[ WP ] A new drug let 's you live a lifetime in one dream

All it took was some DNA. Scientists initially developed the drug to help the astronauts train for extensive periods of isolation. In no time, they could subject the trainees to months or years of training in a single night. The biggest drawback was retention. In real 
 
 time the process took roughly 8-10 hours but the perception of the user was over the course of a lifetime. You see, the drug allows the users to experience the entire existence of another human being. All you need is a bit of that person's DNA. You would 
 
 experience birth, death, and every aspect of another's life in between. Now, in theory this drug was supposed to reshape the world. For the first time ever, human beings could connect on a mental level and share their perceptions and experiences with others. 
 
 Literally allowing you to walk in another's shoes. 
 
 But the human brain is a fickle thing. From the very first human trial things were not going as planned. While the drug functioned exactly as intended the resulting side effects left the users.... changed. After every test, the subjects would awake screaming. They 
 
 would reamin unresponsive until the screams ended, which varied from person to person. Every single test ended this way. First time users would recover after a number of minutes and when asked why they could not provide an answer. Turns out the drug let 
 
 you experience the life of another person but when you woke up, your real life experiences would over-write the ones you had while you slept. Much like forgetting a dream. Some subjects were allowed multiple runs with the drug and each time the screams lasted 
 
 longer. 
 
 The resulting theory is that the brain is better wired to retain emotional memories than functional ones. Participants would recall feeling different emotions throughout the trial but could not remember why. The scientists then decided that the screams of the 
 
 waking subjects were the emotional memories from dying. They were literally experiencing life and death at the same moment as the effects of the drug wore off. Believe it or not, the human mind was not meant for such a thing. Scans during the tests showed that 
 
 every single neuron in the subject's brains fired all at once, just before the screams began. The monitors would light up like an explosion on screen and the screams lasted until the fire died. Those allowed to take part in long term trials experienced longer and 
 
 longer periods of this. One man tragically passed away after his tenth trial. Reports show that his brain `` Sparked'' for over half an hour until it suddenly went out. He screamed the entire time. 
 
 So the drug lost traction for public use as it was deemed too deadly. It eventually found its way to the black market and that's when things got interesting. Users found that the emotional retention of memories was even more extreme if a bond already existed 
 
 between them. The ability to view situations from both sides, especially on an emotional level, left users immediately changed. People would still wake screaming but people would claim to feel even more for each other after the experience. 
 
 That is how it ended up as the basis for the justice system now. Those guilty of violent oor hateful crimes were forced to live as the person they wronged. They would live the life from the other side and by the end most would understand and change their ways. 
 
 Usually, one treatment and the subject was cured. It was those that commited particularlly violent crimes that never return to normal. Something about being murdered by yourself really messes with people.
