Azameth

A vial of Azameth

“

Boylan: “Some kind of illness swept through the Sixer camp. They need medicine.” Josh: “Don’t they have you for that?” Boylan: “Not this time. What they need is tightly controlled. Azameth, schedule II isomorph.” — “Proof”

”

Azameth is a medicine used by the medical division at Terra Nova. It can be used to treat an unknown amount of illnesses and is the only available treatment for an unspecified rare neurological disorder. Azameth is also used illegally as a general narcotic. The drug can be strongly addictive and has a high street value in 2149. Overdosing on the drug can induce a coma. The release of Azameth is restricted in Terra Nova; the infirmary keeps it in a cabinet which unlocks only to people in possession of an access card. The substance was shown to have the appearance of a blue liquid.

History

Josh stealing Azameth from the infirmary

In the episode “Proof,” it was mentioned that an illness treatable with Azameth had spread in the Sixers’ camp. Through Boylan, Mira asked Josh Shannon to retrieve the medicine for them, using his mother’s card to access it. Josh ended up breaking into the cabinet by shooting at it with a sonic pistol. He stole all the Azameth inside, which was approximately sixty vials.

A day later, Josh learned that his mother had a patient who suffered from a rare neurological disorder and would die without a small dose of Azameth. Since the patient would not have lived long enough to receive another shipment from 2149, Josh decided to return one bottle of the medicine. He gave it to his parents and admitted that the rest had been handed over to the Sixers (with the exception of one other vial, which Boylan had given to Willy).

Notes and Trivia

• While the chemical structure of Azameth was not explicitly described on the show, the name of the drug might imply what the nature of its structure is.
  • In organic chemistry, the prefix aza- is used to form names of compounds where a carbon atom (C) is replaced by a nitrogen atom (N).
  • The word meth commonly refers to methamphetamine, a central nervous system stimulant with the chemical formula of C₁₀H₁₅N₁. Alternatively, it can refer to methadone, methanol or methylated spirit, though these uses of the word are less frequent.
• Azameth was referred to as an isomorph, which is a substance that has an identical or similar structure with another. In chemistry, isomorphism typically refers to substances of different composition with a similar crystalline form.
• Azameth’s classification as a schedule II drug means that it has an accepted medical use, but that it also has a high potential for abuse, which may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence.