TotaLube

Still known by the trade name under which it was launched on Earth nearly 400 years ago, TotaLube was a breakout product for the Klein-Schaffer (K-S) pharmaceutical conglomerate based in continental Europe. Protected at the time under a global patent, its sales accounted for a 0.9 percent shift in global domestic product (GDP) from the population as a whole to K-S shareholders. Even today, some of the wealthiest families on Raana can trace their fortunes back to an ancestor who held shares in K-S when TotalLube was launched in 2099.

The research that led to the creation of TotaLube was intended to develop a female birth control medication that could enhance the natural production of vaginal lubrication while suppressing menstruation. It succeeded beyond even its creators' most fervent hopes. It provided continuous vaginal lubrication, as well as an odorless and lubricated anus. As an added benefit, it also prevents the transmission of virtually all viral, bacterial and fungal infections during sexual contact. All of these benefits are maintained so long as one pill is taken every three days.

Marketed as “the sex facilitator” – a slogan that even K-S advertising team eventually admitted lacked flair, and blamed on a poor translation from the original German-language version – TotaLube nevertheless became a runaway success. Some women’s rights groups at the time protested that it led to an increase in unwanted sexual contact – specifically anal penetration by the male partner without consent – but TotaLube nevertheless went on to become the most successful commercial product in human history.

By the time the Severance occurred in 2290, the K-S patent had been expired for more than a century and the formula was in universal production by generic pharmaceutical manufacturers, including several based on Raana. Fortunately, the biochemistry underlying the drug is well understood and all of the precursor ingredients are inexpensive and can be produced or obtained locally.

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