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PaperclipPerfector  21hr ago (text post)   587 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for April 26, 2026

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or that it will change your emotions by reflexively pumping drugs into your bloodstream.

I'll note that even your link says "can opt to", and Wikipedia says

Most Culture individuals opt to have drug glands that allow for hormonal levels and other chemical secretions to be consciously monitored, released and controlled. These allow owners to secrete on command any of a wide selection of synthetic drugs, from the merely relaxing to the mind-altering: "Snap" is described in Use of Weapons and The Player of Games as "The Culture's favourite breakfast drug". "Sharp Blue" is described as a utility drug, as opposed to a sensory enhancer or a sexual stimulant, that helps in problem solving. "Quicken", mentioned in Excession, speeds up the user's neural processes so that time seems to slow down, allowing them to think and have mental conversation (for example with artificial intelligences) in far less time than it appears to take to the outside observer. "Sperk", as described in Matter, is a mood- and energy-enhancing drug, while other such self-produced drugs include "Calm", "Gain", "Charge", "Recall", "Diffuse", "Somnabsolute", "Softnow", "Focal", "Edge", "Drill", "Gung", "Winnow" and "Crystal Fugue State". The glanded substances have no permanent side-effects and are non-habit-forming.

which mentions optionality again and also mentions "secrete on command".

It's been a while since I've read them, but it seems like that if they're automatically dispensing drugs to you they're doing so under parameters you configured yourself, which seems perfectly fine.

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