character :: Alicia
''Why do you have to make life so complicated? What matters more than being Happy!''
Alicia is a little taste of what it's like to be normal in the world of Overdose. She's pretty, popular, and most importantly: she's rich! Her parents, both politicians, have afforded her the luxury of the most exclusive entertainment - Pill Parties. And Alicia is always the guest of honor!
The Pill black market is rampant as Pills are now the only drug of choice. Street drugs will do nothing for people who cannot feel it's effects; so instead, teens have taken to overdosing on pill rations illicitly purchased from desperate friends or dealers. The trade is sweet: each citizen is sanctioned exactly enough Pills to operate in school or at work for 1 week each Monday. Most people (especially those with little pocket change) hoard their Pills back for a rainy day, when he grayness of feeling nothing becomes so overwhelming. But for the wealthy, Pills only run out when the money does.
Alicia runs into trouble one afternoon as she's preparing for a big Pill Party Bash for her 21st birthday: her dealer has cut her off! He demands that if she wants to keep purchasing from him, she must do him a favor: hiding away some little runaway girl who's dressed in a hideous jump suit. Alicia reluctantly agrees, but only because Princie is the only dealer in town with access to the real stuff; not that synthetic hormone that gives you the jitters.
And so, Alicia takes in Rene. She teaches her how to dress (but she messes it up!) how to act (which she really messes up!), and finally how to speak the way that her parents do to enchant a crowd. So, what is Alicia's role in the revolution? She doesn't quite know. All she knows is that Rene acts like she's hogging all of the Sad, which is okay for her: she much prefers the Joy.
