Low Berth vs Fast Drug

[PsiTraveller]

With the risks of low berths killing the occupants, is there a better choice in using Fast Drug? Granted you lose 2 months of time, but no lethal side effects are listed. This was discussed in another thread as a means of transporting people. I was wondering if anyone here has had this come up in a game?

[baithammer]

Fast Drug slows the body down to 1/60th of time where as the low berth your fully suspended as long as you have power to the berth.

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

One thing that is not mentioned for any of the drugs is... What are the side effects? EVERY drug has a side effect. Also, what are the consequences to moving at 1/60th of the speed of everyone else? I think that just getting a shot of FAST should not be as simple as taking some Aspirin.

SLOW drug is even worse - where does all that energy come from to fuel your body at the accelerated rate???? How many THOUSANDS of calories are you burning every minute? Think about it.

[PsiTraveller]

I was thinking about that in another thread and did not want to hijack it so made this one.

On a meta level I would say cover the eyes to keep them moist. Supply fresh air and keep at room temperature.
I would bet the people are sore for a few days and need some massage therapy to get fluids moving.

[Reynard]

That's what so many forget about the use of fast drug. Your body functions slow but don't cease. They don't administer it then throw you in a corner and close the door during the trip. You need to be monitored and cared for which calls for a medic or steward regularly. Person on fast drug also still pays for the stateroom. As far as I remember, there is no crypt accommodation to toss the body in and you're not always asleep. Might explain why you never hear about regular drugged travel. Berthers are out for the trip. They are essentially in a crypt. Thawing at the end is not an automatic death sentence except in the holovid dramas, crime shows and horror genres. In most cases I can see better starports having on-site medical facilities for low berth treatment. Remember a Medical Bay also grants a +1DM to Medic checks.

[Sigtrygg]

In CT fast drug is twice the price of a low berth - three times if you want the antidote. If you don't pay for the antidote you may have to pay for up to 53 days of cubicle rent while the effects ware off - the 3I version of the penny hang?

[phavoc]

For a typical jump the drug is safer than a low berth. Suspended animation in a low berth would be similar to travel via fast drug (muscles, drying out, etc). Some safety factors need to be incorporated with each.

You would have no need for staterooms for a fast drug passenger. All your need are basic seats. The tonnage from a stateroom would accommodate a dozen or more passengers. More if you has them lying down and you stacked them.

Fast drug has an advantage since you could use it in an emergency, whereas you would need to already have the low berths installed aND functioning.

It's not a panacea, and there probably would be drawbacks to using the drugs that aren't mentioned.

[PsiTraveller]

I did a design for Epicenter i another thread for a colony ship using fast dfrug.

Make coffins .5 m tall, 1 m wide and 2 m long. People lay down in the box, luggage between their feet and get the drug. Close the lid and make sure there is enough space for the airflow. You could fit a dozen people per ton of storage space if you stack them deep enough.


Customers wake up up at destination in 2 months.

[Condottiere]

One sixth dose, cocktailed with a sedative.

Strapped down on a bed for comatose patients for ten days.

Stack them three high.

[Reynard]

People here still insist a person on fast drug are in total physical suspension with no biological functions.

[PsiTraveller]

Also called Hibernation, this drug puts the Traveller into a
state akin to suspended animation, slowing his metabolic rate
down to a ratio of 60 to 1 – a subjective day for the Traveller
is actually two months. Fast Drug is normally used to prolong
life support reserves or as a cheap substitute for a cryoberth.

Looks pretty close to no biological functions, akin to suspended animation. 60 to 1 ratio on life support. Where do you see something that indicates something different than a vastly reduced rate of activity?

[Condottiere]

Ten days would be a four hour siesta; if you do your business before the treatment, I'm going to guess your bladder and bowels should be able to hold it in for the duration, unless you've had a Big Gulp and a detour at Chipotle.

[Reynard]

Then why was low berth/cryoberth EVER created for the game when fast drug is in everyway far better?

On the same note, why hasn't fast drug been the canon way to travel? As a matter of fact, since it has no drawbacks and is in all ways more efficient, why aren't all passengers and non-essential personnel put down with the drug saving oodles of money and opening a ship to lots of extra tonnage?

Something is wrong.

[AnotherDilbert]

Why would we place people in coffins or other horrible claustrophobic contraptions when we have a tested and verified solution to packing people for travel:

One jump would feel like ~4 h for the traveller, so comparable to current air travel.

If we host a hundred people for a few hours we must of course provide drink and access to toilets, and probably food to keep the passengers calm.

Packing in 10 people per Dt, as in the picture, would allow us to lower fares to a few hundred Cr per jump.


Obviously interstellar travel does not work this way in Traveller.

[Condottiere]

I guess we could ask E C Tubb which method of interstellar travel is preferable, fast drugged or low berthed.

[AnotherDilbert]

Granted you lose 2 months of time, ...

Not necessarily:

Antidotes are available for both slow and fast drugs which cancel their major effects. The individual is returned to the normal rate of living, but still suffers any indicated recovery requirements.

CT TTB, p106.

[PsiTraveller]

It does raise the question of why low berths exist. Another example of one person coming up with one idea and another person with another, not realizing that it has a huge impact on the game perhaps?

[Condottiere]

Alien's variant looks super safe, though I rather suspect for both cases, Dumarest was the major influence.

[Condottiere]

Alien's variant looks super safe, though I rather suspect for both cases, Dumarest was the major influence.

[baithammer]

Low berths will keep the occupant "fresh" as long as the berth is powered, where as the fast drug simply slows everything down ( Including waste production.).

The trade off with Low berth is the shock of coming out of full suspension can be lethal where as the slow drug you still ag though at a far slower rate. ( Slow also doesn't preserve against posions / diseases as the system still processes but at a slower rate.