Vilify
Overview
A street drug circulating in the South Bay area. Purple fluid, injected. Produces a dissociative, euphoric state — users go quiet, stare into the distance, and stop causing trouble. Confirmed side effects include vivid purple eyes and auditory hallucinations (“hearing voices”).
Described as the cheaper street version of Euphoria — the upscale drug available in wealthier parts of Night City. Price: 50/dose direct from the Piranhas.
Manufacture
Dr. Willie described Vilify as derived from a “Rayl” chemical compound called Nonh — a Continental Brands product that was being transported (hidden inside chocolate kibble) when the Piranhas stole the container. Dr. Willie added black lace and “a little punch” to produce the euphoric effect. He did not know nanomachines were present.
Nanomachines confirmed (Session 03): Golden Girl examined a dose under a microscope at Nexus Mods — nanomachines are visible in the mixture, currently inert outside a body; adding blood to the sample produced no activation. Professor Jackson at KCU identified the protein open-ends in a partial synthesis diagram as characteristic of nanomachine delivery mechanisms, requiring low-gravity conditions to synthesize — pointing to an orbital or lunar manufacturing source.
Treatment: Professor Jackson’s assessment: “you’d probably need some other kind of nanomachine-based operation” to cleanse a user. No practical treatment currently known.
Session 04 findings: Sustained heavy use produces a genuine hive-mind effect — see The Calling. Dr. Brightowski identified automotive coolant (“Choo-Two”) as capable of killing the nanomachines at high concentration, but at the cost of significant organ failure risk and a severe reaction — not usable as a safe cure. Professor Jackson has been tasked with finding a safer, gradual taper method instead.
Session 05 findings: The Calling discovered a faster assimilation method — Misty infected Professor Jackson overnight without a new Vilify dose (“we’ve discovered some way to accelerate the process”), a serious escalation over the multi-week buildup previously understood. Choo-Two, force-administered orally, was used as a crude cure on both Jackson and Misty — survivable with a blood transfusion (Jackson) or a smaller careful dose plus Speedheal (Misty), but not a safe or repeatable treatment. Continental Brands took both patients into custody, along with knowledge of the accelerated method.
Session 06 findings: Documents on Mr. Continental’s terminal confirm Continental Brands’ South Town operation existed specifically to suppress word that Vilify was adapted from CB’s own Nonh chemicals; South City was meant to be a test bed for future Nonh shipments, abandoned once the supply chain was destroyed. No further significant Nonh supply exists anywhere in CB’s local records — the primary source ships down from the Moon, synthesizable only under low-gravity conditions, confirming the orbital/lunar link first suspected in Session 03. With Dr. Willie’s own supply exhausted, The Calling has no viable path to more Vilify. Cryogenic freezing was proposed as a stopgap to halt affected members’ decay — Dr. Willie confirmed nanomachines survive freezing and defrosting intact, but the idea remains untested.
Supply Chain
Dr. Willie → The Piranhas → Sloan Enderman (street distributor) → outlets (e.g., Enderman’s bar)
Current status: Supply fully dry. Nexus Mods raided; Dr. Willie in CB custody; Enderman’s pulled the $15 sign; glowing-eyed customers gone as of Session 03.
Connection to Escalante Case
- The Piranhas stole the Continental Brands container on Dr. Willie’s instructions to obtain the Nonh chemical — the theft was deliberate and coordinated, not opportunistic
- The Escalante data cube arrived in the same shipment; Dr. Willie had it but didn’t recognize it
The Crew’s Supply
- Broker purchased 10 doses from the Piranhas for 500 EB (expense account); 2 used as persuasion tools on exit = 8 remaining
- Kenny Log-ins purchased 2 more vials directly from Dr. Willie at Nexus Mods for 10 EB each; these 2 doses were given to Fix-it-Felix for investigation purposes
- Session 04: traded 3 vials to The Calling (alongside 1,000 EB) in exchange for a test subject and access to Martin Gorsky; 1 more vial handed to Professor Jackson to aid his research into curing the hive-mind connection
Current inventory: approximately 4 doses (held by Broker) — the exact count got muddled at the table (dialogue referenced both 8 and 5 doses in the moments just before the trade)
Appearances
- Session 01 — First encountered; supply chain traced as far as Dr. Willie
- Session 02 — Manufacturing process confirmed (Nonh base chemical → Vilify); supply chain disrupted; two more doses purchased at Nexus Mods
- Session 03 — Nanomachines confirmed by microscope; low-gravity synthesis identified; Broker opened his coat to show supply to addicts outside Nexus Mods; Dr. Brightowski handed a sample for further analysis; 8 doses remain with the crew
- Session 04 — Hive-mind effect of sustained use confirmed via The Calling; Choo-Two identified as a dangerous nanite-killer; 3 doses traded to The Calling, 1 given to Professor Jackson
- Session 05 — The Calling’s accelerated assimilation method discovered (used on Professor Jackson); Choo-Two force-administered to Jackson and Misty as a crude cure; both handed to Continental Brands
- Session 06 — Continental Brands’ South Town mandate and off-world (lunar) Nonh supply chain confirmed via looted intel; The Calling’s supply crisis left unresolved; cryo-freezing proposed as a stopgap