Larsen Police Departmental Drug Memo 003: DN8 (AKA Metamorphine; Darwin; Evo).

DN8 is a drug that alters the user's DNA, allowing them to change into any animal, insect, plant, or person they wish – most choose animals. The attraction to the drug is that the user gets to experience what it’s like to be an animal (or other), but still gets to think like a human.

The drug has two parts: the DNA to mix with the user's DNA, and the activator which we honestly don't understand. The activator somehow breaks down and recombines the two DNA's, allowing the transformations. It can be taken via needle or in a pill. Needle form is often referred to as Metamorphine, and the pills are most often called Darwins (or as slang off of Darwins, sometimes Evo [from "evolution"]). Like any other drug, this one still produces a high, and is designed to be addicting.

Overuse has a variety of results. For some, it’s a heart attack from stress on the system caused by changing too much. For a user who chooses one animal more than others, too frequent use eventually causes permanent changes to the DNA, making a were-form of human and whatever animal (or other) they chose. These were-creatures are officially called Hybrids. Some religious folk and some recovering addicts say that those under the influence of DN8 are “DN8ured” (denatured). However, both of those terms are uncommon outside of labs and churches. Most commonly, DN8 users as a whole are called Twains, although that can cause some confusion (see "Animals," under "Some things to know about different Hybrids). Being so common, it's understandable if you use "Twain" when dealing with the public, if they are using it as well. Official department policy is to use the term "Hybrid."

Some people want the hybrid form the drug can give them, and bet on their ability to control the addiction, like people do with most drugs. Some get the hybrid form and then get help to beat the addiction, getting what they want. Some get the hybrid form, but fry their brain cells in the process, becoming lost in their hybrid forms.

Some things to know about different Hybrids:

Animals:

• The fact that animal DNA is part of the mix means that developers of the drug would have to have a stock of the animals to work from. Some makers of the drug have moved in on zoos for their DNA supply, and exotic animals wanted for their DNA have produced an uptick in poaching.
• Animal Hybrids who fry their brains often attack citizens, just out of animal instinct, and are often killed in self-defense. Almost every attack resulting in a Hybrid’s death is ruled self-defense, because it’s hard to prove that an ordinary person, when confronted with a Hybrid’s increased strength and/or speed, along with teeth and claws, wasn’t scared for their life. A case would have to be pretty clear-cut to be called murder.
• A person “shooting horse” – that is, horse DNA – is considered to be “doing it old school,” since “shooting horse” is a euphemism for heroin – obviously an older drug.
• Under the headings of "readily available," and "highly desirable," cat DNA is the DN8 of choice for most users, and for most dealers. When DN8 was just starting, many cat shelters were cleaned out before they knew what the cats were being used for.
• Many shelters are overwhelmed, and are just happy for both the income, and the freed up space. Itis now under the purview of Vice Squad to keep an eye on shelters to make sure they're not purposely becoming suppliers to those who make DN8.
• It was late night talk show host and comedienne Leia Jeno who coined the term "Twain." In reference to DN8, she quoted Mark Twain in one of her show's opening monologues: “If man could be crossed with the cat it would improve man, but it would deteriorate the cat.” She then declared, “They’ve done it! They’ve made a cross Twain man and cat!” Cat DN8 users became known as Twains after that.
• Because Twains are the most common DN8 users, "Twain" caught on as a term for anyone with a hybrid form. That's where the confusion can come in- some people only use the term for cat hybrids, so it could potentially confuse people if you use it to refer to all hybrids.
• Cat DN8 is at its highest popularity on the college campus, particularly among girls. Out on their own for the first time, but not yet truly ready for the responsibilities of adulthood and personal freedom, the attraction of becoming a cat, perhaps as they dreamed about as children, can be a powerful lure. For some, they believe it will make them sexier, or more graceful.
• For boys, the allure of cat DN8 is the opportunity to see what's so special about catnip. Nip is a secondary market for dealers, and pet supply stores are having a hard time keeping it in stock. If it's not stolen before it reaches them.
• For either sex, there are those who have read too many comic books, and they think that becoming a cat hybrid will help them to become a highly successful Cat Burglar. It does help, and they are dangerous, so TASERS are a reccommended defense.
• As ever, there are those who try to justify their drug use with pseudo-philosophical thought. There is a segment of the college crowd who have latched onto the full quote from Mark Twain: "Of all God's creatures there is only one that cannot be made the slave of the lash. That one is the cat. If man could be crossed with the cat it would improve man, but it would deteriorate the cat." They think that by becoming cat hybrids, they are becoming "free." The rationale goes downhill from there, and this logic attracts those who lean more towards anarchist thought anyway, so this segment of the population has the potential to become a problem.
• Twain Yards are outdoor parties where Cat DN8 users have gathered to lay in the sun. Unless they are posing a danger to others, or are in danger themselves, we've found it best to cordon off the area, and direct passers by to not disturb them. Simply put: it is easier to let them pass their high time away in the sun, and round them up when they change back.
• Twainmakers (wordplay on "reignmakers") are the DN8 dealers; the ones making the stuff, and therefore making the Twains.
• The last segment of DN8 users to worry about- particularly on the college campus- is that segment that still wants to use the drug, but also wants to seem as non-conformist. To that end, there are those that have rejected the popular cat DN8, and instead have embraced dog DN8. The breed of their dog DN8 doesn't matter- these users are almost universally referred to as Hounds. There are a few exceptions...
• Some gangs have taken to specific breeds of dog DN8 for their ranks. Any of the big breeds are elligible- rotweiler, pitbull, shepherds, boxers, great danes, and maybe bulldogs. What they're looking for is controlled hybrid forms, so they can be Dog Soldiers.
• New gang initiates just starting with DN8 are called Pups.
• Those who lose control of their progress, and become feral usually disappear. A new breed of underground fights has started from this, and those users are called Dogfighters. Many of them die in these fights.
• There is a special breed of animal DN8 user that can be highly unpredictable, and highly dangerous, and they're commonly known as Twain Wex ("train wrecks"). These users have used multiple animal DN8's to avoid getting locked into one hybrid form, but believing this has made them immune, they overindulge to the point they get locked into a form that has traits from multiple animals.
• Like a rhinocerous man with a huge lobster claw for one of his hands, and his body covered in the brown-and-black fur of an Airedale Terrier. Sounds funny, but that's Twain Rex, and he's a legend on the Dogfighter circuit. He's also wanted in connection to at least four maulings.

Insects:

• Insect farms of all kinds are easier to manage than animal collections, so insect DNA is common in DN8.
• Fly DNA is the most common, because it is easily obtainable, and someone has apparently seen The Fly too many times. It turns out the proportionate strength part was true. Flying is also a very attractive lure. The needle form of Fly DN8 is called a "Flew Shot," and the pills are called both "Maggots" and "Flied Lice" (wordplay on "fried rice").
• "Fly Boys/ Fly Girls" are those who use DN8 with fly DNA. If they are freed from their addiction, and therefore their transformations, they are called "Walks" (from the joke: what do you call a fly without wings? A walk).
• Sometimes they're called "Walkers" by those who don't understand the source of the pun, so be aware of that when dealing with the public.
• "Vampire Bugs" are those who use DN8 with mosquito DNA. They will feed on blood if given the chance. Rub-on skin repellants for mosquitoes do repel mosquito Hybrids as well.
• Roach DNA is also easily obtainable, and used in DN8. This is not something users usually choose. It is something dealers slip in on users who are so far gone with the addiction that they don't care what kind of DN8 they are buying. It's cheaper for the dealers to make, and they don't care what happens to the users. These users are often called BDR's, for "Big Damned Roaches."
• Bug sprays and poisons are lethal to most any users who select insect DNA, and their lifespans are shortened if they stay transformed.
• A DN8 den where insect DNA is prevalent is called a "bughouse." There have been multiple cases where bughouses appeared in "respectable" neighborhoods, and fearing Vampire Bugs, the neighbors have thrown bug bombs into the den.
• When this happens it is murder, and is treated as such. Busting into a bughouse to attack addicts is not the same as defending oneself from a Hybrid animal attack.
• Sometimes rival dealers do this as well, knocking off the competition's customers.

Plants:

• Plant DN8 isn't common, even though it's obviously readily available as a source of DNA. This is usually another case of dealers slipping something in on users who are too far gone with the addiction. The needle form is often called "Weed Killer," and the pills are called "Plant Food."
• Even though the needle form is called Weed Killer, actual weed killer is lethal to plant DN8 users. Conversely, plant foods are nourishing to them.
• Besides the fact that not many users want to experience what it's like to be a plant, there's the fact that addicted users can become so far gone that they forget to move, and either take root where they are, or die from lack of sunlight.
• As you might expect, DN8 dens where plant DNA is prevalent are often called "Greenhouses." These usually don't pop up in urban areas. Plant DN8 is typically used by an exclusive clientele that see it as a crime against no one. The Greenhouse setup is usually almost a spa atmosphere where users are taken care of by "Gardners" and "Botanists" while they are transformed.
• There is a minor segment of plant DN8 users called "Hempies" (and just as often fall back on "Potheads") who are former marijuana smokers who have embraced weed DN8 as the next step in their drug use- from smoking the plant to becoming the plant. They talk about it as if were a Zen experience.
• Ironically, users who become marijuana are guilty of both DN8 use, and of being a felony weight of drug. The felony weight charge is usually dropped when they lose their transformation.
• There have been cases where Hempies have been so high that they murdered other Hempies and smoked the weed they had become. They are charged with felony possession of marijuana (due to the amount), murder (because the weed was a Hybrid human), and cannibalism (because the weed they consumed was a Hybrid human).
• There have also been cases where Hempies became so hungry that they ate other plant DN8 users in the Greenhouse. Again, the charges are murder and cannibalism.

People:

• Living someone else’s life has an attraction all its own. The limited number of people who use DN8 to change into another human form are basically using DN8 as an extreme sort of cosmetic surgery – using the shots or the tabs to change their appearance. However, the results are unpredictable. Just as babies from the same couple may look similar, but not the same (excluding twins) recombining with human DNA gives a different human appearance each time.
• Users who use Human DN8 are referred to as "Clones," "Offspring," and "Spawn." Due to the plastic surgery comparisons, they are also called "Dolls," "Kens" or "Barbies." As Mattel has already sued the band Aqua over the song "Barbie Girl," please use "Dolls" when dealing with the public.

Legal Ramifications:

• There is no penalty for taking on Hybrid forms through DN8 as it’s seen as an identifiable side effect of using a drug, like weight loss in a crack addict.
• However, testing positive for the drug or being caught with it in your possession is a mandatory one-year sentence that includes mandatory rehab.
• Because of the growing fears of identity theft, if caught using DN8 to take on another human form, there is a mandatory fifty-year sentence.
• There is an ongoing lobbying effort to allow DN8 to be used medically as an alternative to skin grafts for severe burn victims, and as an alternative to surgery for people with physical deformations. It is not yet legal, and likely won't be until it clears the concerns raised by the AMA, CDC, and FDA.

Story and characters owned by Chris Bishop, copyright 2023.