Mercy Dust

"Mercy Dust" is the street name given to a drug called nexafolmine. It looks like a fine, white powder with an iridescent shimmer under direct light. The smell of it is reminiscent of a funeral parlor with heavy floral notes and hints of antiseptic beneath. Nexafolmine is used both medicinally and recreationally, and it's most commonly used as a painkiller and muscle relaxer. At higher doses, it can act as a paralytic agent. It was once considered for reclassification as an anesthetic, but its inability to render patients unconscious was a concern.   Mercy Dust is an inhalant, and those that have used it report experiencing feelings of intense nostalgia. Chronic abuse of the drug causes users to dissociate and lose track of time, sometimes leaving them catatonic for extended periods of time. Its soothing effects made it perfect for the treatment of anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder. Nexafolmine was created several decades before the Silent Scourge and was originally made to ease the suffering of palliative patients.   It was an affordable option compared to other pain management medications, such as morphine. The cost-effectiveness of nexafolmine made it the ideal choice for pain relief during the Silent Scourge. One unintended side effect of its usage is the stimulation of a patient's memory centers. While their grasp on the present day becomes foggy, they can remember their past much more clearly. It invokes feelings of comfort but also a sense of loss. Before society's collapse, it was being researched as a potential treatment for patients suffering from dementia, but it never received the necessary funding.   After society fell, Mercy Dust became a favored tool of the Visionaries lurking within the Blackmire Quarantine Zone. Its paralytic qualities and near instantaneous results are of great interest to them. Nexafolmine's original formula was based on ancient opioids, though later formulas attempted to move away from those addictive qualities.