Okay... I'm confused by the Superscience rules. I know that they are mostly aimed at machines and are easy enough to apply to those.

However Emily is a doctor and pharmocologist not an engineer. Making advanced drugs is likewise fairly easy and so far that's what Emily's been doing. However eventually she'll want to make Innovations and the rules for those are pretty much machine orientated. I'm trying to figure out how to apply the rules to drugs. Below are some questions and answers I've thought of...
Does anyone else have an opinion to offer.

1st query: Can you have Innovative drugs? Safari Jack Tallon's exotic drug regime suggests so. They are considered a gadget and imitate the Optimized Metabolism knack. Problems he created this mix and he's a daredevil. Daredevils can't create innovations. I don't have a problem with drugs mimicking at least some knacks at all. It's hard to see how you could justify a drug giving (for example) the Daredevil Knack Complete Privacy but drugs that grant mental or physical powers seem feasible. They certainly occur in fiction (though whether they occur in Pulp Im not sure most of the examples I can think of are from Science Fiction. eg Dust from Babylon 5.

2nd query: Innovations run off Z-rays how would this work with drugs? I'm guessing that like the organisms in the "The Mystery of Volcano Island" story this would take the form of irradiating the components.

3rd query: What about usability? Drugs don't have controls but they could this could conceivably be biochemical in nature though whether they'd understand this in the 1920s is up for question.

4th query: ditto durability? I confess I'm flumoxed how to relate this to drugs.

5th query: ditto Warranty? possibly how long until the drug degrades/loses its irradiation. May also relate to how many doses you make. Obviously drugs can't be rebuilt.

What do people think? Am I on the right track.

Becka

Yes. As you noted some discretion in what is possible is called for but the short answer is yes.



Interesting that you brought up that particular vignette. Yes, the compounds could be irradiated but another possibility is that the ingredients come from z-ray effected plants such as the example you used. Or that the compounds required can only be found in lost worlds.



Interpretation; the drugs must be optimized for the particular chemistry of the individual. Its possible to create a more 'generic' version but also more difficult.



Two things to think about would be;
a. Shelf life of the ingredients.
b. Acquired immunity requires taking the drug back to formula in order to achieve the same effect.



See answer to number 4 above.

Sounds like you're on track Becka. Enjoy the adventure.