Dominoes: The Love Potion

Last time around, in this exercise I call DOMINOES, I dove head first into what the world would be like if teleportation actually existed. This time I’m asking the innocent question, “What if a 100% effective love potion existed.”

Just like Cupid’s arrow finding its target, imagine a world where now you have the ability to make the person you’ve been pining for your soul mate with the help of a simple pill (or spray, or ointment, or energy drink). What in the world would that be like?

Let’s begin with the obvious stuff — romance is now officially dead (married couples have known about this for years). No more wooing. No more dating. No more broken hearts. Just pop the pill, and…well, pop it!

Think of all the businesses that feed off of the ritual of romance—restaurants, movies, roller rinks, motels and bars would see a decrease in business.

The fashion and jewelry industries would take a hit. The cosmetic and perfume industries would be hit worse. The music industry will have nothing to sing about. Cars will be built with smaller backseats.

Of course, this all assumes that the love potion is permanent after one dosing.

But if it works like most pharmaceuticals, a love potion will probably need to be taken regularly (24-hour capsules like an allergy medication, or maybe once a month like a heartworm treatment for dogs). So these industries won’t go out of business, they will just need to scale back their production.

A love potion would need to affect the nervous system and sensory centers of our brain in order to be effective, so who knows what side effects there could be — and what industries might arise due to these side effects. I have a hunch insomnia might be a side effect. And STDs would be a serious threat, too.

One serious side effect will inevitably be mental breakdowns. Imagine waking up from a dream (nightmare?) to discover you’re coupled with a person you have no desire to be with. Suicide hotlines, therapists and family counseling would be in short supply.

Speaking of families, what about the children born to couples who have been medically arranged? If the medicated parent comes out of his/her amore state, would he/she disown the brood? What effects would such a drug have on fetuses?

Think of the laws that we would need to address.

Marriage laws would be rewritten. Divorce laws, too. Of course, there may not even be a need for marriage laws. Why pay for the cow when you can get the milk for free?

And what about multiple partners?

If you can drug one person, why not 50? And what’s to say that the person you wish to attract isn’t already taken (either through medical or non-medical means)? Suddenly, being beautiful could be considered a health hazard. Think about how many men would go after Angelina Jolie. What about the swarms of women jumping at a chance to jump George Clooney? Celebrity culture would most likely be dead from multiple druggings. Would this be considered a new type of homicide?

And who’s to say that the one dosing isn’t also being dosed? Who is really in control? It would not be crazy to assume that the boundaries of what we consider to be society would eventually be erased.

Like with pedigree dogs, this love potion would most likely be used to reinforce bloodlines. Arranged marriages would be the norm — assuming that marriage is even around at this point.

The love potion would also be used to segregate the class structure in second- and third-world countries. But inevitably, the class system would deteriorate as paupers and princesses connected.

And while that may sound like a fairy tale, it really should be thought of as political assassination. Developing countries could ‘attack’ more powerful countries by slipping the King or Chancellor an amore cocktail. Mortal enemies are suddenly ‘friends’ while allies would be left in the dust. Imagine the Queen of England hooking up with North Korea’s Kim Jong-il and you start to see the concerns.

Someone, somewhere is gonna get jealous. And these types of drug-induced treaties will not be tolerated for very long. It’s very probable that such political shenanigans would lead to hate, fear and most likely war — the very thing a love potion is meant to extinguish.

And coincidently, it wouldn’t take long for an antidote to the love potion to be invented. A completely separate industry of medications and potions meant to thwart the effects of the love potion would be introduced.

Men and women fearing that they may be the target of amore mind control will pay big bucks to shield themselves from such influences. And naturally, these new drugs will come with their own list of side effects and complications.

The medical industry will be overrun with patients unsure of whether they are in love or not. And irritable bowel syndrome, to boot.

Eventually, our world will not trust love—or free will—at all. Paranoia will reign.

Interaction between people will be reduced to images on screens and voices on machines. Imagine a world where everyone is afraid to touch or smell one another. Think what that will do to the geography and architecture of this world. How will it change us physically?

But because we are pack animals by nature, humans would find a way to build communities again—they just may not be real. Most likely, virtual worlds inhabited by our avatars will be the only way that we humans can feel safe and sensible amongst each other. And it is within these virtual communities that we can reinvent our appearances and our personas at the click of a button.

It’s ironic to think that an elixir that was meant to bring us closer together may actually make us even more isolated.

Your thoughts?

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Next time—“What if we all had flying cars like in the Jetsons?”

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