The Scowling Man rubbed the rest of his cocaine across his gums and when he finished, touched the handle of the nickel-plated .22 he had shoved in the waistline of his pants. He had been alternating between drinking whiskey and doing lines for the last thirty hours straight in a futile attempt to find perfect equilibrium.
It had been one of the great philosophical debates throughout history.
Though it may not have been conceived with regard to abusing narcotics—the concept of perfect balance and harmony—people had spent their lives devoted to this achievement. Confucius spoke of The Doctrine of the Mean; Aristotle had the “golden mean”. And now, The Scowling Man sought to perfect this application for euphoria. Some would suggest this pursuit already existed in the phrase “chasing the dra
