is less addictive
than the classic New Reno variety – and entrepreneurs have mixed it with everything
from breakfast cereal to detergent in order to enhance the New Reno experience.
When a person is on Jet, they feel invincible. Until it wears off and they need another fix...
Those securitrons will take out them strung out Jet Jockeys. They're some of the best
'bots around. Present company excepted of course.
Although when I was out East, I heard tales of robots so advanced, that you couldn't even
distinguish them from humans. Oh yeah. So lifelike in fact, even they don't
realize they aren't human... But that- is a story for another day...