Well, this is a tricky question.

Most plants which cause paralysis are highly toxic, and it is difficult to calculate precisely the dosage which will paralyze an individual without killing him. There are also different kinds of paralysis — spasm, which generally targets only skeletal muscles but often accompanied by pain, convulsion, and vomiting; and muscle relaxation, which can affect smooth muscles such as the heart and diaphragm, causing death.

Come to the greenhouse; let me show you something I’ve been working on…

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Strychnos toxifera one of two main sources of curare, or the “arrow poisons,” used in South America.

There are, in fact, a number of different preparations of curare, with different primary toxins, all of which work via muscle relaxation. I am currently working on isolating the toxin Alcuronium, which is effective in small doses, administered subcutaneously, and has minimal side effects.

But why on earth would you be interested in this stuff?

amaranthus Posted:

Well, this is a tricky question.

Most plants which cause paralysis are highly toxic, and it is difficult to calculate precisely the dosage which will paralyze an individual without killing him. There are also different kinds of paralysis — spasm, which generally targets only skeletal muscles but often accompanied by pain, convulsion, and vomiting; and muscle relaxation, which can affect smooth muscles such as the heart and diaphragm, causing death.

Come to the greenhouse; let me show you something I’ve been working on…

Strychnos toxifera one of two main sources of curare, or the “arrow poisons,” used in South America.

There are, in fact, a number of different preparations of curare, with different primary toxins, all of which work via muscle relaxation. I am currently working on isolating the toxin Alcuronium, which is effective in small doses, administered subcutaneously, and has minimal side effects.

But why on earth would you be interested in this stuff?

Awesome tea…I just really, you know, love nature. I think it’s so cool how it’s beautiful but still deadly, like spiders that make the most amazing webs but they’ll kill an animal thousands of times their size with a tiny drop of venom.

Can I really come see?

Steady, steady now. Bushes…there, in the bushes my headset!

Yes. Thank God for headsets, now I can contact my team.

Hey, hey anyone got their ears on? I have no ****ing clue where I am, or where my clothes are, but I found my headset…could someone track me down please? Just track that device you smartbumes put into my armpit, to keep me from being tempted by bananas.

And don’t ****ing yell!

And send along a whole ****load of aspirins, and some alka seltzer.

Janie Posted:

Awesome tea…I just really, you know, love nature. I think it’s so cool how it’s beautiful but still deadly, like spiders that make the most amazing webs but they’ll kill an animal thousands of times their size with a tiny drop of venom.

Can I really come see?

Yes, but please try to be quiet. Haven’t you finished your tea yet? And please don’t touch anything. Some of these plants contain contact poisons, and I haven’t yet managed to synthesize antidodes for all of them yet.

Here is the strychnos toxifera, the one from which curare is made.

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I’m still working on isolating alcuronium from it. Isolating turbcurarine is a relatively simple procedure; however, turbocurarine is fairly… well-known as a muscle relaxant in the western medical tradition, and therefore not always suitable for my purposes, if you know what I mean.

amaranthus Posted:

Yes, but please try to be quiet. Haven’t you finished your tea yet? And please don’t touch anything. Some of these plants contain contact poisons, and I haven’t yet managed to synthesize antidodes for all of them yet.

Here is the strychnos toxifera, the one from which curare is made.

Log in to see images!

I’m still working on isolating alcuronium from it. Isolating turbcurarine is a relatively simple procedure; however, turbocurarine is fairly… well-known as a muscle relaxant in the western medical tradition, and therefore not always suitable for my purposes, if you know what I mean.

Hmmm… yes, still working on the tea. Anyone would think you were trying to get me sleepy.

I just love the way that latin rolls off your tongue. Is it true that the prettiest flowers are often the deadliest?

And can I see your lab? It sounds cool, you have a lab of your own. How old are you? Did you just learn all of this on your own? Seriously, do you guys have any food around here?

Janie Posted:

It’s no big deal. I’ve taken every one of them at one point or another, and I’m still here! They’re almost all from my mom’s medicine cabinet. I think he ate a blue one, about 4 pink ones and an orange one. The orange ones taste like ribbon candy.

Yes, but he’s a Monkey. Get it, a monkey. His metabolism isn’t the same as ours. And, as our leader, he needs to remain calm and focused, not lying in some gutter hallucinating all night. Sheesh.

Hey is anyone copying this? Am I going to get an extraction or do I have to thumb a ride?

Seriously, whose leg do I have to hump to get a ****ing extraction?

Oh if you are copying this, tell the driver to bring along one of my suits, and my MP3 player….I need to get Jefferson Airplane out of my head.

Janie Posted:

And can I see your lab? It sounds cool, you have a lab of your own. How old are you? Did you just learn all of this on your own? Seriously, do you guys have any food around here?

*Looks at watch*

[muttering] Wow; I’m going to have to order some new pbumionflower seeds. Apparently my home-grown specimens have lost some of their potency. She should be mellowed out by now. [/muttering]

Sigh… No, you cannot see my lab. It’s got to remain pristine. Besides, there are a lot of delicate things in there, and you seem a little… prone to excitement. I can’t have you breaking anything.

I’m 17 years and 8 months old. I skipped a few grades in school, so I’ve just finished my second year of college… well, sort of. I had to leave before the end of the year. What? NO, I did NOT flunk out. I LEFT. There were… some questions about the legitimacy of my hobby, that’s all. Anyways, I skipped a few grades in school, and then my stupid parents shipped me off to Carleton College. It’s this stuffy Liberal Arts bull**** school in Minnesota.

Yeah, I learned most of this myself. I had a garden when I was a kid, and I started breeding my own plants — at first just for their looks, but then I got interested in their uses and what I could extract from them. I wanted to take biochemistry in college, but then my parents shipped me off to that Liberal Arts bull****. I made it work to my advantage, though; I took courses in Anthropoogy (ethnobotany and ethnopharmacology) and History (medieval alchemy).

I’ll have you know that I am not 13! And I thought you were cool, but I guess you’re not. Pristine! Are you saying I’m dirty?

You can take your stupid tea and shove it up your monkey! I’m going home!