Hatrack River Writers Workshop: Which poison am I?

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Posted by MaryRobinette (Member # 1680) on :

Those of you who have been playing with poisons on Open Discussions, here's your chance to play sleuth. Which poison did I pick? (Holmes' reaction is the next sentence, but I cut it from here as a dead giveaway.)

Signore and Signora Depretis have just taken a sip of champagne.

---

The cheeks of Signora Depretis flamed with a sudden blush, and she put one delicate gloved and jewelled hand to her long white throat.

Signore Comazzolo, jealous that our flutes had upstaged his champagne, called out. "How is the champagne, Signore?"

Signore Depretis smiled. "It has an elegant nose with very pure lemon, and nuances of marzipan, opening out to reveal smoky, mineral notes..." He coughed, and put his hand to his chest. "The palate is dominated by apple and citrus fruit—" His glass slipped from his hand, shattering on the table as he made a choked gasp.

I cried out as they both crumpled, convulsing, behind the captain's table.

Posted by TheoPhileo (Member # 1914) on :

Mawzipan! (Sorry if any of you are not Homestar Runner fans. You should be.)

Ye have chosen the hemlock, mate!

Of course... ants have been said to taste like lemon... so many you poisoned with ants!

[This message has been edited by TheoPhileo (edited July 18, 2004).]

Posted by Silver6 (Member # 1415) on :

What do we win if we guess right? A trip on a steamship? :-)
Atropine, I'd say (flushed skin, difficulties swallowing), except I had no idea it acted that fast...But then I don't know much about poisons except what I read in Agatha Christie and Conan Doyle :-)
Do we have the right on a second guess? If so, I'd say cyanide (but the flushed cheeks bother me with that hypothesis).

Posted by djvdakota (Member # 2002) on :

Brain flatulence! It's the marzipan flavor that's a main clue, right? Marzipan is almond paste and there's a poison that has an almond flavor to it, but I can't remember which one. Arsenic?

Posted by Keeley (Member # 2088) on :

I read that thread and seem to remember it was cyanide that smelled like bitter almonds.

My vote is for foxglove.

Posted by MaryRobinette (Member # 1680) on :

Cyanide is the winner!

quote:
The skin of a cyanide-poisoned person can sometimes be unusually pink or cherry-red because oxygen will stay in the blood and not get into the cells. The person may also be breathing very fast and have either a very fast or very slow heartbeat. Sometimes the person’s breath can smell like bitter almonds, though this can be difficult to detect.

quote:
When pure, Coniine (hemlock)is a volatile, colorless, oily liquid, strongly alkaline, with poisonous properties and having a bitter taste and a disagreeable, penetrating, mouse-like odor.

quote:
Digitalis (foxglove) - The first symptoms to evolve are nonspecific and include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and anorexia. Neurological symptoms include giddiness, headache, dizziness, fatigue, weakness, numbness hallucinations, and seizures. Skin may be pale, diaphoretic, and cool.

Posted by Eric Sherman (Member # 2007) on :

awww, cyanide is so cliche..

It works well in the scene though. The style of writing is spot on. Makes me want to go around talking like that, and getting odd looks from people.

Posted by Christine (Member # 1646) on :

While cyanide has become something of a cliche, I've read Mary's entire story and must say that it fits in perfectly with her Sherlock Holmes style mystery short story. I'm glad you found your poison.

Posted by MaryRobinette (Member # 1680) on :

But I just changed poison. I had the quick death because I didn't want to have Rosa hang around for two days but- it was a pretty stupid criminal to kill someone in front of everybody so... I've switched to arsine gas.

Glassblowers really do use arsenic to create opalescent glass and when you combine arsenic with any number of things, some of which are in champagne, you get arsine gas. Lethal in very small doses.

I had to rewrite the poison scene, but it makes much more sense.